Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated:
1
00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:08,240
60 years ago...
2
00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:11,280
FAINTLY: Wop bop a loo bop a lop bam boom...
3
00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:13,920
..America shook.
4
00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:15,360
Four o'clock rock...
5
00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:16,640
It was explosive.
6
00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:18,240
Go, Johnny, go...
7
00:00:18,240 --> 00:00:20,640
It sounded so different.
8
00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:22,720
Great balls of fire...
9
00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:25,040
It was free, it was wild.
10
00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:27,360
Shake, rattle and roll...
11
00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:29,560
These are some of the last witnesses
12
00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:34,040
to the birth of a music that changed...everything.
13
00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:40,720
HE CHUCKLES
14
00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:42,040
And they still feel it...
15
00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:43,960
Ooh...
16
00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:45,680
..like it was yesterday.
17
00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:46,960
I'll never forget that.
18
00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:49,960
Elvis, such a damn smash hit.
19
00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:51,560
The whole place exploded.
20
00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:55,120
GIRLS SCREAM We had sex appeal.
21
00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:59,920
I'm at the age if I make somebody mad by tellin' the truth, tough.
22
00:00:59,920 --> 00:01:02,920
I'm a roadrunner, honey
23
00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:05,480
And you can't keep up with me...
24
00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:08,120
These are the innovators, the free-thinkers...
25
00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:09,640
Let it all hang out!
26
00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:11,720
..who shocked America.
27
00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:13,760
The vulgar performances of Elvis Presley.
28
00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:15,680
He should not be on television.
29
00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:18,560
The morals are dangerous. That's all I know. And you can't get away
30
00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:21,880
from it, you can't clean it up cos it's dirty to begin with.
31
00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:24,000
They followed their own path
32
00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:26,400
and transformed America.
33
00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:29,240
People were afraid of integration.
34
00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:31,880
Rock'n'roll is obviously nigger music.
35
00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:35,200
Integration is happening in our heads, through our ears.
36
00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:37,640
This is what we been waiting for.
37
00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:40,080
I got to put you down...
38
00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:42,720
We'll continue to charge on.
39
00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:44,280
I'll see you someday
40
00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:46,200
Baby, somewhere hangin' around...
41
00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:49,360
A whole lot of shakin' goin' on.
42
00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:03,280
Today, a remarkable construction project is transforming
43
00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:04,960
the face of the countryside.
44
00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:07,600
The area below will, within the next two years,
45
00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:10,880
be the busy community of 70,000 people
46
00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:13,120
living in a city which was completely planned
47
00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:15,080
before the first house was built.
48
00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:19,320
America of the early '50s,
49
00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:25,320
where 11 out of 13 million new homes were built in a new suburbia.
50
00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:28,920
MAN: Hey, how about a couple of eggs this morning?
51
00:02:28,920 --> 00:02:31,880
OK, dear. Oh, but get a move on or you'll be late.
52
00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:34,360
'It's a great life, eh, Bob?'
53
00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:39,000
Communities built around a family unit, expanding in a baby boom
54
00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:42,080
created by returning World War II GIs.
55
00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:44,280
Life was perfect.
56
00:02:45,640 --> 00:02:47,880
The fathers and mothers in our home town
57
00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:50,320
are just plain, nice-living folks.
58
00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:52,240
The smoking of marijuana
59
00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:54,120
are tempting more and more
60
00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:57,000
teenage youngsters along dangerous paths.
61
00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:00,480
You know, main street folks who say, "Hello, nice morning,"
62
00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:02,400
even when it rains on Mondays.
63
00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:04,960
I'm getting sick and tired of being treated like a kid.
64
00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:09,240
Why be stuck with one expensive car when you can enjoy all the fun
65
00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:12,640
and freedom of two fine Fords?
66
00:03:12,640 --> 00:03:15,160
This is home, sweet home to us.
67
00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:19,920
We feel safe and are very proud of our friendly characters.
68
00:03:19,920 --> 00:03:23,040
When the coloured people came into the neighbourhood,
69
00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:25,520
I would become nauseous.
70
00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:27,960
We are proud of our excellent schools that provide
71
00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:29,760
for the education of our children.
72
00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:32,760
Proud of their part in preparing our youths to face the future.
73
00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:37,040
Atom bombs may some day be dropped on our cities,
74
00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:39,160
and let us prepare for survival.
75
00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:44,840
The air force itself has officially admitted that flying saucers exist.
76
00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:48,640
Space saboteurs seize control of earthmen's minds.
77
00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:51,200
Communism, in reality, is not a political party.
78
00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:54,920
It is a way of life, an evil and malignant way of life.
79
00:03:56,920 --> 00:04:00,280
But one thing that America could rely on in these times
80
00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:01,960
was the radio...
81
00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:05,360
..programmed with popular music of the day.
82
00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:13,560
Do not forsake me, oh, my darling
83
00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:20,760
On this, our wedding day
84
00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:22,680
Wait alone...
85
00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:25,880
But not of all of America was like this.
86
00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:28,400
Below the Mason-Dixon line,
87
00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:30,400
like a wayward cousin,
88
00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:32,600
lay America's buried past,
89
00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:36,120
where something was happening that would shake up not just the music
90
00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:40,440
but America's way of life... down south.
91
00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:42,520
Way down south.
92
00:04:49,280 --> 00:04:50,920
There are things in New Orleans
93
00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:52,840
that you wouldn't see anywhere in the world.
94
00:04:52,840 --> 00:04:55,360
Just about anything went.
95
00:04:55,360 --> 00:05:00,040
The gay entertainers who would dance with a boa constrictor.
96
00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:04,320
Storyville was where they used to have legalised prostitution.
97
00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:07,120
And that lasted for about 20 years.
98
00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:12,640
There were exotic dancers who could make their cleavage jump up and down
99
00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:16,080
- in different patterns.
- HE LAUGHS
100
00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:21,760
Man, I remember the first place I ever really got loaded on whisky.
101
00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:25,880
I ain't never experienced anything like that in my life.
102
00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:29,160
And I never want to experience it again.
103
00:05:31,280 --> 00:05:36,520
New Orleans music was for dancing, for entertainment. Make people move.
104
00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:40,520
The dancers were going to be doing boom, bam, boom, bop. Boom!
105
00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:43,040
He may see a big fat woman with a big butt,
106
00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:48,160
and she right in tune with the bass drum - boom, boom, boom.
107
00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:52,680
If you ever listen to New Orleans' music, you're going to move.
108
00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:56,720
I'm walkin'
109
00:05:56,720 --> 00:05:58,240
Yes, indeed, I'm talkin'
110
00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:00,520
'Bout you and me, I'm hopin'
111
00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:02,680
That you come back to me
112
00:06:03,840 --> 00:06:05,960
I'm lonely as I can be
113
00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:08,040
I'm waitin' for your company
114
00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:11,000
I'm hopin' that you come back to me...
115
00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:16,680
Well, it has certainly been a long time since I've been here.
116
00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:20,480
This is where it all took place, back here.
117
00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:22,120
All right. Great.
118
00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:28,640
It's a laundromat now but back in the day -
119
00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:32,240
and I mean the most beautiful days, in fact,
120
00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:36,360
the days that began putting us on the map - it was J&M Studio,
121
00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:41,080
Cosimo's Recording Studio, owned by Cosimo Matassa.
122
00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:44,720
And there was Cosimo back there, doing what he does.
123
00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:48,280
The musicians would be back in that area.
124
00:06:48,280 --> 00:06:51,920
Those bricks are probably the same bricks which witnessed
125
00:06:51,920 --> 00:06:54,120
all of that wonderful music.
126
00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:58,000
The whole call of the day was for most things to be done live.
127
00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:01,960
In fact, when it was time to make a fade, at the end of the recording,
128
00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:05,160
the musicians didn't want Cosimo to turn down the knob,
129
00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:09,120
they wanted to just play softer and make a natural fade
130
00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:12,760
cos they figured that that's a technical fade with the knob.
131
00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:19,160
And very importantly, Fats Domino's career started here and it was 1949,
132
00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:21,960
he recorded The Fat Man.
133
00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:27,840
And it clicked on a switch that lasts for decades and decades.
134
00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:35,280
Fats' debut hit is a contender for the very first rock'n'roll record,
135
00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:38,920
and its origins lay in a traditional song
136
00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:40,920
from the wild heart of New Orleans.
137
00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:42,320
It was a drug song.
138
00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:43,600
That lyric was,
139
00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:48,120
"They call, they call me a junker cos I'm loaded all the time."
140
00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:52,320
Dave Bartholomew, the producer, said, "We can't sing about junkies,
141
00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:54,400
"we're going to have to sing about the fat man."
142
00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:58,440
They call They call me the fat man
143
00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:02,040
Cos I weigh two hundred pounds
144
00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:05,160
All the girls, they love me
145
00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:08,560
Cos I know my way around...
146
00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:11,760
Fats' rhythm proved innovative and irresistible,
147
00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:14,240
but not just to black audiences in the South.
148
00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:18,320
Now for the big finale. The guy you've all been waiting to hear...
149
00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:22,680
Through the '50s, he'd overcome the musical segregation of the time,
150
00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:26,560
crossing over from the black R&B chart to white audiences
151
00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:28,200
on the national pop chart.
152
00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:31,560
You made me cry
153
00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:33,600
When you said
154
00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:34,960
Goodbye
155
00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:38,680
Ain't that a shame?
156
00:08:38,680 --> 00:08:42,080
My tears fell like rain...
157
00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:45,360
And what was special about his rhythm that got the kids hooked
158
00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:49,200
was a piano triplet that underpinned Fats' biggest hits.
159
00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:52,560
This little simple beat - one, two, three, one, two, three -
160
00:08:52,560 --> 00:08:53,920
on his piano...
161
00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:02,240
A lot of great musicians around New Orleans didn't want to play
162
00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:05,920
behind Fats Domino cos they said his music was so simple.
163
00:09:07,560 --> 00:09:09,880
People kind of made fun of you when you just played
164
00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:12,400
dink-dink-dink-dink-dink, but that's what he did
165
00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:14,080
and it made people dance.
166
00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:20,560
Those simple lines, and he played it all the way through the song.
