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Sharecropping started
black families would rent small plots of land, or shares, to work themselves; in return, they would give a portion of their crop to the landowner at the end of the year. -
Great migration started
the movement of 6 million African-Americans out of the rural Southern United States to the urban Northeast, Midwest, and West that occurred between -
The Mills Brothers started performing
a quartet of singing siblings from Piqua, Ohio: Herbert, Harry, Donald, and John. -
Chuck Berry was born
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music -
Bo Weevil - Charley Patton
a song by Charley Patton came out called Bo Weevil -
Barbershop singing was popular in America
a quartet of singers who sing music in the barbershop genre. It consists of a lead, the vocal part which generally carries the tune; a bass, the part which provides the bass line to the melody; a tenor, the part which harmonizes above the lead; and a baritone, the part that completes the chord. -
First Billboard Sales Chart
Columbia Records releases the first 33 1/3 rpm LP (Long Play) album, a record that can hold up to 20 minutes of music per side, which allows the listener to sit back and relax for a good while before he or she has to flip it to the other side. -
First Rock and Roll Record
Jackie Brenston and Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm record "Rocket '88," a chart-topper, and later considered by some to be the first rock and roll record, is released. -
First Rock and Roll Concert
Alan Freed, a Cleveland disc jockey known as "Moondog" and thought by some to have coined the term "rock and roll," organizes a concert at the Cleveland Arena. It attracts nearly 25,000 young people, mostly African-Americans. The show, featuring artists such as the Dominoes and Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams, is shut down early when thousands of ticket-holders who are denied entrance become unruly. The event will later be called the first rock and roll concert. -
Elvis Presley Discovered
Eighteen-year-old Elvis Presley walks into Sun Records Studio to record two songs for his mother as a birthday gift. The label's office manager is impressed by his vocals. -
Early Rock Legends
Elvis Presley, Little Richard, and Chuck Berry each debut on the pop charts. -
Jimi Hendrix Receives First Guitar
Jimi Hendrix receives his first guitar, a second-hand, acoustic instrument purchased by his father for $5. -
The Beatles at Top of Charts
The Beatles hold the top five slots on the Billboard chart, an unprecedented accomplishment! -
Jimi Hendrix Dies
27-year-old Jimi Hendrix is found dead in a hotel in London. As in the case of Rolling Stones' member Brian Jones, the exact cause of Hendrix's death is mired in controversy.
