As late as 1949, rhythm and blues records were called "race records" by magazines such as Billboard. Their main appeal was to the African American record-buying audience. The conditions for rock 'n' roll's breakthrough to national popularity were created in the early 1950s when radio hosts and concert promoters such as Alan Freed and Dewey Phillips made black music accessible to a young white audience. Although Alan Freed did not coin the term "rock 'n' roll," he popularized it as the label for high energy rhythm and blues music. During the decade, white performers such as Elvis Presley and Bill Haley began recording uptempo versions of rhythm and blues songs.
A number of records have been designated by critics as representing the original sound of rock 'n' roll. Louis Jordan's popular "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie," a "jump blues" recorded in 1946, is a contender for the title, as is "Rocket 88," recorded in Sun Studios, Memphis in 1951 by Ike Turner and his band (released under the name of the vocalist, Jackie Brenston). Both records certainly cast a long shadow. One of the cowriters of the Jordan song, Milt Gabler, produced Bill Haley's huge hit "Rock Around the Clock." Haley recorded his own version of "Rocket 88," and Sun Studios was where Elvis Presley's first sessions were recorded in 1954.
In 1954, Bill Haley and his Comets scored chart success with their version of a blues song, "Shake Rattle and Roll." International fame came the following year when "Rock Around the Clock" was featured in the movie "Blackboard Jungle." Haley became a phenomenon, his concerts being disrupted by screaming fans. Elvis Presley surpassed Haley, though, with his first television appearances in 1956, outraging audiences with his frenetic rendition of numbers like the twelve bar blues "Hound Dog" and the rockabilly influenced "Blue Suede Shoes."
Performers whose enduring fame began during these years included Chuck Berry and Little Richard, both influenced by Louis Jordan; Jerry Lee Lewis, Eddie Cochran and Buddy Holly, all of whom had country roots; and the rhythm and blues pianist Fats Domino. Many doo-wop groups, such as the Coasters and Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, also adapted to the rock 'n' roll sound.
The heyday of rock 'n' roll itself was relatively short-lived. By 1963, the Beatles had introduced a new style of music, opening the floodgates for the pop groups and rock bands that would follow. Rock performers have continued to include rock 'n' roll songs in their repertoire. The Beatles and Rolling Stones each recorded Chuck Berry numbers. A sign that rock 'n' roll was no longer a contemporary phenomenon was the series of rock 'n' roll revival shows promoted, especially by Richard Nader, beginning in 1969. A show at London's Wembley Stadium in 1972, for example, featured Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Bo Diddley. While its influence can still be heard, rock 'n' roll had become a part of American and world music history.