167
00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:27,160
And so, even in the Deep South, even in the segregated South,
168
00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:29,320
whites started showing up at his shows.
169
00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:31,160
Oh, well
170
00:09:31,160 --> 00:09:33,080
Goodbye
171
00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:34,760
Although
172
00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:36,280
I'll cry
173
00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:38,400
Ain't that a shame?...
174
00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:40,960
Black concerts were coming through Memphis
175
00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:42,600
and we'd go down and watch 'em.
176
00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:43,960
They made us sit upstairs,
177
00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:45,320
you know, it was kinda crazy,
178
00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:48,200
but we didn't care. And when those guys started rockin' on stage,
179
00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:50,560
the kids jumped up in the aisle and started dancing.
180
00:09:50,560 --> 00:09:53,240
And I said, "Uh-oh, something's happening here, big time."
181
00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:57,000
The whites started dancing, mixing with the blacks.
182
00:09:57,000 --> 00:09:58,520
One thing led to another.
183
00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:00,920
Herbert Hardesty, Fats' saxophone player,
184
00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:03,200
says there was a fight every night.
185
00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:06,920
And the reason why is because he was causing that integration.
186
00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:12,800
- MAN:
- Fats, this rock'n'roll music seems to be under
187
00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:16,120
an awful heavy attack from all over the country. There's been riots,
188
00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:19,000
it's been banned in certain parts of this country and abroad.
189
00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:21,920
- You know of any reason for that?
- Well...
190
00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:25,080
as far as I know, music makes people happy. I know it makes me happy.
191
00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:27,880
- You wouldn't blame it on rock'n'roll?
- No indeed.
192
00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:30,480
Maybe you'll excuse me, I'd like to go back to my practice.
193
00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:38,760
I saw some protestors one time right in the midst of that era
194
00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:43,000
saying, "Send all the Negros back to the Congo, except Fats Domino."
195
00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:52,960
Fats wasn't alone in integrating audiences.
196
00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:56,520
Alan Freed, a DJ who popularised the term "rock'n'roll"...
197
00:10:56,520 --> 00:10:58,160
Hi, everybody. How y'all?
198
00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:00,040
This is yours truly, Alan Freed...
199
00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:06,120
..staged a Moondog Ball in Cleveland in 1952 for a mixed-race audience
200
00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:07,920
of 20,000.
201
00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:11,200
It was shut down by police for fears of a riot.
202
00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:18,120
But segregation was just part of a wider narrative in post-war America,
203
00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:20,080
as millions of black Americans
204
00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:22,440
migrated up the Mississippi corridor,
205
00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:27,080
bound for the industrial cities of the Northeast and Midwest.
206
00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:33,520
People in Mississippi, Louisiana - they worked their way
207
00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:34,640
to get to Memphis.
208
00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:36,280
And they go to St Louis...
209
00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:39,160
East St Louis - wasn't St Louis - East St Louis.
210
00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:41,880
Then he goes to Chicago.
211
00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:45,560
They were trying to get to Detroit, where the Ford plant was,
212
00:11:45,560 --> 00:11:47,920
and Chicago, where the steel mill was.
213
00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:53,640
Sometimes, it'd take you two months to get to Chicago.
214
00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:01,600
And with the people, the music migrated.
215
00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:05,400
This song, from 1951, Rocket 88 by Jackie Brenston,
216
00:12:05,400 --> 00:12:08,640
another contender for the first rock'n'roll record,
217
00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:12,120
was written in Clarksdale, recorded in Memphis,
218
00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:14,920
and released in Chicago on Chess Records,
219
00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:19,720
as the Blues moved upstream to the big cities of the Midwest.
220
00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:24,000
When you look at it, you've got Chicago, St Louis,
221
00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:25,600
Memphis, New Orleans
222
00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:28,280
all on a straight dotted line all the way down.
223
00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:31,120
And those are all pretty hip music towns all the way up.
224
00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:34,200
So there's something about being on this big ol' muddy river.
225
00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:43,200
By the early '50s, Chicago was the hub of an Electric Blues scene,
226
00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:46,640
rooted in a booming migrant black community.
227
00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:51,960
Jimmy Reed was a guy that I was in love with
228
00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:53,640
in Chicago playing the Blues.
229
00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:55,160
He's had songs like...
230
00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:58,320
HE PLAYS BLUES MUSIC
231
00:12:59,680 --> 00:13:01,200
# Oh, baby
232
00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:05,480
You don't have to go
233
00:13:07,640 --> 00:13:09,720
Whoa, baby
234
00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:15,040
You don't have to go...
235
00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:18,960
But by the mid-'50s, the Electric Blues stars like Jimmy Reed
236
00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:22,160
and Muddy Waters were nudging 30 and 40,
237
00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:26,320
and a younger generation in these cities craved a new sound
238
00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:29,080
that spoke of their experience.
239
00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:31,960
The Blues is always losin' the girl.
240
00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:34,480
My baby done left me...
241
00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:39,160
Doo-wop gave me the idea of fulfilling my dream
242
00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:41,040
by getting the girl.
243
00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:44,040
Blues writers were older people.
244
00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:45,960
They had been in the South,
245
00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:48,880
they had seen things that were very different,
246
00:13:48,880 --> 00:13:52,760
whereas the doo-wop writers were teenagers.
247
00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:55,400
Oh, baby...
248
00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:58,080
Hey, man! What you all doing, standing out here in the cold?
249
00:13:58,080 --> 00:13:59,720
I'm freezing!
250
00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:01,360
Oh, no!
251
00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:03,800
CHEERFUL GREETINGS
252
00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:05,440
Nice seeing you, though.
253
00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:09,880
In 1953, the Spaniels were a teenage street-corner group
254
00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:13,960
from the edge of Chicago, with a first single climbing the charts...
255
00:14:13,960 --> 00:14:15,680
We got street light...
256
00:14:15,680 --> 00:14:19,720
..and a follow-up that would become a classic of the new doo-wop style.
257
00:14:19,720 --> 00:14:21,680
Doot-do-do, doot-do-do
258
00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:23,440
Doot-do-do-do-do
259
00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:25,280
- ALL:
- Good night, sweetheart
260
00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:28,120
Well, it's time to go
261
00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:30,720
Doot-do-do-do-do
262
00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:32,440
- ALL:
- Good night, sweetheart
263
00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:35,240
Well, it's time to go
264
00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:38,080
Do-do do-do
265
00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:43,680
I hate to leave you but I really must say
266
00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:47,640
- ALL:
- Good night, sweetheart
267
00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:49,400
Good night
268
00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:51,000
Doot-do-do, doot-do-do
269
00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:53,040
Doot-do-do-do-do
270
00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:55,320
- ALL:
- Good night, sweetheart...
271
00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:57,960
It is truly the sound of the city.
272
00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:00,280
It is truly the street-corner symphony.
273
00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:05,720
You could stand under a street lamp and just sing.
274
00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:08,280
Do-do do-do...
275
00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:10,960
We could imagine that we would be on stage
276
00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:15,240
and that lamp would actually brighten the whole corner
277
00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:19,240
and people could come and watch you and you could do your stuff.
278
00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:21,560
So we were on stage there.
279
00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:24,880
It's three o'clock
280
00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:26,600
In the morning
281
00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:28,680
Do-do...
282
00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:31,800
Through the music, you could court a girl.
283
00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:34,000
All you had to do was sing a song.
284
00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:38,160
I think that women like low voices,
285
00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:42,520
almost like a mating call of the bull walrus
286
00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:44,520
or something like that.
287
00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:49,480
- ALL:
- Because I love you so
288
00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:50,960
Doot-do-do, doot-do-do
289
00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:53,400
Do-do do-do
290
00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:56,360
- ALL:
- Good night, sweetheart...
- It was our music.
291
00:15:56,360 --> 00:16:00,160
The lyric spoke for the things that we felt
292
00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:03,600
and we couldn't express ourselves.
293
00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:06,760
And you only heard it all the way at the other end of the dial.
294
00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:09,600
The little black stations, 13-40.
295
00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:13,880
I love that girly so...
296
00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:16,400
- 14-10.
- Hello, hello again
297
00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:18,440
Sh-boom and hopin' we'll meet again
298
00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:20,480
Oh, life could be a dream...
299
00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:23,280
You didn't hear it on the major 9-50s...
300
00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:25,760
Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer...
301
00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:27,240
..or 5-60s...
302
00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:30,480
How much is that doggy in the window?
303
00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:32,760
..which were big, powerful radio AM stations,
304
00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:35,000
which are heard around the country, you see.
305
00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:36,400
RADIO STATIC
306
00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:40,200
- Oh, oh...
- Doo-doo-doo...
307
00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:42,960
But while radio was still largely segregated,
308
00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:45,280
there was one technology that wasn't.
309
00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:46,760
I love that girl
310
00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:48,480
Love that girl...
311
00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:52,960
1950 saw the advent of the 45 RPM jukebox,
312
00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:56,440
and it was this invention that helped the growth of doo-wop,
313
00:16:56,440 --> 00:16:58,840
as record labels used the jukeboxes
314
00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:01,440
as testing grounds for new releases.
315
00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:05,000
Jukebox was very, very important
316
00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:07,280
because some of the great record labels said,
317
00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:09,640
"The black radio stations are playing it,
318
00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:13,640
"let's put it into the jukebox and see if kids recognise it."
319
00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:21,400
My love must be a kind of blind love...
320
00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:23,000
Doo-wop was the first pop music
321
00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:25,520
performed by teenagers for teenagers.
322
00:17:25,520 --> 00:17:29,280
I can't see anyone but you...
323
00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:32,080
And there were more teenagers than ever before,
324
00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:36,480
due to increases in the birth-rate around World War II.
325
00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:39,400
Are the stars
326
00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:42,720
Out tonight?...
327
00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:46,760
And from the mid-'50s, America's older population began to feel
328
00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:50,440
overrun by a new adolescent attitude.
329
00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:53,160
And the song is Why Do Fools Fall In Love?
330
00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:55,080
AUDIENCE LAUGHS
331
00:17:55,080 --> 00:17:57,160
..Call themselves the Teenagers...
332
00:17:57,160 --> 00:17:59,320
- DEEP VOICE:
- Come on, boys, let's sing our song.
