What Is Rock and Roll?

What was...?

by Jim O'Connor, Who H.Q.

Put on your dancing shoes and move to the music.

Rock and roll sprang from a combination of African-American genres, Western swing, and country music that exploded in post World War II America. Jim O'Connor explains what constitutes rock music, follows its history and sub-genres through famous musicians and groups, and shows how rock became so much more than just a style of music influencing fashion, language, and lifestyle.

This entry in the New York Times best-selling series contains eighty illustrations and sixteen pages of black and white photographs.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Music, Childrens, Biography, Chapter Books

112 pages, Library Binding

First published August 22, 2017

Reviews

[Victoria B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Doesn't really answer the question of what is rock & roll. The history of the genre is explored in a somewhat disorganized way - while the author mostly sticks to a chronological timeline and the beginning was interesting, there's no consistency to chapter titles or which bands seem to be included and the book slowly devolved into snippet biographies. The 80s is pretty much skipped - where are hair bands, heavy metal, hard rock, more info about The Police, Guns n Roses, U2, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, R.E.M., Tom Petty, etc.? Too much time is spent on off-topic individual or group info that doesn't propel the history of rock forward (there are large sections covering Elvis, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Springsteen, and Michael Jackson...all of whom have their own "Who Was" books). The Aughts are also glossed over in one paragraph before returning back to Springsteen (where is indie rock, emo, garage rock, metalcore, rap rock, The White Stripes, Paramore, Korn, Switchfoot, 3 Doors Down, Shinedown, etc)...I don't think there's any individual or group from the Aughts who is as well known as earlier decades, but just showing how rock has evolved again helps answer the question "What is Rock and Roll?"

Side note/warning: for a kid's book, there is a *lot* of mentions about drug problems and various musicians who've OD'd. While drugs are an accurate part of rock & roll, could the info have been presented differently?

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, just that it had some odd error about Janis Joplin still being alive a page or two right after mentioning she died of a heroin overdose.

The various genres of rock came about by chronology, hadn't thought of it like that. I know that's stupidly obvious but when it was presented in that way then duh of course, but I've never thought of it in that way, I just thought it was all music that followed rules and dictated by location and tastes. Like Acid Rock came about from hippies dropping acid (duh!) etc., but I never really thought about it.

I guess it's just cooler to say this is x rock and this or y rock rather than 70s rock, 80s rock, 90s rock.

[Joes438 · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a truly sad and boring read. Also, let's introduce LSD to your children. And explain the lewdness of the Gene Simmons poking out his gross tongue on the cover of the book. This book about rock and roll can't find some decent bands to depict on the cover? The author clearly has bad taste in music and shouldn't spread it to the kids. No one cares about Janis Joplin anymore or that she died of heroin at the age of 27. Do we really need to discuss heroin so much in a kids book? Rock and roll and drugs go hand in hand according to this author. We also discuss Kurt Cobains drug addiction and mention that he took his own life. The book also discusses michael jackson but i didn't read far enough to find out if molesting children got mentioned. Also not sure why we are mentioning Eric Clapton in here. He hasn't sold a CD in years and is currently making ends meet by suing ebay sellers.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I got this book, I didn't realize it was a super small quick read. About an hour later, I completed this book and then couldn't figure out quite what its purpose was. Apparently, the author, Jim O'Connor, has a cottage industry of "Who is" and "What is" books, primarily about popular music and artists. His illustrations are cute, but ultimately, this book doesn't have much to say. It will mention an artist and then in one page, fly through who they were, what they're known for and still have room for a black and white drawing. I got this book on the mistaken impression that it would really be a deep analysis of rock music since the 50's.

[Mark Meiss · Rating 1 out of 5]

Aside from the random structure of this book, many of the facts and chronology of events are just plain wrong. For example, the Beatles did *not* displace Aretha Franklin from the charts -- she didn't have any hit singles until years after Beatlemania.

Writing for children does not excuse a sloppy disregard for research and actual history. This book is shamefully inaccurate.

[Amanda up North · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of history and wide range to cover in a condensed book. I felt it was done really well, except the hair bands of the 80's were a little left out, especially given artists like Beyonce, and hiphop/rap are mentioned, which (in my humble opinion) are not rock and roll. When I think of rock and roll, I guess I just really think of bands, rocking together, with a drummer, guitars, and bass. The 80's hairbands exemplify the height of that to me. I realize though, that's a debate for another place, that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame deals with plenty (and to give credit- this book mentions, too.)
All the greats are here from Elvis and The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Janis, to Springstein, Pearl Jam, Prince, and so many more. While there were a few things I felt were missing, I was impressed by how much was included in this book.
I love Who HQ, great history, answering the question posed in the title quite thoroughly.

