CHAPTER 17 | ROCK AND ROLL 425
K The fl amboyance and
unorthodox stage behavior
of rock and roll performers
such as Little Richard
(Richard Penniman, b. 1932)
thrilled young fans and
outraged their parents.Although he recorded for Chess, St. Louis
native Chuck Berry did not sound like a
Chicago bluesman. Instead, his vocal style
was racially ambiguous, and some of his
songs, such as his fi rst hit, “Maybellene”
(1955), were more country than blues.
When “Maybellene” caught on with white
teenagers, Berry began tailoring his mate-
rial for younger tastes, writing such songs
as “Sweet Little Sixteen” even though he
was past his thirtieth birthday. Berry’s
“School Day” (LG 17.4) is a litany of high
school woes contrasted with the liberating
power of music. For the song’s teenage persona, rock and roll offers a taste of
the freedoms of adulthood otherwise just beyond a high school student’s reach.
Filled with Berry’s signature guitar riffs, it is a good example of the primitive,
reverb-drenched sound of 1950s indie labels like Chess.
Together with excitement, the new music offered a chance to redefi ne “us”
and “them.” By casting their lot with performers like Chuck Berry, Little Rich-
ard, Buddy Holly, and Jerry Lee Lewis, white middle-class teenagers could feel
as if they were taking a stand for freedom, high spirits, emotional truth, and
fun, and against the confi ning proprieties of middle-class life. The music testi-
fi ed that youth now constituted a social group with its own modes of expression.
Moreover, the freedom to draw lines was granted not by parents, teachers, or“Little Richard” Penniman Describes
the Power of Rock and RollI
believe my music can make the blind see, the lame walk,
the deaf and dumb hear and talk, because it inspires and
uplifts people... it regenerates the heart and makes the
liver quiver, the bladder splatter, the knees freeze.In their own words
LG 17.4172028_17_412-439_r3_sd.indd 425 23/01/13 10:58 AM