333
00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:03,280
- That come out of you?
- Yes, can we sing now?
334
00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:04,760
What's your hurry?
335
00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:06,800
Have to make my money before my voice changes.
336
00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:08,760
AUDIENCE LAUGHS
337
00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:11,840
Mm-bop, mm-bop, mm-bop Doo-roo-roo
338
00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:13,800
ALL: Ooh wah, ooh wah
339
00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:16,400
Ooh wah, ooh wah
340
00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:19,000
Ooh wah, ooh wah
341
00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:21,640
- BOTH:
- Why do fools fall in love?
342
00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:25,080
Why do birds sing so gay?
343
00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:27,440
And lovers await the break of day
344
00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:29,880
Why do they fall in love?
345
00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:34,760
Now there's a whole strata of young people that have some money
346
00:18:34,760 --> 00:18:36,120
and their own taste.
347
00:18:36,120 --> 00:18:39,240
They will go for things that maybe their parents don't like.
348
00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:46,040
Do you realise what time it is?
349
00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:48,920
Oh, Mother, don't be such an old fuddy-duddy.
350
00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:51,360
Our young people are getting out of hand everywhere.
351
00:18:51,360 --> 00:18:53,960
It changed the type of clothing they wore,
352
00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:56,040
it changed the type of movies they liked,
353
00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:57,640
it changed the way they talked.
354
00:18:57,640 --> 00:18:59,880
Rock'n'roll is cool, Daddy, and you know it!
355
00:18:59,880 --> 00:19:02,360
It's crazy music, man.
356
00:19:02,360 --> 00:19:03,560
Whoo!
357
00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:07,280
- What does that do for you?
- It makes you feel good inside.
358
00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:09,240
The youth could see that they had power
359
00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:11,640
and through the music they were spreading messages.
360
00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:13,320
For me, it was a major shift.
361
00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:21,080
For a newly liberated youth, there was
362
00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:23,800
a new form of entertainment vying for their attention.
363
00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:27,720
Just look at this real big-screen Westinghouse set.
364
00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:30,200
Why, it's big enough so the whole family can watch
365
00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:34,120
your favourite entertainer without anybody having to block the view.
366
00:19:34,120 --> 00:19:39,920
But while TV was on the rise, it was limited to safe, family fodder.
367
00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:42,160
With money and time on their hands,
368
00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:46,160
teenagers look for their own entertainment and own hang-outs.
369
00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:48,240
And there was one location in every town
370
00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:50,520
that would increasingly become theirs.
371
00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:56,840
After 1950, television sales are going through the roof.
372
00:19:56,840 --> 00:19:59,640
Audiences in the cinemas are declining.
373
00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:01,880
And they're declining at an alarming rate.
374
00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:05,440
But teenagers, they don't want to sit at home and watch TV.
375
00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:08,320
The studios absolutely aimed for the teen market.
376
00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:19,400
And they're marketing a kind of cool, which is like rebellion,
377
00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:22,280
but at the same time a kind of emphasis on belonging,
378
00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:23,880
like belonging to your gang.
379
00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:28,280
The great example is Marlon Brando in The Wild One,
380
00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:30,120
where he's kind of an individual
381
00:20:30,120 --> 00:20:33,160
but he's dressed in a way that looks like he belongs to something.
382
00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:35,560
Hey, somebody tell me what that means - B-R-M-C.
383
00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:38,520
- What does it mean?
- Black Rebels Motorcycle Club.
384
00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:42,080
Isn't that cute? Hey, Johnny, what are you rebelling against?
385
00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:44,480
What have you got?
386
00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:46,560
THEY LAUGH
387
00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:49,080
Hey, Cathy, aren't they wonderful?
388
00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:51,560
But whereas 1953's The Wild One
389
00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:55,520
featured a cast in their late 20s and a jazz swing soundtrack...
390
00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:57,840
I go, "What are you rebelling against, Johnny?"
391
00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:01,080
He says, "What have you got?" What have you got?!
392
00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:05,160
..1955 saw the release of Blackboard Jungle,
393
00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:08,200
set in an inner-city school
394
00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:10,800
and addressing the problems of teenage delinquents.
395
00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:14,920
- Excuse me, I believe I have an appointment with the principal.
- Name?
396
00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:16,920
- Name?
- Richard Dadier.
397
00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:19,880
My dad's character in the film, Richard Dadier,
398
00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:23,520
was a schoolteacher who was trying to get through to his students.
399
00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:25,480
Bring your paper up here.
400
00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:29,320
'And they were not wanting to be educated.'
401
00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:34,160
There was a lot of elements in the film that were quite shocking.
402
00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:36,720
There was an attempted rape in the library
403
00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:41,960
of one of the teachers by a kid who my father beat down.
404
00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:45,160
You know, you didn't see this in film.
405
00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:51,680
- What happened?
- It's the first day of school, Teacher.
406
00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:53,720
'I believe I'm 16 years of age.
407
00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:56,440
'I said, "Wow, man, this cat, whoever produced this movie,
408
00:21:56,440 --> 00:22:00,080
' "got it down right the way it is in some of the neighbourhood ghettos." '
409
00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:05,600
We had a guy called Mr Mimilich. He was the biology guy.
410
00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:07,520
We'd throw things at him.
411
00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:11,640
Biology, he turned his head, we would throw things at him, spitballs...
412
00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:13,800
I mean, these things actually happened.
413
00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:16,720
'A lot of the bosses at MGM, they were quite concerned
414
00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:21,400
'about the film representing America in not so nice a way.'
415
00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:24,640
The fact that juvenile delinquents, they were being depicted as
416
00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:27,160
the youth of America - this was quite scandalous.
417
00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:30,760
Switchblade knives were very prominent at that time.
418
00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:34,000
This is going to be a showdown now.
419
00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,760
The gunfight at the end of the movie.
420
00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:39,240
As Richard Dadier starts to stalk him...
421
00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:40,560
Give me that knife.
422
00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:42,600
..the rest of the classroom is motionless.
423
00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:46,920
And you hear that clock... tick-tock, tick-tock.
424
00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:49,160
"Come on, boy. Come on."
425
00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:51,680
End of the line, boy.
426
00:22:54,120 --> 00:22:57,400
'The knife drops. Belazi picks up the knife.'
427
00:22:57,400 --> 00:22:59,520
- Belazi!
- Shut up!
428
00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:04,240
And that's when my character, Santini, decides to take over.
429
00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:08,160
And he goes and grabs the American flag and he runs across the room
430
00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:12,040
and rams the eagle into Belazi's chest and he drops the knife.
431
00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:17,200
Unlike the bikers in The Wild One,
432
00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:20,280
these teenagers showed their generational difference
433
00:23:20,280 --> 00:23:21,920
with a hatred of jazz,
434
00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:24,600
smashing a teacher's collection of rare swing records.
435
00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:27,480
This is Cherokee. Anybody want to hear this record, huh?
436
00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:30,120
STUDENTS GRUMBLE
437
00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:38,000
Towards the end of production, the film's director, Richard Brooks,
438
00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:41,720
realised he needed one final element for his movie -
439
00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:45,920
a theme song that would speak to this generation of restless teens.
440
00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:47,160
And it couldn't be swing.
441
00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:50,120
Richard Brooks would come to our house,
442
00:23:50,120 --> 00:23:54,400
often at the end of the day on his way home, cos he lived up the street.
443
00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:57,200
And he was looking for a tune.
444
00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:00,960
I had a very big record collection for a young nine-year-old kid
445
00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:04,200
and I played a number of records for him in my collection
446
00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:07,240
cos Dad said I had all these unusual records.
447
00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:10,760
Glenn Ford's son was a Haley fan.
448
00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:12,520
You know, as a young kid.
449
00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:16,400
There were thirteen women and only one man in town...
450
00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:18,200
I had purchased this song called
451
00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:20,800
Thirteen Women And One Man In Town,
452
00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:23,160
which was supposed to be the A side on Decca.
453
00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:26,400
And I didn't like it and, like most kids did in those days,
454
00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:28,800
I turned the thing over and I really liked that one.
455
00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:32,720
The producer says, "That's a terrific song."
456
00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:34,800
It was by chance.
457
00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:39,680
I went to the premiere at the Encino Theatre,
458
00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:41,760
a few days before my tenth birthday.
459
00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:44,400
This song comes on - "One, two, three o'clock..."
460
00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:47,040
One, two, three o'clock Four o'clock rock
461
00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:48,840
Five, six, seven o'clock...
462
00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:52,160
It was just thrilling. I mean, it was absolutely thrilling.
463
00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:54,480
We're gonna rock around the clock tonight
464
00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:56,160
Put your glad rags on...
465
00:24:56,160 --> 00:24:58,000
The whole place exploded.
466
00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:00,560
The kids, when they heard that song,
467
00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:03,320
started jumping up and dancing in the aisles.
468
00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:05,000
And that never happened before.
469
00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:10,400
The kids got up and started doing the jitterbug up and down the aisle.
470
00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:13,280
Here it was, coming out loud,
471
00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:16,520
those big speakers in the movie theatre, it sounded good.
472
00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:21,160
A lot better than jukeboxes, cos the only way you heard it was 45 records.
473
00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:24,760
It was explosive. It just blew you right out of the...
474
00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:27,040
Obviously, it blew the kids out of their seat
475
00:25:27,040 --> 00:25:28,680
cos they were dancing in the aisle.
476
00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:31,640
Some theatres had to close down in the Midwest.
477
00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:35,160
They couldn't show the film because the kids were so taken with it.
478
00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:40,160
Many municipalities banned the movie altogether,
479
00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:44,720
or muted the music in that first scene.
480
00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:48,720
It sounded so different from anything else that was being played.
481
00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:51,080
Clearer. More crisp.
482
00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:56,360
Most of the records of that nature, before, were not recorded very well.
483
00:25:56,360 --> 00:25:58,720
When the chimes ring five, six and seven
484
00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:00,360
We'll be right
485
00:26:00,360 --> 00:26:01,640
In seventh heaven...
486
00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:04,040
They concentrated on the rhythm section.
487
00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:07,040
Ba-bow! This big echoey snare.
488
00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:10,360
We're gonna rock, gonna rock around the clock tonight...
