Rock and Roll and Popular Music History

By Robert Fontenot, About.com Guide to Oldies Music

The story of rock and roll and all its various subgenres and offshoots -- the history, the scandals, the tragedies, and the ways in which rock both became the world's most popular music and adapted to the world around it afterwards.

1. FAQs
2. Lists

FAQs

Frequently asked questions about rock and roll's biggest events... dispels the rumors and presents what we really know to be true.

• The life of Buddy Holly
• The life of Jerry Lee Lewis
• The Payola Scandal
• The life of Ray Charles
• Dance Crazes of the 50s and 60s
• Girl Groups
• Shag Dancing and Carolina Beach Music

• The "Paul Is Dead" Hoax
• The meaning of "American Pie"
• John Lennon and the FBI
• The Death of Elvis
• Surf Music and Hot Rod Music
• The Murder of John Lennon

Lists

Lists of oldies music and events that shaped moments in time, or defined a category, or otherwise made an impact on rock history.

• AM Tragedy Songs of the Seventies
• The Top Ten "Summer Of Love" Oldies
• The Top Ten "Summer Romance" Oldies
• The Top Ten Breakup Songs for Men
• The Top Ten Breakup Songs for Women
• The Top Ten Halloween Oldies
• The Top Ten Mardi Gras Oldies
• The Top Ten Oldies Against War
• The Top Ten Oldies Dance Songs
• The Top Ten Oldies for the Troops

• The Top Ten Oldies Myths
• The Top Ten Oldies of the Year, 1955-1975
• The Top Ten Oldies Songs About School
• The Top Ten Oldies That Sound Like Elvis
• The Top Ten Patriotic Oldies
• The Top Ten Road Trip Oldies
• The Top Ten Weirdest Phil Spector Moments
• The Top Ten Working Man's Oldies
• The Worst Number One Records of the Oldies Era
• The Worst Number One Records of the Oldies Era, Part Two