Searching For The First Rock And Roll Song

Series produced by Jamie Dell'Apa

Series image
Image by: Regular Listener, J.T. Lindross, From Finland 

We, the rock and roll generation, have never found our self-defining first rock and roll song. Host Jamie Dell'Apa presents music and musicians you've never heard from the small regional record companies who pioneered rock and roll. Songs that could have been the first rock and roll song. Songs that fill the gap in understanding where we came from and who we are.

Searching For The First Rock and Roll Song features records coveted by collectors from the era when rock and roll was emerging but hadn't yet settled on a definition of itself. Music from before rock and roll was domesticated into a commercial music industry. When country and western sounded like swing, pop music sounded like rockabilly, rockabilly sounded like rhythm and blues, and doo wop sounded like girl groups and all those musics sounded an awful lot like what we now call, “rock and roll”.

Not a hits, oldies, or “history of” radio show. it's all the songs that influenced our now-legendary musicians who are regularly featured in all those hits, oldies, and “history of” radio shows.

Hosted by WWOZ in New Orleans for the last 18 years, the show is carried by a dozen stations.

P.S. We never find the first rock and roll song. Just like our journey through life, the search is the joy. Finding the final destination in life or music is something to continually delay until after next week's episode.
Hide full description

Searching For The First Rock and Roll Song features records coveted by collectors from the era when rock and roll was emerging but hadn't yet settled on a definition of itself. Music from before rock and roll was domesticated into a commercial music industry. When country and western sounded like swing, pop music sounded like rockabilly, rockabilly sounded like rhythm and blues, and doo wop sounded like girl groups and all those musics sounded an awful lot like what we now call, “rock and roll”.Not a hits, oldies, or “history of” radio show. it's all the songs that influenced our now-legendary musicians who are regularly featured in all those hits, oldies, and “history of” radio shows. Hosted by WWOZ in New Orleans for the last 18 years, the show is carried by a dozen stations. ... Show full description


654 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Caption: The Gales
Unfortunately, there were at least 85 second rock and roll songs (and counting). Tonight's twist, most of tonight's bands begin their names with e...

Bought by Delmarva Public Media, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], KFCF FM, KPRG, Prairie Public and more


  • Added: Mar 07, 2023
  • Length: 02:57:00
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: Sparkle Moore
It's bands and musicians who's names start with "Roy" as in Royaltones, Roy Hall, Royal Teens, etc. with just a touch of Sparkle Moore.

Bought by KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], Delmarva Public Media, KPRG, Prairie Public, and WQCS


  • Added: Mar 01, 2023
  • Length: 02:57:00
  • Purchases: 5
Caption: The Sinders
It's the researcher dream thesis so there have been uncounted attempts but no one has credibly defined the first rock and roll song. The difficul...

Bought by Delmarva Public Media, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], KPRG, KFCF FM, Prairie Public and more


  • Added: Feb 20, 2023
  • Length: 02:57:00
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: Little Ralph Molina and the Personalties
You've heard the mythical beginnings of rock and roll a thousand times. The White musicians who experiences Black music and then creates rock and ...

Bought by Delmarva Public Media, KFCF FM, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], KPRG, Prairie Public and more


  • Added: Feb 14, 2023
  • Length: 02:57:00
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: Superbs
It's easier to count beans than count the huge number of songs about beans. Even more difficult, the number of songs that could have been the firs...

Bought by Delmarva Public Media, KFCF FM, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], KPRG, Prairie Public and more


  • Added: Feb 07, 2023
  • Length: 02:57:00
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: Chic Lets
A show about why musical creativity can't be measured by commercial success. It's why our search for the first rock and roll record using songs yo...

Bought by Delmarva Public Media, Prairie Public, KFCF FM, KPRG, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio] and more


  • Added: Jan 31, 2023
  • Length: 02:57:00
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: Velventeens
What sound leads a rock and roll song? Group harmony is one of the most original and foundational identifying sounds of rock and roll because grou...

Bought by Delmarva Public Media, KFCF FM, KPRG, WQCS, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio] and more


  • Added: Jan 23, 2023
  • Length: 02:57:00
  • Purchases: 6
Piece image
The search for the first rock and roll record never finds its "Patient Zero" because it's not an infection, it's a vast amalgamation of our musics ...