489
00:26:10,360 --> 00:26:14,520
Each instrument had been miked, which hadn't been done before.
490
00:26:14,520 --> 00:26:17,840
So it was the sound of it that kids identified with.
491
00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:19,600
I certainly did at 15.
492
00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:23,320
We're gonna rock, rock, rock till broad daylight...
493
00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:26,120
That became the number one hit
494
00:26:26,120 --> 00:26:30,520
in the United States for eight weeks, which was never even heard of.
495
00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:47,560
Rock Around The Clock was the first rock'n'roll song to top
496
00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:50,440
the national pop charts in America,
497
00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:53,200
with the lyrics and title perfectly selling the idea
498
00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:55,760
of a new, wild dance music.
499
00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:02,320
But while Bill Haley might have hit on the perfect message,
500
00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:06,280
the ex-hillbilly singer was a reluctant messenger...
501
00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:11,240
..becoming increasingly nervous at rock'n'roll's association
502
00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:13,360
with juvenile delinquents.
503
00:27:19,360 --> 00:27:22,320
I think he would have preferred to have been a country star.
504
00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:24,280
I think, really, in his heart.
505
00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:27,680
That's what he really grew up with. He loved country music.
506
00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:31,960
He even tried another couple of recordings. They were OK.
507
00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:34,760
He didn't dress like a rock'n'roller.
508
00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:37,800
He was kind of chunky. He didn't look like a rock'n'roller
509
00:27:37,800 --> 00:27:42,520
and he went on to other and lesser things
510
00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:44,520
in a career that kind of petered out.
511
00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:46,560
He was in his 30s.
512
00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:48,200
Doesn't seem too old to me now
513
00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:52,240
but by rock'n'roll standards, trust no-one over 23.
514
00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:00,080
But what also made Bill an outsider was the fact
515
00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:03,240
he was based out of Chester, Pennsylvania,
516
00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:05,400
at a time when the Mississippi Delta,
517
00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:08,280
and in particular a segregated Memphis,
518
00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:10,280
was where it was all happening.
519
00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:30,760
60 years ago, there's a fine line between where black people could go
520
00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:34,200
and if you went one block left or right of here,
521
00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:38,520
there was no black people, other than people working.
522
00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:40,160
There wasn't no party.
523
00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:42,920
Party was right here, this is where the black people were.
524
00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:45,800
The thrill has gone
525
00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:50,560
The thrill has gone away...
526
00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:52,680
We're going to stop by BBs.
527
00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:56,440
The thrill has gone, baby...
528
00:28:56,440 --> 00:28:58,240
Hey, baby. How you doin'?
529
00:28:58,240 --> 00:29:02,360
The thrill has gone away...
530
00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:08,520
When I was working here this was all 99% black clubs.
531
00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:10,520
These buildings wasn't here.
532
00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:13,200
It was what they called honky-tonks.
533
00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:15,720
Juke joints.
534
00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:19,280
Some in the back room was gamblin', shootin' dice and whatever.
535
00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:23,160
It was like the Las Vegas for the black peoples.
536
00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:27,160
This was the Chitlin' Circuit
537
00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:31,680
where all the black entertainers, all along here with myself,
538
00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:35,240
Rufus Thomas, BB King...
539
00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:37,280
was playin' on this street.
540
00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:38,680
This was Chitlin' Circuit.
541
00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:41,240
There's no more Chitlin' Circuit now, it's uptown.
542
00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:51,920
While segregation ruled back then,
543
00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:56,000
one man took steps to change attitudes to a wealth of black music
544
00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:59,080
in the South - Sam Phillips.
545
00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:03,400
Hailing from a poor cotton-farming background in Alabama,
546
00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:07,480
he quit his job as a local radio announcer to set up a unique
547
00:30:07,480 --> 00:30:10,240
recording studio in Memphis.
548
00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:23,360
One thing that I always admired about Sam was that he had
549
00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:27,440
a fantastic job, a job that anybody dreamed to have.
550
00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:31,400
And he quit it to record primarily black musicians during a time period
551
00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:33,720
where you couldn't even use the same bathroom.
552
00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:42,400
Sam grew up working in cotton fields.
553
00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:45,680
He never really looked at the colour of someone's skin.
554
00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:49,640
He just felt a connection with them and he felt a rhythm with them.
555
00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:52,560
He shared with me that he noticed the difference in the rhythm
556
00:30:52,560 --> 00:30:55,360
when they were picking cotton in the fields together.
557
00:30:55,360 --> 00:30:57,920
That's something that most people wouldn't notice.
558
00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:00,760
Love my baby
559
00:31:00,760 --> 00:31:04,800
Keeps her business to herself...
560
00:31:07,160 --> 00:31:10,560
It was 1950 and my dad opened Memphis Recording Service here
561
00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:13,600
and he would let black people come in for free.
562
00:31:13,600 --> 00:31:17,080
He would tell them, "Play for me. Forget that I'm a white man.
563
00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:21,200
"Play for me. Give me what you would do if you were on your front porch."
564
00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:28,280
For four years Sam worked tirelessly...
565
00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:32,240
..driving the back roads of the South,
566
00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:34,880
distributing records on his own label,
567
00:31:34,880 --> 00:31:37,760
all the time chasing a hit sound.
568
00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:42,640
But back in his office at Sun Studios,
569
00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:45,960
he'd often talk about finding the unthinkable -
570
00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:49,680
a white singer with a black voice.
571
00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:51,560
Unbeknownst to Sam,
572
00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:53,440
he'd already recorded him.
573
00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:55,320
Let's get together and...
574
00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:58,400
When we think of Elvis, we think of the stud, the guy in
575
00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:02,840
the leather pants and he's confident and arrogant and rules the world.
576
00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:06,320
But at that time, Elvis didn't have his jet-black hair,
577
00:32:06,320 --> 00:32:08,200
he had light brown hair, acne.
578
00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:10,200
He wore a lot of pink and scarves
579
00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:13,320
and just really was alien almost to most people.
580
00:32:14,600 --> 00:32:18,720
But it wouldn't be the same
581
00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:21,640
Without you...
582
00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:26,440
By the summer of '54, Elvis had cut three demo acetates at Sun,
583
00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:29,680
showing potential but yet to release a record.
584
00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:33,520
Would just make me blue...
585
00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:38,600
In July, Elvis came back to try his luck with another ballad of the day.
586
00:32:38,600 --> 00:32:41,000
But, again, failed to impress Sam.
587
00:32:42,120 --> 00:32:44,240
There's no air conditioning in there.
588
00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:47,560
We're talking about July, so it's steaming hot.
589
00:32:47,560 --> 00:32:49,760
And tube equipment gets pretty hot.
590
00:32:49,760 --> 00:32:53,480
So it's getting kind of aggravated and people are getting tired
591
00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:56,440
and he said he kind of called it for a while.
592
00:32:57,440 --> 00:33:00,600
And that's when Scotty said Elvis, in a bunch of nervous energy,
593
00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:02,880
picked up acoustic - and he didn't say he played it,
594
00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:04,840
he says every time he was beatin' on it -
595
00:33:04,840 --> 00:33:07,200
and he just kind of started doing That's All Right Mamma
596
00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:08,640
by Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup.
597
00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:11,800
Well now, that's all right now, Mama
598
00:33:11,800 --> 00:33:13,600
That's all right for you...
599
00:33:13,600 --> 00:33:16,720
That night it was Bill Black here - in fact, there's a little hole
600
00:33:16,720 --> 00:33:19,280
in the floor where his spiker came out of his upright bass.
601
00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:22,040
Bill Black jumped up, not very seriously playing along,
602
00:33:22,040 --> 00:33:25,320
he was hootin' and hollerin' and slappin' the bass real silly.
603
00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:31,480
This X on the floor here's where Scotty Moore stood.
604
00:33:31,480 --> 00:33:33,960
Of course, Elvis was right here.
605
00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:36,520
Well, that's all right now, Mamma
606
00:33:36,520 --> 00:33:39,000
That's all right for you
607
00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:41,360
That's all right now, Mamma
608
00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:43,320
Just anyway you do
609
00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:45,560
That's all right
610
00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:47,080
That's all right...
611
00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:49,800
Sam ran out there in front of that little door right there
612
00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:51,400
and just said, "What's going on here?
613
00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:54,320
"Keep doing it!" And he moved some mics and started the tape rolling.
614
00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:57,800
Well, Mamma she done told me
615
00:33:57,800 --> 00:33:59,840
Papa done told me too
616
00:33:59,840 --> 00:34:01,880
Son, that gal you foolin' with
617
00:34:01,880 --> 00:34:03,800
She ain't no good for you
618
00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:05,440
But that's all right...
619
00:34:05,440 --> 00:34:08,080
I think what happened was they felt they weren't recording
620
00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:11,360
and they finally loosened up and that's how it all really came out
621
00:34:11,360 --> 00:34:13,880
because, you know, my dad told me a lot of times,
622
00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:16,000
"Don't pay any attention to that microphone.
623
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:17,760
"It'll scare you to death."
624
00:34:17,760 --> 00:34:22,320
Sam originally cut direct to disc and then he went to tape, but everything
625
00:34:22,320 --> 00:34:26,200
ended on disc, so he had... I've got the same model right over here.
626
00:34:26,200 --> 00:34:29,880
And so that night Sam made an acetate of it, which is a one-sided record,
627
00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:32,120
and took it straight to Dewey Phillips.
628
00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:34,160
Two days later he played it on the air.
629
00:34:34,160 --> 00:34:36,760
Everyone went crazy that night in Memphis.
630
00:34:36,760 --> 00:34:39,120
I think he played it 14 times in a row, they said.
631
00:34:39,120 --> 00:34:42,800
'Man, I got her one, I got Elvis's autograph.
632
00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:45,560
'I'm sayin', man, she's runnin' down Main Street...'
633
00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:49,560
You could not keep from turning the radio volume up.
634
00:34:49,560 --> 00:34:52,720
Right now I'm going to play the next record. Just flat drive you crazy.
635
00:34:52,720 --> 00:34:54,520
I'm leavin' town now, baby
636
00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:56,720
I'm leaving town for sure...
637
00:34:56,720 --> 00:34:58,440
You're either in your car...
