America Had More Than Enough Rock and Roll in the ‘50s
America already had a rich rock n’ roll scene in the ’50s, and it seemed like England had little to offer the country. America had Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Little Richard. England had (for the most part) cheesy Elvis imitators and dull songs. British writer Nik Cohn explained, “Nobody could sing, and nobody could write. And, in any case, nobody gave a damn.”
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But in the U.S., America’s music industry was bursting with original rhythms and revolutionary rock n’ roll tunes. The radio played songs that stripped the dull, bland fabric from people’s lives and thrust them into a new, loud, and exciting reality. So, what happened at the turn of the decade?