Lupe was ready to rock!
Lupe was ready to roll!
. . .
The beat had a sound.
That sound came from letters.
Reading is like music! I just need to see the beat!”
from Lupe Lopez: Rock Star Rules!
created by e. E. Charlton-Trujillo and Pat Zietlow Miller
illustrated by Joe Cepeda
Candlewick Press, [2002]
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced its list of 14 nominees for the class of 2025 on February 12. Out of the 14, I know (or recognize) only six. Here’s the list from its website:
*Bad Company
The Black Crowes
*Mariah Carey
*Chubby Checker
*Joe Cocker
*Billy Idol
Joy Division/New Order
*Cyndi Lauper
Maná
Oasis
Outkast
*Phish
Soundgarden
The White Stripes
* the ones I recognize. How did you do?
Directly from their site (again), “Artists or bands become eligible for nomination 25 years after releasing their first commercial recording. Among this year’s 14 Nominees, eight are appearing on the ballot for the first time: Bad Company, The Black Crowes, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Billy Idol, Maná, Outkast, and Phish.”
They have each created their own “style and attitude,” influenced generations after them, and “continued the growth of rock & roll.”
The voting panel is comprised of over 1,200 artists, historians, and music industry professionals. The judges consider three factors:
1. an artist’s impact on music culture
2. their influence on other musicians who have followed them
3. the scope and longevity of their career and body of work
Fan Voting is open through April 21, 2025. Use this link if you want to participate.
The inductees will be announced in late April. This year, the Induction Ceremony will take place in Los Angeles, exact date TBA.
Rock & Roll began as a particularly American phenomenon in the Deep South and grew to encompass the whole world, changing music forever. It defines a musical genre through connection, innovation, and rebellion. The sounds include “blue notes,” commonly found in a blend of spirituals, blues, and jazz.
Without getting too deep into the weeds, the subgenres of Rock & Roll depend on “blue notes,” those sounds that come about a half-step above or below what we expect to hear. They create tension on the way to a resolution, usually in a familiar chord.
The best examples are subtle, emotionally resonant, and include improvisation, making them unique. Examples include John Coltrane’s saxophone solos, Stevie Wonder’s harmonies, and Aretha Franklin’s glissandos. They add an emotional dimension to the sounds.
YouTube doesn’t like to share its links with a copy/paste. If you want to hear examples of blue notes, Google something like <examples of blues notes in music> to find several short clips.
And who knew Rock & Roll has so many sub-genres? A quick search netted over 50! Blue notes are more common in some than in others.
Here’s a list of 16 common subgenres from GrooveNexus, including their descriptions. From the birth of Rock & Roll in the 1950s in the sounds of Elvis, Chuck Berry, and Buddy Holly through Do-Wop, Disco, and Hip-Hop, sound experiments in rhythms, harmonies, and lyrics kept and keep evolving. My mom called it all “rotten roll.” I think she was not the only one who did.
My sister was more into Ricky Nelson. I liked Simon and Garfunkel, The Mamas and Papas, and Roberta Flack (2/10/37 – 2/24/25 RIP). I was, and still am, drawn more to the lyric than the rhythms and melodies.
In 1986, Cleveland, Ohio, was chosen to be the home of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. The building opened in 1995. By then, Rock & Roll was a worldwide phenomenon. People are still asking, “why Cleveland?”.
Here’s the local legend. In the late 1940s, Alan Freed, the pioneer DJ for Rock & Roll, became friends with Leo Mintz, owner of Record Rendezvous in downtown Cleveland. Mintz knew what kids were buying, and Freed had the platform to showcase it. Mintz sponsored the show and donated the records.
By March 21, 1952, 14,000 tickets had been sold for the 11,000-capacity Cleveland Arena, the chosen venue to hold the Moondog Coronation Ball. It was the world’s first rock concert. Two days later, The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported “[p]olice ended the ball at 10:45 p.m., observing the place was so filled that nobody could dance or hear the music.”
Cleveland had become Rock & Roll’s debut city and made Alan Freed a rock star in his own right.
Rock & Roll continued to evolve. While not the first Rock & Roll song to be recorded, “Hang On Sloopy” was released by Atlantic Records in 1964. It became a standard and was recorded by the Yardbirds and later the McCoys and others.
Legend has it that the song’s inspiration was Dorothy Sloop, a jazz singer from Steubenville, Ohio. She was a student at The Ohio State University which adopted it as its "fight song."
“Hang On Sloopy” became the official rock song of the State of Ohio on November 20, 1985, by House Concurrent Resolution 16.
All 50 states have a State Song except Maryland, “Maryland, My Maryland” (to the tune of “O Tannenbaum”) was repealed on 7/1/2021.
“Hang On Sloopy” is the only state song classified as Rock & Roll.
I’m reading My Mother in Havannah by Rebe Huntman. A memoir, a reflection on motherhood, and an example of using “place” as a central theme, Rebe brings her readers with her on an emotional journey as she searches for spiritual connections in the land of her mother’s birth.
-—Be curious! (and Rock on!)