638
00:34:58,440 --> 00:35:01,680
We drive up and down Main Street, "dragging Main", as they called it,
639
00:35:01,680 --> 00:35:04,760
and looking for the pretty girls and what have you,
640
00:35:04,760 --> 00:35:07,680
and when That's All Right Mamma would come on the radio, we'd turn
641
00:35:07,680 --> 00:35:10,480
the volume up and you could hear it in just about every car that
642
00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:11,680
you would pass.
643
00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:14,560
I got dee, dee...
644
00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:16,320
People heard the voice
645
00:35:16,320 --> 00:35:19,920
and they couldn't quite figure out, was this voice black or white?
646
00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:24,960
And that song...that, like, wasn't a white person's song.
647
00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:29,200
He did a Blues song with a hint of Bluegrass.
648
00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:30,760
"He must be black."
649
00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:33,760
'We got one of the hottest cotton-pickin' shows
650
00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:37,880
'in the country - whoa, you're messin' up, partner...'
651
00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:41,040
What confused things further was local DJ Dewey Phillips'
652
00:35:41,040 --> 00:35:43,360
pioneering style of programming.
653
00:35:43,360 --> 00:35:45,520
'In Memphis, Tennessee, and it's Friday night,
654
00:35:45,520 --> 00:35:48,360
'tomorrow's payday and bathday, that's a good deal...'
655
00:35:48,360 --> 00:35:52,400
Dewey Phillips would play three black songs and two white guys.
656
00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:54,120
'Oh, yes, sir, that's octopus -
657
00:35:54,120 --> 00:35:57,960
'I mean, Opus Number 1 by the late, great Tommy Dorsey...'
658
00:35:57,960 --> 00:36:00,960
He would play Tommy Dorsey and follow that with Hank Williams.
659
00:36:00,960 --> 00:36:04,760
I got a feeling called the Blues...
660
00:36:04,760 --> 00:36:07,160
He would play Hank Williams, he would play Howlin' Wolf.
661
00:36:07,160 --> 00:36:09,320
Yeah, they called me the rocker
662
00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:12,000
I can rock you all night long...
663
00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:14,960
So Elvis is at a movie theatre seeing a movie
664
00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:16,760
and they call Gladys and Vernon.
665
00:36:16,760 --> 00:36:19,600
Dewey said, "You gotta get your son, we gotta put him on the air
666
00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:22,400
"and do an interview." So they rip him out of the movie theatre,
667
00:36:22,400 --> 00:36:24,320
drive him down. He's terrified.
668
00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:27,280
And one of the first things he does on the programme is says,
669
00:36:27,280 --> 00:36:29,120
"What high school do you go to?"
670
00:36:29,120 --> 00:36:33,040
Because people in Memphis will know by what high school you go to
671
00:36:33,040 --> 00:36:35,080
whether you're black or white.
672
00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:37,400
And, shocking to people's ears,
673
00:36:37,400 --> 00:36:40,920
this white guy was playing a black style of music.
674
00:36:40,920 --> 00:36:42,720
And the phones lit up like mad.
675
00:36:42,720 --> 00:36:46,000
I mean, he was really capturing a zeitgeist of the moment.
676
00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:49,440
Oh, give me land
677
00:36:49,440 --> 00:36:51,200
Lots of land
678
00:36:51,200 --> 00:36:54,160
Under starry skies above
679
00:36:54,160 --> 00:36:57,160
Don't fence me in...
680
00:36:57,160 --> 00:37:00,560
Back in those days, the white singers had no movement on stage.
681
00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:03,120
They would just come out and sing their ballads
682
00:37:03,120 --> 00:37:05,520
cos there weren't any rock'n'roll.
683
00:37:05,520 --> 00:37:08,320
The word was spreading pretty fast about this Presley kid.
684
00:37:08,320 --> 00:37:10,480
He was something else, "You gotta see this guy."
685
00:37:10,480 --> 00:37:14,360
Well, that's because you think you're so pretty
686
00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:17,480
And just because your mamma thinks you're hot...
687
00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:19,680
I MC'd his first show in Memphis.
688
00:37:19,680 --> 00:37:22,400
You think you've got something...
689
00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:26,000
He was on the back of a flatbed truck, opening up a shopping centre
690
00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:29,280
in East Memphis, and they'd hired me to be the disc jockey.
691
00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:32,840
When I introduced him and he got on stage, he started moving around.
692
00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:34,120
Hottest thing in town
693
00:37:34,120 --> 00:37:36,640
Well, just because you think you got something...
694
00:37:36,640 --> 00:37:39,480
When he came off, the kids said, "More, more!"
695
00:37:39,480 --> 00:37:42,400
And Elvis asked Sam Phillips, "Mr Phillips, why are they screaming?
696
00:37:42,400 --> 00:37:44,000
"Am I doing something wrong?"
697
00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:46,760
He said, "No, man, just keep on doing it, shaking your body,
698
00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:49,680
"shake your leg, man. Shake anything. They like it, they like it."
699
00:37:49,680 --> 00:37:52,440
- I liked him.
- SHE CHUCKLES
700
00:37:53,440 --> 00:37:56,360
He was sexy. He was charming.
701
00:37:56,360 --> 00:38:01,400
But his moves, I think that's probably what made him
702
00:38:01,400 --> 00:38:03,320
to begin with.
703
00:38:06,720 --> 00:38:10,080
Scotty Moore says that Elvis was shaking his legs,
704
00:38:10,080 --> 00:38:13,840
his pants were loose, and people could see his privates
705
00:38:13,840 --> 00:38:15,240
jiggling inside.
706
00:38:15,240 --> 00:38:18,280
And that's why the girls were screaming.
707
00:38:22,240 --> 00:38:25,360
Elvis broke big.
708
00:38:27,160 --> 00:38:28,760
But only in the South...
709
00:38:28,760 --> 00:38:31,800
You saw me standing alone...
710
00:38:31,800 --> 00:38:35,840
..making it as far as the Louisiana Hayride by '55.
711
00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:39,160
The King was but a local prince.
712
00:38:39,160 --> 00:38:43,320
Without a love of my own...
713
00:38:43,320 --> 00:38:46,360
And there would be another pretender to the crown.
714
00:38:46,360 --> 00:38:48,000
Can I say something?
715
00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:50,040
Let it all hang out
716
00:38:50,040 --> 00:38:54,120
with the beautiful Little Richard from down in Macon, Georgia.
717
00:38:54,120 --> 00:38:58,480
I am the king of rock'n'roll. Ow, ow, ow! My, my, my, my,
718
00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:01,680
I just had to do that. Now I feel so much better I got it out.
719
00:39:02,960 --> 00:39:04,080
In the early '50s,
720
00:39:04,080 --> 00:39:07,280
Little Richard cut his teeth on the Chitlin' Circuit,
721
00:39:07,280 --> 00:39:09,640
first as a female impersonator
722
00:39:09,640 --> 00:39:13,520
and then as a singer with his hot band, The Upsetters.
723
00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:17,760
In '55 he sent a demo to producer "Bumps" Blackwell,
724
00:39:17,760 --> 00:39:21,200
who thought he could be the next Ray Charles...
725
00:39:22,200 --> 00:39:25,840
..and invited him to New Orleans' J&M Studios.
726
00:39:25,840 --> 00:39:28,440
Every hour in the day...
727
00:39:28,440 --> 00:39:31,720
After a frustrating morning session trying out slow ballads,
728
00:39:31,720 --> 00:39:33,400
they took a break...
729
00:39:33,400 --> 00:39:35,200
Every hour...
730
00:39:35,200 --> 00:39:38,240
..and headed to a nearby supper club.
731
00:39:38,240 --> 00:39:41,600
Every hour in the day...
732
00:39:41,600 --> 00:39:46,400
This is the legendary Dew Drop Inn.
733
00:39:46,400 --> 00:39:50,000
The desired location for the duration.
734
00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:53,600
This is where many a tear has to fall.
735
00:39:53,600 --> 00:39:55,920
HE LAUGHS
736
00:39:55,920 --> 00:39:58,520
This is where the legends were made.
737
00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:02,000
The stage would have been right about here.
738
00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:05,640
Little Richard walks in and got up to the piano,
739
00:40:05,640 --> 00:40:07,840
which about a'been right about here,
740
00:40:07,840 --> 00:40:11,040
and he started singing one of his popular songs that he did
741
00:40:11,040 --> 00:40:13,120
on his road show with The Upsetters.
742
00:40:13,120 --> 00:40:17,600
The lyrics were kind of suggestive and kind of risque.
743
00:40:17,600 --> 00:40:20,360
A wop bop a loo bop a lop bam boom
744
00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:23,000
Tutti frutti, good bootie
745
00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:25,720
Tutti frutti, good bootie
746
00:40:25,720 --> 00:40:28,200
Tutti frutti, good bootie
747
00:40:28,200 --> 00:40:31,920
A wop bop a loo bop a lop bam boom.
748
00:40:31,920 --> 00:40:35,080
And Bumps Blackwell heard the song and he said,
749
00:40:35,080 --> 00:40:38,680
"Man, this is what we've been waiting for!"
750
00:40:38,680 --> 00:40:42,560
Little Richard and Tutti Frutti!
751
00:40:42,560 --> 00:40:45,760
But the real original lyrics to Tutti Frutti
752
00:40:45,760 --> 00:40:50,000
is "Tutti Frutti, good bootie.
753
00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:53,200
"If it's tight, it's all right.
754
00:40:53,200 --> 00:40:56,480
"And if it's greasy, it make it easy."
755
00:40:56,480 --> 00:40:59,360
- Ooh!
- HE LAUGHS
756
00:40:59,360 --> 00:41:01,880
A wop bop a loo bop a lop bam boom
757
00:41:01,880 --> 00:41:04,320
Tutti frutti, all rutti,
758
00:41:04,320 --> 00:41:06,840
Tutti frutti, all rutti...
759
00:41:06,840 --> 00:41:09,200
When they got back in the studio,
760
00:41:09,200 --> 00:41:13,080
Dorothy LaBostrie, another great songwriter, was in the studio
761
00:41:13,080 --> 00:41:16,640
and she suggested they use some hipster jargon
762
00:41:16,640 --> 00:41:21,080
that was really popular during the '50s and that was "All rutti."
