Analyzing the History and Evolution of Rock and Roll Music

This essay provides a concise overview of the history of rock and roll music, focusing on significant songs and artists from the 1960s. It begins with an analysis of "Where Did Our Love Go" by The Supremes, highlighting its impact on the Motown label and its chart success. The essay then examines "My Girl" by The Temptations, emphasizing its status as a signature song and its role in soul music. Further, the essay explores "For Once in My Life" by Stevie Wonder, showcasing the song's transformation into a joyful arrangement. Additionally, it includes "A Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin, mentioning its creation by Goffin and King and its inspiration. Finally, the essay covers "Keep on Pushing" by The Impressions, discussing its significance during the Civil Rights Movement and its appearance on Bob Dylan's album. The essay concludes with a list of references for further reading.

Running head: HISTORY OF ROCK AND ROLL
HISTORY OF ROCK AND ROLL
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1HISTORY OF ROCK AND ROLL
Where did our love go (The Supremes) - This song was recorded by the Supremes (an
American music group) in the year 1964 for the Motown label (Wright, 2019). It was the very
first single of the group, produced to go to 1st position on the chart of Hot 100 pop singles of
Billboard, U.S.A. Mary Wilson, one of the Supremes member later write that this song was
originally given to the Marvelettes but Holland deny this claim. However, gradually, the song
flew up the chart to number 1 and from then onwards, one hit followed the other for the
group. It was the very first of the thirteen consecutives.
My Girl (The Temptations) - “My Girl” is the song, recorded by the music group called
“the Temptations). It is a soul music produced for the Motown record label in the year 1965
(Woodward, 2018). It was written by the Miracles’ members named Ronald White and
Smokey Robinson. It was once the number one single in United States and till date, is
regarded to be the signature song of the group. It is to note that this song was the first single
to feature David Ruffin on the lead vocals. As per Robinson he wrote the lyrics of the song
for his first wife named Claudette. However, Smokey dedicated the song to all the women in
the world.
For once in my life (Stevie Wonder) – This song was written by Orlando Murden and Ron
Miller, the Motown songwriters. It was originally recorded in the year 1966 by Jean Dushon.
He was a soul and Jazz singer and was also signed to the Chess records (Weisman, 1985).
Miller just had Dushon to record the song as a demonstration but she liked her version very
much and decided to sing it. However, all the versions of this song till date were long and
they are drawn out ballads. Stevie Wonder was the one to pick up this song and use it as a
joyful arrangements.
A natural Woman (Aretha Franklin) – A natural women is the signature song of Aretha
Franklin. It is a 1967 song co-written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. This song was

2HISTORY OF ROCK AND ROLL
written for Aretha and was included in her album named Lady Soul in the year 1968 (Perone,
2006). It has been claimed that this song was inspired by the Atlantic Records producer
named Jerry Wexler. He was the student of African American musical culture. He used to
think regarding the idea of “natural man” when he happened to drive past King in New York.
He shouted over Aretha that he wanted a song called “Natural woman” for her next album.
Keep on Pushing (The Impressions) - It is a 1964 single by the music group named “the
Impressions”. It gradually became the 6th top 40 singles and 10th among the top 10 Pop smash
(Fitzgerald, 2017). Also, on the Billboard 200, this song was once reached number 8 chart. It
is considered to be the most important album of the Impressions. This song was sung in the
Civil Rights Movement in America at the time of the turbulent 1960s. This makes the song so
significant. With the same, it is also one of the many featured songs on the Front Cover of
1965’s ‘Bringing it all back home’ album by Bob Dylan.

3HISTORY OF ROCK AND ROLL
References:
FITZGERALD, J. (2017). AN ANALYSIS OF US TOP FORTY HITS BY COOKE. Pop
Music and Easy Listening, 381.
Perone, J. E. (2006). The words and music of Carole King. Greenwood Publishing Group.
Weisman, E. R. (1985). The good man singing well: Stevie Wonder as noble lover. Critical
Studies in Media Communication, 2(2), 136-151.
Woodward, T. (2018). Rock and roll’s first decade--a history and a claim.
Wright, B. F. (2019). Reconstructing the History of Motown Session Musicians: The Carol
Kaye/James Jamerson Controversy. Journal of the Society for American Music, 13(1),
78-109.