Research Guides: History of Rock and Roll Music: Audio & Video

Films and Audio

Streaming Video from Films on Demand

_____________________________________________________________________________

Get high quality academic and archival streaming videos from sources like BBC, National Geographic, PBS, TED and more. (Have you student ID ready if you are logging in from off-campus.)

Suggested videos on Rock and Roll Music History.

Birth of Rock Music - Full Video (26:00)
U.S.A., the 1950s. A climate of racism pervades society —particularly in the South, where it is unthinkable that whites should listen to the same music as blacks. It is in this context that a new style of music appears. Afro-American rhythm and blues is adapted, and the result is rock ’n’ roll.
Hail! Hail!: Rock'n Roll—All You Need Is Love: A History of Popular Music - Full Video (51:51)
This film features the birth of Rock'n Roll and the discovery of its distinct sound in Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Chuck Berry. This film features the following artists: Bill Haley; Chubby Checker; Cliff Richard; Conway Twitty; Little Richard; Carl Perkins.
The Memphis Flash - Full Video (01:27:55)
This film looks behind the facts and between the lines and attempts to discover why and how Elvis Presley came to stardom. Why was rock 'n' roll invented in Memphis by a quiet young man with a passion for all types of music? How did the events that led up to that fateful session on July 5, 1954, conspire to create a brand new music and a brand new way of life for all those who came along in its wake? This film goes a long way in discovering the why and the how behind the phenomenon, Elvis Presley. (88 minutes)
Recording History - Full Video (31:31)
This program examines the remarkable history of recorded music, from the Jazz Age, to the Big Band Era and World War II, to rock ’n’ roll and rap. Executives from the BMI archives and Capitol-EMI Music, along with representatives of the Smithsonian Institution, discuss the social and cultural aspects of affordable, mass-produced music, plus the roles of recording originals like Enrico Caruso, Bing Crosby, Glenn Miller, Elvis, the Beatles, Berry Gordy, and Bob Dylan. In the U.S., recorded music has brought races together and split generations apart, while around the globe it has altered cultural identities, changing the way in which nations see others and themselves.

History of Rock and Roll Music: Audio & Video

Audio Visuals

Films and Audio

Streaming Video from Films on Demand

Suggested Videos in Online Catalog