763
00:41:21,080 --> 00:41:22,880
All right - all rutti.
764
00:41:22,880 --> 00:41:25,960
So she said, "Well, that rhymes with tutti frutti."
765
00:41:25,960 --> 00:41:30,240
"So it's tutti frutti, all rutti. Wop bop a loo bop..."
766
00:41:30,240 --> 00:41:31,720
..A lop bam boom
767
00:41:31,720 --> 00:41:33,920
Got a girl named Daisy
768
00:41:33,920 --> 00:41:36,680
She almost drives me crazy
769
00:41:36,680 --> 00:41:38,800
Got a girl named Daisy...
770
00:41:38,800 --> 00:41:40,480
The beauty of his delivery...
771
00:41:40,480 --> 00:41:42,680
it was free, it was wild.
772
00:41:42,680 --> 00:41:44,840
Knows how to love me, yes indeed
773
00:41:44,840 --> 00:41:47,000
Boy, you don't know...
774
00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:49,520
It was not Patti Page. It was not Perry Como.
775
00:41:49,520 --> 00:41:52,240
You got a taste of black vernacular.
776
00:41:52,240 --> 00:41:55,600
Tutti frutti, all rutti...
777
00:41:55,600 --> 00:41:59,600
You realised this is a whole other language. And it was exciting.
778
00:41:59,600 --> 00:42:01,840
Wop bop a loo bop
779
00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:03,320
Ow...
780
00:42:10,160 --> 00:42:12,880
This what you call doing your own thing time.
781
00:42:12,880 --> 00:42:15,640
- Do you always dress like that?
- Every day. I go to the grocery store
782
00:42:15,640 --> 00:42:18,600
like this and people turn around. When I walked through the airport
783
00:42:18,600 --> 00:42:21,280
here in London today a man dropped his cup of coffee.
784
00:42:21,280 --> 00:42:26,120
In '56, Richard notched up multiple hits as young America was entranced
785
00:42:26,120 --> 00:42:29,800
by his extravagant performance and extraordinary appearance.
786
00:42:45,120 --> 00:42:47,440
He brought it out. He was the guy.
787
00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:50,320
Liberace didn't know nothing till you saw Little Richard.
788
00:42:50,320 --> 00:42:53,160
Gonna tell Aunt Mary about Uncle John
789
00:42:53,160 --> 00:42:55,680
He claims he has the music but he has a lot of fun
790
00:42:55,680 --> 00:42:57,160
Oh, baby...
791
00:42:57,160 --> 00:43:00,400
He looked so different with all that hair and everything like that,
792
00:43:00,400 --> 00:43:03,080
hair on his head and the pancake make-up.
793
00:43:03,080 --> 00:43:06,760
He had SOME make-up. About that thick.
794
00:43:06,760 --> 00:43:09,400
Well, long tall Sally, she's built for speed, she got
795
00:43:09,400 --> 00:43:11,760
Everything that Uncle John need
796
00:43:11,760 --> 00:43:13,400
Oh, baby...
797
00:43:13,400 --> 00:43:17,480
..supposed to wear make-up. Just like, "I put sugar in your coffee,"
798
00:43:17,480 --> 00:43:19,760
you're supposed to add a little touch to it.
799
00:43:19,760 --> 00:43:21,840
- I must remember that.
- Yes, God.
800
00:43:21,840 --> 00:43:24,480
I met Little Richard. We were in East Point, Georgia,
801
00:43:24,480 --> 00:43:26,040
and he come on the stage, said,
802
00:43:26,040 --> 00:43:29,240
"Ladies and gentlemen, the prettiest two guys in the world..."
803
00:43:29,240 --> 00:43:31,240
He said, "Me and Bobby Rush."
804
00:43:31,240 --> 00:43:34,680
- HE LAUGHS
- I'll never forget that.
805
00:43:36,720 --> 00:43:38,320
I wish he'd just said handsome.
806
00:43:38,320 --> 00:43:41,760
- HE LAUGHS
- Oh, man!
807
00:43:41,760 --> 00:43:43,040
Go, man, go
808
00:43:43,040 --> 00:43:45,840
I got a girl that I love so, I'm ready...
809
00:43:45,840 --> 00:43:48,680
But Little Richard kept them guessing,
810
00:43:48,680 --> 00:43:51,040
with a string of songs from The Girl Can't Help It
811
00:43:51,040 --> 00:43:54,440
to Ready Teddy, celebrating the women in his life.
812
00:43:54,440 --> 00:43:56,520
Going to the corner Pick up my sweetie pie
813
00:43:56,520 --> 00:43:59,600
She's my rock'n'roll baby She's the apple of my eye, I'm ready
814
00:43:59,600 --> 00:44:02,160
# Ready, ready, Ted, I'm ready
815
00:44:02,160 --> 00:44:04,160
I'm ready, ready, Ted, I'm ready
816
00:44:04,160 --> 00:44:07,600
Ready, ready, Ted, I'm ready Ready, ready to rock and roll
817
00:44:07,600 --> 00:44:09,680
All the flattop cats and dungaree dolls
818
00:44:09,680 --> 00:44:11,920
Are headed for the gym to the sock hop ball
819
00:44:11,920 --> 00:44:14,200
The joint's really jumpin' The cats are goin' wild
820
00:44:14,200 --> 00:44:17,760
The music really sends me, I dig that crazy style, I'm ready...
821
00:44:17,760 --> 00:44:19,920
I was a disc jockey and I was playing his music.
822
00:44:19,920 --> 00:44:22,720
Tutti Frutti, all the big hits he had.
823
00:44:22,720 --> 00:44:25,880
And I didn't know he was gay.
824
00:44:25,880 --> 00:44:28,040
Oh, he was. Yeah, he is.
825
00:44:28,040 --> 00:44:30,000
He's gay as you can be.
826
00:44:31,160 --> 00:44:32,840
You know?
827
00:44:32,840 --> 00:44:35,480
He invited me but I said no, thank you.
828
00:44:36,680 --> 00:44:39,480
I said no, no, that's not for me.
829
00:44:40,560 --> 00:44:43,680
That was quite a time back there at the Paramount Theatre.
830
00:44:43,680 --> 00:44:48,200
All of us were working together and things were going on, man.
831
00:44:48,200 --> 00:44:50,560
We were all kids.
832
00:44:54,080 --> 00:44:58,040
Directly
833
00:44:58,040 --> 00:45:01,080
Directly from my heart to you...
834
00:45:01,080 --> 00:45:04,960
Just as Fats Domino's innocent charm had won over a young, white audience
835
00:45:04,960 --> 00:45:07,280
in an era of segregation,
836
00:45:07,280 --> 00:45:11,840
Richard, from the early days, traded on his flamboyant personality
837
00:45:11,840 --> 00:45:14,560
to overcome the colour bar in the South.
838
00:45:14,560 --> 00:45:18,680
We would play white clubs and we had to dress like a bunch of gay guys
839
00:45:18,680 --> 00:45:21,080
so we wasn't a threat.
840
00:45:21,080 --> 00:45:25,680
The white promoters didn't want us to mess with the white girls down South.
841
00:45:25,680 --> 00:45:28,480
That's the strategy he used
842
00:45:28,480 --> 00:45:32,400
to introduce rock'n'roll to the Southern States.
843
00:45:32,400 --> 00:45:35,880
We're walkin' on stage switchin', you know, walkin' across the stage
844
00:45:35,880 --> 00:45:39,240
and a lot of people would say, "Here comes Richard and his sissies."
845
00:45:39,240 --> 00:45:41,640
HE LAUGHS Very smart.
846
00:45:41,640 --> 00:45:45,000
He knew how to get the audience to love him and stuff like that.
847
00:45:45,000 --> 00:45:46,880
If she walks by
848
00:45:46,880 --> 00:45:48,600
The men folks get engrossed
849
00:45:48,600 --> 00:45:51,040
She can't help it The girl can't help it...
850
00:45:51,040 --> 00:45:54,920
But Little Richard also stood out and caught the ear of young America
851
00:45:54,920 --> 00:45:58,360
by building his hits on a rhythm that deviated from the standard
852
00:45:58,360 --> 00:46:02,480
R&B swing beat that was the foundation of rock'n'roll.
853
00:46:02,480 --> 00:46:04,200
The girl can't help it...
854
00:46:04,200 --> 00:46:06,080
Little Richard's beats are...
855
00:46:06,080 --> 00:46:07,840
I would even say radically different
856
00:46:07,840 --> 00:46:09,720
from, like, Bill Haley and The Comets,
857
00:46:09,720 --> 00:46:11,520
which is a very swing beat.
858
00:46:11,520 --> 00:46:14,360
It's "Rock around the clock tonight,"
859
00:46:14,360 --> 00:46:17,560
that just, you know, the emphasis is on the two and the four -
860
00:46:17,560 --> 00:46:19,760
one, two, three, FOUR - like that.
861
00:46:19,760 --> 00:46:24,240
Whereas Lucille is... HE MIMICS FASTER BEAT
862
00:46:24,240 --> 00:46:26,760
..and it hits on the one and the three.
863
00:46:28,200 --> 00:46:29,600
It's just something you feel.
864
00:46:31,720 --> 00:46:34,320
It feels...exciting.
865
00:46:34,320 --> 00:46:37,920
Lucille
866
00:46:37,920 --> 00:46:39,920
You won't do your sister's will
867
00:46:41,440 --> 00:46:43,280
Lucille
868
00:46:44,280 --> 00:46:47,320
You won't do your sister's will...
869
00:46:47,320 --> 00:46:50,360
I remember one day, Richy was lookin' at me
870
00:46:50,360 --> 00:46:52,960
and this guy got something in his mind.
871
00:46:52,960 --> 00:46:55,320
He said,
872
00:46:55,320 --> 00:46:59,960
"We goin' to the train station in Macon, Georgia, on Fifth Street.
873
00:46:59,960 --> 00:47:01,840
"We're going to follow this train
874
00:47:01,840 --> 00:47:07,360
"as it move along and we's going to listen to the sound of the train."
875
00:47:07,360 --> 00:47:09,040
I say, "OK."