Lupe was ready to roll!
. . .
The beat had a sound.
That sound came from letters.
Reading is like music! I just need to see the beat!”
from Lupe Lopez: Rock Star Rules!
created by e. E. Charlton-Trujillo and Pat Zietlow Miller
illustrated by Joe Cepeda
Candlewick Press, [2002]
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced its list of 14 nominees for the class of 2025 on February 12. Out of the 14, I know (or recognize) only six. Here’s the list from its website:
*Bad Company
The Black Crowes
*Mariah Carey
*Chubby Checker
*Joe Cocker
*Billy Idol
Joy Division/New Order
*Cyndi Lauper
Maná
Oasis
Outkast
*Phish
Soundgarden
The White Stripes
* the ones I recognize. How did you do?
Directly from their site (again), “Artists or bands become eligible for nomination 25 years after releasing their first commercial recording. Among this year’s 14 Nominees, eight are appearing on the ballot for the first time: Bad Company, The Black Crowes, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Billy Idol, Maná, Outkast, and Phish.”
They have each created their own “style and attitude,” influenced generations after them, and “continued the growth of rock & roll.”
The voting panel is comprised of over 1,200 artists, historians, and music industry professionals. The judges consider three factors:
1. an artist’s impact on music culture
2. their influence on other musicians who have followed them
3. the scope and longevity of their career and body of work
Fan Voting is open through April 21, 2025. Use this link if you want to participate.
The inductees will be announced in late April. This year, the Induction Ceremony will take place in Los Angeles, exact date TBA.
Rock & Roll began as a particularly American phenomenon in the Deep South and grew to encompass the whole world, changing music forever. It defines a musical genre through connection, innovation, and rebellion. The sounds include “blue notes,” commonly found in a blend of spirituals, blues, and jazz.
Without getting too deep into the weeds, the subgenres of Rock & Roll depend on “blue notes,” those sounds that come about a half-step above or below what we expect to hear. They create tension on the way to a resolution, usually in a familiar chord.
The best examples are subtle, emotionally resonant, and include improvisation, making them unique. Examples include John Coltrane’s saxophone solos, Stevie Wonder’s harmonies, and Aretha Franklin’s glissandos. They add an emotional dimension to the sounds.
YouTube doesn’t like to share its links with a copy/paste. If you want to hear examples of blue notes, Google something like <examples of blues notes in music> to find several short clips.
And who knew Rock & Roll has so many sub-genres? A quick search netted over 50! Blue notes are more common in some than in others.
Here’s a list of 16 common subgenres from GrooveNexus, including their descriptions. From the birth of Rock & Roll in the 1950s in the sounds of Elvis, Chuck Berry, and Buddy Holly through Do-Wop, Disco, and Hip-Hop, sound experiments in rhythms, harmonies, and lyrics kept and keep evolving. My mom called it all “rotten roll.” I think she was not the only one who did.
My sister was more into Ricky Nelson. I liked Simon and Garfunkel, The Mamas and Papas, and Roberta Flack (2/10/37 – 2/24/25 RIP). I was, and still am, drawn more to the lyric than the rhythms and melodies.
In 1986, Cleveland, Ohio, was chosen to be the home of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. The building opened in 1995. By then, Rock & Roll was a worldwide phenomenon. People are still asking, “why Cleveland?”.
Here’s the local legend. In the late 1940s, Alan Freed, the pioneer DJ for Rock & Roll, became friends with Leo Mintz, owner of Record Rendezvous in downtown Cleveland. Mintz knew what kids were buying, and Freed had the platform to showcase it. Mintz sponsored the show and donated the records.
By March 21, 1952, 14,000 tickets had been sold for the 11,000-capacity Cleveland Arena, the chosen venue to hold the Moondog Coronation Ball. It was the world’s first rock concert. Two days later, The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported “[p]olice ended the ball at 10:45 p.m., observing the place was so filled that nobody could dance or hear the music.”
Cleveland had become Rock & Roll’s debut city and made Alan Freed a rock star in his own right.
Rock & Roll continued to evolve. While not the first Rock & Roll song to be recorded, “Hang On Sloopy” was released by Atlantic Records in 1964. It became a standard and was recorded by the Yardbirds and later the McCoys and others.
Legend has it that the song’s inspiration was Dorothy Sloop, a jazz singer from Steubenville, Ohio. She was a student at The Ohio State University which adopted it as its "fight song."
“Hang On Sloopy” became the official rock song of the State of Ohio on November 20, 1985, by House Concurrent Resolution 16.
All 50 states have a State Song except Maryland, “Maryland, My Maryland” (to the tune of “O Tannenbaum”) was repealed on 7/1/2021.
“Hang On Sloopy” is the only state song classified as Rock & Roll.
I’m reading My Mother in Havannah by Rebe Huntman. A memoir, a reflection on motherhood, and an example of using “place” as a central theme, Rebe brings her readers with her on an emotional journey as she searches for spiritual connections in the land of her mother’s birth.
-—Be curious! (and Rock on!)
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