[Mrs. Melaugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

As usual in the What Is…? series, the topic, rock and roll, is covered in about a hundred pages… a challenging proposition, to say the least. The first two chapters, describing the roots of rock and roll and Motown leading up to and including Elvis, verge on being just a recitation of names. However, the book hits its stride in the third chapter, a substantial one about the Beatles. Following chapters introduce the Beach Boys, acid rock, the Seventies, and Bruce Springsteen while final chapters discuss grunge and Michael Jackson. The expected black and white pencil sketches appear liberally throughout and a cluster of black and white photos appears at the end.

[Talea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the illustrations and pictures in the back. My son loved learning about the Beatles and Elvis. I loved we were able to discuss that drugs and alcohol are a problem for so many in the industry. The book rekindled a little passion for some of my teenage favorites, revisited some of the artists I listened to with my parents as well as artists his older brothers listen to. Great little book to get his feet wet in the subject of Rock and Roll history.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Is Rock and Roll? is packed with fascinating facts aimed at kids about rock and roll from Elvis to today (I’m not a kid and I learned a lot, too!). About half the chapters are on subgenres of rock (such as acid rock and grunge) and about half are about specific artists (such as Elvis, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and Bruce Springsteen). I highly recommend this to kids interested in rock music.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

What Is Rock & Roll? by Jim O’Conner is a relatively short history of the origins and evolution of Rock & Roll and how it relates to other musical genres. It is sort of a trip down Memory Lane for those of us who grew up with it. It was a fun read and, even though I was there, I did learn a few things.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This surprised me, i didn't think a good history of rock music could be put in such a small book and Gregory Copeland's illos are perfect. One quibble, O'Connor mentions on p91 Michael Jackson's scandals, since this is a history for kids one of the scandals mentioned should have been sleeping w/young boys.

[David Haggett · Rating 5 out of 5]

An age-appropriate overview of rock and roll that doesn't remove the relevant details about the ideas behind the music and doesn't gloss over the truth of what sometimes happens to our rock idols.

Topics include the King of Rock and Roll, the roots of rhythm and blues, Motown, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, acid rock, punk rock and glam rock, the Boss, grunge, The King of Pop, and today's rock.

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short concise history of rock and roll from its beginning to today. This book touches in the various musical influences that shaped the genre as well as many of the more influential artists. The author doesn't shy away from the topic of drug use in the music industry and the loss of artists to it. I found the book interesting and did learn some things

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent job of taking a very broad topic and condensing it so kids can understand Rock and Roll’s influence and significance in the world. Also, the book delicately, yet realistically handles for young readers the effects of drug use/abuse amongst many talented musicians.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! I hope that the kids who read it are inspired to listen to the music of all of the artists mentioned in the book. I'm very glad that I purchased this for my library, and I will be booktalking it like a mad woman!!!

[Deeanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this as a homeschooling study overview to go along with other music genres. This was a basic overview of rock n roll. We played some of the songs and videos. It was an easy read and a good companion to build from.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read. I definitely learned a few things.

[Simon Sweetman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief overview - aimed for the YA reader - quite well done I thought.

[wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

bought this for owen cuz the ramones are in it...it's OK...not very well thought out.

[pati · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise, accurate history of early Rock & Roll.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing rock and roll shouldn't need drugs to make the experience.

[Brayden Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a good book

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great rock synopsis for kids, however I do not associate KISS with the birth of MTV. I don't recall them showing up on the channel before they arrived "unmasked." Also, where was U2?

[Vani Ghanate · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was a little overcrowded with information trying to cover as many bands as possible.. But for that, it was a good read

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book

I enjoyed reading this history about Rock music. It's very interesting & it has details about how Rock music evolved .

[Kelly Veatch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned some interesting information!

[Sandra Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sandra review

This is a great book to read about rock and roll it show it started with motown and the beatles and everybody else

[christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love rock and roll! this was a fascinating read, and the way the author segued to a new artist/era from another was masterful

[meg☮️🎶 · Rating 3 out of 5]

thought i’d learn a lot but honestly knew a lot of the information. very much below my reading level but i liked it.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a longtime fan of both classic rock and CCM, this was right up my alley. I enjoyed it, even if I'm not the target audience.