876
00:47:09,040 --> 00:47:11,840
TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS
877
00:47:11,840 --> 00:47:15,320
And the train picked up speed, so it went choo-choo-choo-choo,
878
00:47:15,320 --> 00:47:16,760
choo-choo-choo-choo.
879
00:47:16,760 --> 00:47:18,440
He say, "Joe?" I say, "What?"
880
00:47:18,440 --> 00:47:20,920
He say, "What kind of notes are those?"
881
00:47:22,320 --> 00:47:24,280
I say, "Richard, those are eighth notes."
882
00:47:25,280 --> 00:47:28,680
He says, "When we have rehearsal tomorrow at my house,
883
00:47:28,680 --> 00:47:31,640
"I want you to play that beat behind me
884
00:47:31,640 --> 00:47:34,880
"and I'm going to be playing the same thing on piano."
885
00:47:34,880 --> 00:47:36,200
I say, "OK."
886
00:47:36,200 --> 00:47:39,320
MUSIC SPEED MIMICS TRAIN
887
00:47:50,400 --> 00:47:52,760
Sound like a damn earthquake.
888
00:47:52,760 --> 00:47:54,600
HE CHUCKLES
889
00:47:55,760 --> 00:47:57,840
Lucille
890
00:47:57,840 --> 00:48:00,280
Please come back like you belong...
891
00:48:00,280 --> 00:48:03,320
And of course the way they used to record, with one or two microphones
892
00:48:03,320 --> 00:48:06,400
up in the air, it just sounds like all one thing.
893
00:48:06,400 --> 00:48:10,720
And that just has a way of getting at ya.
894
00:48:10,720 --> 00:48:13,760
It sort of marks out the way that teenagers felt at the time.
895
00:48:13,760 --> 00:48:16,520
"What are you rebelling against?" "I don't know. Whaddaya got?"
896
00:48:16,520 --> 00:48:18,760
But we're going to do it and we're going to do it now.
897
00:48:24,160 --> 00:48:26,680
While trains inspired Little Richard,
898
00:48:26,680 --> 00:48:29,000
America in the '50s was a nation
899
00:48:29,000 --> 00:48:31,960
expanding its love affair with the car,
900
00:48:31,960 --> 00:48:34,560
the auto industry gaining power through government closure
901
00:48:34,560 --> 00:48:40,240
of public transport and a massive plan to extend America's highways.
902
00:48:40,240 --> 00:48:43,080
NARRATOR: This is the American dream -
903
00:48:43,080 --> 00:48:45,720
a freedom on wheels.
904
00:48:45,720 --> 00:48:50,560
An automotive age, travelling on time-saving superhighways.
905
00:48:51,800 --> 00:48:55,360
Baby, baby Don't you need some...
906
00:48:57,280 --> 00:49:00,480
Cars were like a major part of the culture - drag racing
907
00:49:00,480 --> 00:49:02,880
and teenagers going out in their own cars.
908
00:49:02,880 --> 00:49:04,320
This wasn't happening before.
909
00:49:04,320 --> 00:49:06,800
'Plenty of speed here...'
910
00:49:06,800 --> 00:49:09,560
The design of cars changed as well,
911
00:49:09,560 --> 00:49:13,000
with more powerful engines like the mass-produced V8 Ford,
912
00:49:13,000 --> 00:49:15,320
and styling taking on chrome plating,
913
00:49:15,320 --> 00:49:19,720
two-tone colours and rocket-age streamlining and fins.
914
00:49:21,320 --> 00:49:25,880
Sam Phillips recorded a record by Jackie Brenston called Rocket 88.
915
00:49:25,880 --> 00:49:28,760
V8 motor in this modern design
916
00:49:28,760 --> 00:49:32,320
Black convertible top and the girls don't mind
917
00:49:32,320 --> 00:49:33,720
Sportin' with me...
918
00:49:33,720 --> 00:49:35,360
Rocket 88 was a model
919
00:49:35,360 --> 00:49:38,200
of Oldsmobile car.
920
00:49:38,200 --> 00:49:41,800
It was the first American car that had two-tone colours.
921
00:49:41,800 --> 00:49:45,240
Blue - I remember a powder blue and a navy blue
922
00:49:45,240 --> 00:49:50,160
and that in the ghetto was hot stuff, like new Nikes would be today.
923
00:49:50,160 --> 00:49:53,520
The whole idea of a love song to the car - I'm going to pick you up
924
00:49:53,520 --> 00:49:56,320
for a date, we're going to be free to be ourselves,
925
00:49:56,320 --> 00:49:58,640
go wherever we want to go, do what we want to do,
926
00:49:58,640 --> 00:50:00,280
and no-one has to know.
927
00:50:00,280 --> 00:50:03,560
Step in my Rocket and don't be late, baby
928
00:50:03,560 --> 00:50:06,080
We're pullin' out about half past eight
929
00:50:06,080 --> 00:50:07,680
Goin' round the corner...
930
00:50:07,680 --> 00:50:10,360
The next car record to ride high in the charts
931
00:50:10,360 --> 00:50:13,080
came from an unlikely source -
932
00:50:13,080 --> 00:50:17,640
a 28-year-old ex-hairdresser with an ear for Blues and Country...
933
00:50:17,640 --> 00:50:20,680
going by the name of Chuck Berry...
934
00:50:22,600 --> 00:50:26,600
..who, in the summer of '55, motivated up the migrant corridor
935
00:50:26,600 --> 00:50:29,880
from St Louis to Chicago and Chess Records...
936
00:50:29,880 --> 00:50:31,760
In the wee wee hours...
937
00:50:31,760 --> 00:50:34,400
..with a Blues song called Wee Wee Hours.
938
00:50:34,400 --> 00:50:37,120
That's when I think of you...
939
00:50:37,120 --> 00:50:40,320
But what caught the ear of label head Leonard Chess
940
00:50:40,320 --> 00:50:43,480
was not Chuck's Blues but the other song on his demo...
941
00:50:43,480 --> 00:50:46,800
Light in the parlour Fire in the grate...
942
00:50:46,800 --> 00:50:52,000
..an adaptation of Bob Wills' western swing song, Ida Red.
943
00:50:52,000 --> 00:50:54,120
Ida Red, I had a red
944
00:50:54,120 --> 00:50:56,200
I'm a fool about Ida Red...
945
00:50:56,200 --> 00:51:00,480
My family was always lookin' for what was new and cutting-edge.
946
00:51:00,480 --> 00:51:03,640
My father's nickname was the Foot Stomper - his foot started going...
947
00:51:03,640 --> 00:51:05,320
HE TAPS HIS FOOT
948
00:51:05,320 --> 00:51:08,720
At Chess Records, Chuck's song went through a rewrite,
949
00:51:08,720 --> 00:51:10,800
starting with its title.
950
00:51:10,800 --> 00:51:12,680
Lamp on the table, a picture on the wall
951
00:51:12,680 --> 00:51:14,800
There's a pretty sofa and that's not all...
952
00:51:14,800 --> 00:51:16,520
As I was motivatin' over the hill
953
00:51:16,520 --> 00:51:18,600
I saw Maybellene in a Coup de Ville
954
00:51:18,600 --> 00:51:20,800
A Cadillac a-rollin' on open road
955
00:51:20,800 --> 00:51:22,880
Nothin'll outrun my V8 Ford...
956
00:51:22,880 --> 00:51:25,480
The story goes that, in the studio, there was
957
00:51:25,480 --> 00:51:27,480
a Maybelline cosmetic package.
958
00:51:27,480 --> 00:51:30,640
They came up with the name Maybelline and they recorded it.
959
00:51:30,640 --> 00:51:32,160
Maybellene
960
00:51:32,160 --> 00:51:34,160
Why can't you be true?
961
00:51:34,160 --> 00:51:36,480
Oh, Maybellene
962
00:51:36,480 --> 00:51:38,760
Why can't you be true?
963
00:51:38,760 --> 00:51:41,280
You've started back doin' the things you used to do...
964
00:51:41,280 --> 00:51:43,400
Chuck Berry is the Shakespeare of rock'n'roll.
965
00:51:43,400 --> 00:51:45,160
# The Cadillac pulled up ahead of the Ford
966
00:51:45,160 --> 00:51:47,120
The Ford got hot and wouldn't do no more...
967
00:51:47,120 --> 00:51:50,040
Maybellene is about him chasing a beautiful woman who's in a Cadillac
968
00:51:50,040 --> 00:51:51,600
and he's trying to catch up with her.
969
00:51:51,600 --> 00:51:53,440
Rainwater blowin' all under my hood
970
00:51:53,440 --> 00:51:55,240
I knew that was doin' my motor good
971
00:51:55,240 --> 00:51:56,600
Maybellene
972
00:51:56,600 --> 00:51:58,040
Why can't you be true...
973
00:51:58,040 --> 00:52:01,040
He was talkin' about the wind was comin' in, the rain was comin' down,
974
00:52:01,040 --> 00:52:03,920
but all that could be good for his motor. He was sayin', keep it cool,
975
00:52:03,920 --> 00:52:05,800
cos he's driving so fast, you know?
976
00:52:05,800 --> 00:52:09,000
Then he happened to look out his window and she was right there, too.
977
00:52:09,000 --> 00:52:10,920
The motor cooled down, the heat went down
978
00:52:10,920 --> 00:52:12,960
That's when I heard that highway sound...
979
00:52:12,960 --> 00:52:15,000
What a story. What a man.
980
00:52:15,000 --> 00:52:16,600
110 a half a mile ahead
981
00:52:16,600 --> 00:52:18,880
The Cadillac lookin' like it's sittin' still
982
00:52:18,880 --> 00:52:21,520
And I caught Maybellene at the top of the hill...
983
00:52:21,520 --> 00:52:24,480
There's a kind of ambiguity there because you don't know
984
00:52:24,480 --> 00:52:27,080
if she's a white girl or a black girl.
985
00:52:27,080 --> 00:52:29,120
Also, there's a class dimension.
986
00:52:29,120 --> 00:52:33,480
He's driving a V8 Ford and she's driving a Cadillac Coupe de Ville.
987
00:52:33,480 --> 00:52:35,160
That's a rich person's car!
988
00:52:35,160 --> 00:52:38,880
You know, that's dangerous. In 1955, that's really dangerous.