Bought by Delmarva Public Media, KPRG, KFCF FM, Prairie Public, WQCS and more


  • Added: Jan 17, 2023
  • Length: 02:57:00
  • Purchases: 7
Piece image
We search for the elusive first rock and roll song in recordings about teenage royalty, "Baby Don't Go" songs, and for no aesthetic reason, focus o...

Bought by Delmarva Public Media, KFCF FM, KPRG, Prairie Public, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio] and more


  • Added: Jan 10, 2023
  • Length: 02:57:00
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: The Teardrops
To believe you know the first rock and roll song, means you've never listened to this show. The show features 85 songs per week (over 17 years) o...

Bought by Delmarva Public Media, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], KFCF FM, KPRG, Prairie Public and more


  • Added: Jan 04, 2023
  • Length: 02:56:01
  • Purchases: 6
Piece image
Tonight, the first rock and roll records from musicians you've never heard of. Focusing on music out of Texas with a side trip east on the old Rou...

Bought by Delmarva Public Media, Prairie Public, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], KPRG, KFCF FM and more


  • Added: Dec 28, 2022
  • Length: 02:59:00
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: Lion and the Leperchans
No references to Christmas Eve (or that horrible scandal that follows me).

Bought by Delmarva Public Media, Prairie Public, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], KFCF FM, and KPRG


  • Added: Dec 21, 2022
  • Length: 02:56:59
  • Purchases: 5
Piece image
Tonight's focus is on New Orleans music and songs about oil as our search for the first rock and roll record looks into themes that match our weekl...

Bought by Delmarva Public Media, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], KPRG, KFCF FM, Prairie Public and more


  • Added: Dec 12, 2022
  • Length: 02:59:00
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: Gaylarks - a band Frank Zappa saw and swooned over while he was in high school.
The geographic assumption underlying the first rock and roll record was an origination in the Southern U.S. This assumption was superior to, and ...

Bought by Delmarva Public Media, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], KFCF FM, Prairie Public, KPRG and more


  • Added: Dec 05, 2022
  • Length: 04:22:10
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: Veltones
Songs about "I want my baby back," "stronger than dirt" and the probable origin of the song, Twenty Flight Rock as we search for the first rock and...

Bought by Delmarva Public Media, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], KPRG, KFCF FM, WQCS and more


  • Added: Nov 29, 2022
  • Length: 02:59:00
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: Connie Allen
Pre WWII songs revived by rock stars and the songs "Crazy Legs" and "Good Lovin.'" Plus a focus on the original songs covered by The Paladins as ...

Bought by Delmarva Public Media, Prairie Public, WQCS, KFCF FM, and WYAP


  • Added: Nov 22, 2022
  • Length: 02:59:00
  • Purchases: 5
Piece image
In the post WWII era soul music also emerged along with rock and roll. Soul lyrics were especially light, sweet, and even introspectively sweet. ...

Bought by KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], Delmarva Public Media, KFCF FM, KPRG, WQCS and more


  • Added: Nov 14, 2022
  • Length: 02:59:00
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: Rock n' Tones Bop Boy LP Cover
85 song's you've never heard by musicians you've never heard of but all could claim to have made "the second rock and roll song." (Because finding...

Bought by Delmarva Public Media, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], KPRG, KFCF FM, Prairie Public and more


  • Added: Nov 07, 2022
  • Length: 02:59:00
  • Purchases: 7
Piece image
The predominate musical culture of post WWII is loosely called rock and roll yet we don't know where it started and almost all the founding musicia...

Bought by KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], Prairie Public, KPRG, Delmarva Public Media, and WQCS


  • Added: Nov 02, 2022
  • Length: 04:26:04
  • Purchases: 5
Caption: Rockin' R's
The first rock and roll songs catered to being on the radio on the hope of catching the masses' ears. And radio catered to this new sound of hot m...

Bought by KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], KFCF FM, KPRG, Prairie Public, Delmarva Public Media and more


  • Added: Oct 24, 2022
  • Length: 02:59:00
  • Purchases: 6