a style of popular music that derives in part from blues and folk music and is marked by a heavily accented beat and a simple, repetitive phrase structure.
1950-55; contraction of phrase rock and roll; see rock2
Related forms
rock-'n'-roller, noun
British Dictionary definitions for rock and roll
rock and roll
noun
1.
a type of pop music originating in the 1950s as a blend of rhythm and blues and country and western. It is generally based upon the twelve-bar blues, the first and third beats in each bar being heavily accented
(as modifier): the rock-and-roll era
2.
dancing performed to such music, with exaggerated body movements stressing the beat
verb
3.
(intransitive) to perform this dance
Derived Forms
rock and roller, rock'n'roller, noun
Word Origin and History for rock and roll
n.
also rock 'n' roll, 1954 in reference to a specific style of popular music, from rock (v.2) + roll (v.). The verbal phrase had been a Black English euphemism for "sexual intercourse," used in popular dance music lyrics and song titles since at least the 1930s.