AllMusic Loves 1956

"Don't Knock the Rock." Rock & roll was everywhere in 1956 -- eight of the Top Ten singles on the pop charts by October -- but, then again, so was criticism of it. The hybrid of rhythm, blues, and country had been a fixture on black radio for years, but the ascension of Elvis Presley early in the year with "Heartbreak Hotel," his first single for RCA Victor, focused mainstream attention and quickly made rock & roll Public Enemy Number One. One columnist called rock & rollers "unspeakably untalen...

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