989
00:52:38,880 --> 00:52:43,240
Chuck Berry, I think, is the best rock'n'roll songwriter.
990
00:52:43,240 --> 00:52:46,120
I don't think there was anybody like him before.
991
00:52:46,120 --> 00:52:49,200
He came up with a different word for every note.
992
00:52:49,200 --> 00:52:52,240
There was a word...for each note.
993
00:52:52,240 --> 00:52:56,160
Which was not like Blues records. Chuck Berry doesn't repeat.
994
00:52:56,160 --> 00:52:57,240
It's like,
995
00:52:57,240 --> 00:52:59,440
Deep down in Louisiana close to New Orleans
996
00:52:59,440 --> 00:53:02,000
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens
997
00:53:02,000 --> 00:53:04,760
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood
998
00:53:04,760 --> 00:53:07,320
Where lived a country boy name of Johnny B Goode
999
00:53:07,320 --> 00:53:09,720
Who never ever learned to read or write so well
1000
00:53:09,720 --> 00:53:12,600
But he could play the guitar just like a-ringing a bell.
1001
00:53:12,600 --> 00:53:15,480
I mean, that's a whole story right there. And then,
1002
00:53:15,480 --> 00:53:17,560
Go, go, go, Johnny, go.
1003
00:53:17,560 --> 00:53:22,760
So that's when he comes into the chorus but every note is a word.
1004
00:53:22,760 --> 00:53:25,480
Deep down in Louisiana close to New Orleans
1005
00:53:25,480 --> 00:53:28,080
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens
1006
00:53:28,080 --> 00:53:31,160
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood
1007
00:53:31,160 --> 00:53:33,640
Where lived a country boy named Johnny B Goode
1008
00:53:33,640 --> 00:53:36,240
Who never ever learned to read or write so well
1009
00:53:36,240 --> 00:53:39,080
But he could play a guitar just like a-ringing a bell
1010
00:53:39,080 --> 00:53:40,720
Go, go
1011
00:53:40,720 --> 00:53:43,240
Go, Johnny, go
1012
00:53:43,240 --> 00:53:44,720
Go, Johnny, go...
1013
00:53:44,720 --> 00:53:47,720
Before Chuck Berry, most everybody strummed their guitars
1014
00:53:47,720 --> 00:53:49,560
in a delicate manner.
1015
00:53:49,560 --> 00:53:53,000
And all of a sudden, here comes Chuck Berry and he's kicking butt.
1016
00:53:53,000 --> 00:53:55,800
He's not strummin' - he's hittin' that baby.
1017
00:53:55,800 --> 00:53:57,560
Go, go...
1018
00:53:57,560 --> 00:54:01,440
You didn't have to play just one role as just being a music maker,
1019
00:54:01,440 --> 00:54:05,280
it was a personality that he would play with.
1020
00:54:05,280 --> 00:54:09,440
SOFT GUITAR DROWNS OUT SONG
1021
00:54:09,440 --> 00:54:11,960
But Chuck was no spring chicken.
1022
00:54:11,960 --> 00:54:13,400
He'd been round the block
1023
00:54:13,400 --> 00:54:16,640
and cut an almost avuncular figure in this white teenage world.
1024
00:54:20,400 --> 00:54:23,640
I was very young, I was 13 when Chuck Berry came to Chess.
1025
00:54:23,640 --> 00:54:26,360
In my eyes he was extraordinarily eccentric.
1026
00:54:26,360 --> 00:54:27,680
One day my dad said,
1027
00:54:27,680 --> 00:54:30,240
"Take Chuck across the street, buy him some lunch."
1028
00:54:30,240 --> 00:54:33,840
We sat down in the booth and he ordered strawberry shortcake
1029
00:54:33,840 --> 00:54:35,000
as a starter.
1030
00:54:35,000 --> 00:54:40,360
And the main course AFTER, you know? He was just a very unique individual.
1031
00:54:40,360 --> 00:54:41,800
He had robbed a gas station,
1032
00:54:41,800 --> 00:54:44,240
he had done jail time when he was a teenager.
1033
00:54:44,240 --> 00:54:46,680
He knew the hard knocks of it.
1034
00:54:46,680 --> 00:54:51,760
But as I grew older, I was fascinated how he knew what was happening
1035
00:54:51,760 --> 00:54:54,360
with white teenagers riding around in an automobile.
1036
00:54:54,360 --> 00:54:58,600
Black teenagers weren't driving cars in 1955.
1037
00:54:58,600 --> 00:55:00,400
It was before civil rights.
1038
00:55:00,400 --> 00:55:04,960
That's the thing about Chuck, he was very highly motivated to make it.
1039
00:55:04,960 --> 00:55:09,120
Somehow, he was able to tap into what white teenagers were doing,
1040
00:55:09,120 --> 00:55:13,360
their lifestyle, how much different they're living than the black kids.
1041
00:55:13,360 --> 00:55:15,720
"That's the market. That's what I want to get into."
1042
00:55:15,720 --> 00:55:18,720
Chuck was able to see the teenager experience
1043
00:55:18,720 --> 00:55:21,240
and sing a song directly to your experience.
1044
00:55:21,240 --> 00:55:24,720
Ladies and gentlemen, Chuck Berry! AUDIENCE SCREAMS AND CHEERS
1045
00:55:24,720 --> 00:55:27,200
Sweet little 16
1046
00:55:27,200 --> 00:55:30,080
She's got the grown-up blues
1047
00:55:30,080 --> 00:55:32,800
Tight dresses and lipstick
1048
00:55:32,800 --> 00:55:35,600
She's sportin' high-heel shoes
1049
00:55:35,600 --> 00:55:38,280
Oh, but tomorrow morning
1050
00:55:38,280 --> 00:55:41,120
She'll have to change her trend
1051
00:55:41,120 --> 00:55:43,560
And be sweet 16
1052
00:55:43,560 --> 00:55:45,480
And back in class again...
1053
00:55:45,480 --> 00:55:48,840
Chuck's songs were the first to explore the teen experience,
1054
00:55:48,840 --> 00:55:51,560
catching the moment a young America walked a line
1055
00:55:51,560 --> 00:55:55,280
between parental control and dolled-up, libidinous,
1056
00:55:55,280 --> 00:56:00,080
four-on-the-floor freedom on a highway to who knows where?
1057
00:56:00,080 --> 00:56:03,800
Despite being hatched in a divided country,
1058
00:56:03,800 --> 00:56:05,960
the music, through stealth and accident,
1059
00:56:05,960 --> 00:56:08,280
had stolen the soul of young America.
1060
00:56:08,280 --> 00:56:10,920
Cos they'll be rockin' on bandstands
1061
00:56:10,920 --> 00:56:12,760
In Philadelphia, PA...
1062
00:56:12,760 --> 00:56:15,600
Just as the song describes, rock'n'roll would spread like
1063
00:56:15,600 --> 00:56:19,320
a gathering storm from the South to every corner of the US...
1064
00:56:19,320 --> 00:56:21,760
All over St Louis
1065
00:56:21,760 --> 00:56:23,840
Way down in New Orleans...
1066
00:56:23,840 --> 00:56:25,600
..providing the newborn teenager
1067
00:56:25,600 --> 00:56:27,640
with their own fashions and language...
1068
00:56:27,640 --> 00:56:30,880
It excites me, man, excites me. You've got to dig that music.
1069
00:56:30,880 --> 00:56:34,920
..and their own culture and identity,
1070
00:56:34,920 --> 00:56:36,880
and through rhythm and poetry
1071
00:56:36,880 --> 00:56:39,800
held the promise of a very different America.
1072
00:56:43,760 --> 00:56:46,520
But that isn't how the story ends.
1073
00:56:49,600 --> 00:56:52,440
"Man, here we go. We're going to ruin America with this junk."
1074
00:56:52,440 --> 00:56:55,080
Wake up, little Susie...
1075
00:56:55,080 --> 00:56:57,280
The wonderful young Everly Brothers.
1076
00:56:57,280 --> 00:57:00,440
Once the music hits it's like smokin' weed.
1077
00:57:00,440 --> 00:57:02,280
Changes things.
1078
00:57:02,280 --> 00:57:05,480
I think Pat Boone is old enough to be their grandfather.
1079
00:57:05,480 --> 00:57:06,760
HE LAUGHS
1080
00:57:06,760 --> 00:57:08,000
He didn't have the soul.
1081
00:57:08,000 --> 00:57:10,440
A wop bop a loobop, a lop what?
1082
00:57:10,440 --> 00:57:11,760
Jerry Lee Lewis!
1083
00:57:11,760 --> 00:57:15,320
He's interesting. You might ring his neck sometimes.
1084
00:57:15,320 --> 00:57:18,200
And don't ever say that to me again.
1085
00:57:18,200 --> 00:57:19,400
Elvis Presley!
1086
00:57:19,400 --> 00:57:21,280
'This vulgar, animalistic nigger...'
1087
00:57:21,280 --> 00:57:22,480
'Presley records.'
1088
00:57:24,040 --> 00:57:26,640
Electricity beyond comprehension.
1089
00:57:26,640 --> 00:57:28,400
He should not be on television.
1090
00:57:28,400 --> 00:57:30,360
Buddy Holly and The Crickets.
1091
00:57:30,360 --> 00:57:31,520
That'll be the day.
1092
00:57:31,520 --> 00:57:33,680
The parents called it the Devil's music.
1093
00:57:33,680 --> 00:57:36,280
The rock'n'roll records must go.
1094
00:57:36,280 --> 00:57:38,520
Wake up, little Susie
1095
00:57:38,520 --> 00:57:42,040
Well, what are we gonna tell your mama?
1096
00:57:42,040 --> 00:57:44,440
What are we gonna tell your pa?
1097
00:57:44,440 --> 00:57:46,200
What are we gonna tell our friends
1098
00:57:46,200 --> 00:57:47,680
When they say
1099
00:57:47,680 --> 00:57:49,120
Ooh la la?
1100
00:57:49,120 --> 00:57:51,480
Wake up, Little Susie
1101
00:57:51,480 --> 00:57:53,800
Wake up, Little Susie
1102
00:57:53,800 --> 00:57:56,480
Wake up, Little Susie...
88691
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.