They Called It Rock'n'Roll

DJ's were talking the other day about how Rock'n'Roll got its name. I've heard and read much on the subject but none covered what I thought was the orgin of the name. I looked it up at Wikipedia and decided what I remembered might be true.

"Rock Around the Clock" was released by Bill Haley and His Comets in the Spring of 1954 and the band re-released "Shake, Rattle, and Roll" later that year. That means I would have to have been six years old, and although it is doubtful, a person who was six years old in 1954 does not believe in coincidences today. I thought the name Rock and Roll was a short-hand reference for the two songs. Both were popular at the end of the year, and DJ's would refer to playing the two songs as Rock and Roll.

As in: "We'll be right back after a word from our sponser,and when we come back, we're going to play Rock and Roll," and thus, the reference became the name for a genre. So it goes.