Many would agree that without Chuck Berry, there would not have been rock 'n' roll. Berry's 1955 debut single, "Maybellene," was an energetic smash hit, and led to a slew of successful late-'50s songs. Influencing such future big names as the Beatles…

Owing as much to 1950s wrestling bad guy Gorgeous George as he did to Elvis Presley, rock's original wildman didn't so much play rock & roll as he played Jerry Lee Lewis. A powerful honky-tonk pianist and singer, Lewis is that rare breed of star whos…

New Orleans pianist/singer and rock & roll pioneer Fats Domino's playing, like that of Professor Longhair, was derived from the rich mixture of musical styles to be found in New Orleans, including jazz, Latin rhythms, boogie-woogie, Cajun, and blues.…

"Before Elvis, there was nothing," John Lennon once said. An overstatement, of course, but Elvis Presley's ascendance to superstardom in the mid-1950s kicked off a musical and social revolution whose impact has yet to abate. After the charming young …

Part good ol' boy, part rockabilly rebel, Buddy Holly was one of the most innovative and influential of 1950s rockers, both on his own and as a member of the Crickets, rock's first truly self-contained combo. Originally rooted in country music, Holly…

These two brothers from Kentucky are the bridge between the assorted familial harmonizers of the country radio show era and the rock & roll of the '60s. Their sterling singing adapted well to the changing styles of four different decades. They were i…

The illustrious career of the Coasters, the pre-eminent vocal group of the early rock 'n' roll era, was built on a remarkable body of cleverly comic R&B songs for Atco Records fashioned by their producers, Leiber And Stoller. Under their direction, t…

A self-proclaimed man among men (and deservedly so), singer/guitarist Bo Diddley is still the only musician in history to have a beat named after him. Diddley's raunchy, distorted 1950s sound and African-derived rhythm have been an enormous influence…

Rockabilly pioneer Carl Perkins emerged in the 1950s around the same time as Elvis Presley, with a similar blend of country and R&B. He was denied Elvis-level fame due to poor timing, bad breaks, and a relative lack of the sex appeal that aided Presl…

Rockabilly god Gene Vincent only had one major hit--the epochal "Be-Bop-A-Lula"--but he nevertheless helped to define the genre, with his hiccuping vocals, hard-edged tone, and the backing of his deservedly legendary band the Blue Caps. Many of Vince…

One of the leading R&B vocal groups of the 50s, they were the first black group to be accepted as a major chart act and, for a short time, were the most successful vocal group in the world. The Platters were formed in Los Angeles in 1953 by entrepren…

There are few musicians in modern pop music who can truly be called "genius," but in the case of Ray Charles, the term applies. His innovative singing, drawing on both gospel and pop, has inspired legions of great singers. With a long, prolific recor…

The unrelenting intensity of James Brown's music has made him one of the most recognizable and influential performers since the 1950s. Starting out as a gospel singer, Brown soon switched to R&B and started scoring hits. As the '60s progressed, the s…

Born out of the L.A. basin community of Mexican-Americans, Ritchie Valens created a style that merged his heritage and '50s rock & roll. His "La Bamba" stands as one of the most innovative compositions of the first-generation rock era. He remains an …

In his brief yet luminous career, Sam Cooke made perhaps a dozen recordings that were milestones of soul, and laid the groundwork for most of the R&B-related music that would dominate the charts for decades afterward. Cooke's signature sound fused th…

One of the best of the '60s soul shouters, he could scream up a sweat storm of sanctimonious rhythm & blues. Among the Wicked Pickett's hits, "In The Midnight Hour," "Funky Broadway" and "Mustang Sally" are responsible for launching countless roadhou…

Admired for both their infectious surfer music and their sophisticated, multi-tracked pop productions, the Beach Boys created a lasting impression on popular music through their complex harmonies and Brian Wilson's genius for composition and arrangem…

Originally part of the early 1960s British blues/R&B scene, the Rolling Stones rapidly ascended the heights of fame with a perfect combination of hit singles and media-grabbing scandals. By the '70s, Keith Richards had become a bona fide guitar hero,…

One of the best-known and best-loved R&B vocal groups of all-time, The Drifters were blessed with some great lead singers (Clyde McPhatter & Ben E. King), great songwriters (Leiber & Stoller, Pomus & Shuman) and great producers (Phil Spector, Bert Be…