Twenty years ago, if someone would have asked me about the origins of Rock and Roll, with my limited knowledge of music history, I would have given a fairly general answer. Twenty years ago, if asked about Rock and Roll’s roots, I would have responded with something like Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry or even Little Richard. However, today, if someone were to ask me about where Rock and Roll came from, I can imagine myself giving a very different answer. My answer would probably stem from a discussion of some odd permutation of the following:

Negro Spirituals
This is not to say that African Americans were the only people in history to have been oppressed, but by the 1950s, African American culture was rich with slave songs. Even today, I am a firm believer in the ability of music to (sometimes) liberate the mind just enough to make the unbearable tolerable and often times more enjoyable. Rock and Roll is (sometimes) the music of the oppressed.

The Devil’s Music
I watched a documentary once that gave me a history lesson like none I could have received in any modern-day classroom. The documentary featured interviews with various iconic performers of the blues and rock and roll.

One performer (whose name escapes me at the time of this writing) told a story of a visit to Memphis. He returned to Memphis (I believe) from having made his “fortune” in the music business up north (more than likely it was in Chicago and/or Detroit). Upon meeting up with his mother, like a good son, he gave his mother a substantial amount of money thinking that she might be able to find good use for it. Well, much to his surprise at the time, his mother took the money and threw it back in his face saying something to the effect of “I don’t want your money. That’s the devil’s money”.

Now, it definitely took me a good while to get to the point where I could actually make sense of the drama that happened that day in Memphis. I am not even sure I can understand it all 100%, but I feel I am fairly close.

My grandfather was a minister and I can remember spending a fair amount of time in the in churches located south of the Mason-Dixon that were filled with the spirit. If you know where I am going with this you can imagine what I mean: there is definitely a connection between spirit-filled churches and rock and roll.

So, back to the point of the blues man’s mother throwing the money in his face. Hmm. How do I explain it? Well, there is this Christian logic that goes something like this:

“If you are not doing this (music) for God/Jesus, you must be doing it for the devil.”

So, the blues man’s mother did not want anything to do with him or his money for she felt is was from the devil—interesting.

Needless to say, the blues man went back up north to live the rest of his life, doing the best he knew how to entertain people for a living.

This scenario—to some extent—happens today. I mean, right off the bat, I can name at least three popular performers that reference their upbringing in church as the place where they perfected and pruned their talent.