History of both Rock 'n' Roll

Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley; as “non-performers” the 1950s disc jockey Alan Freed, the Sun Records producer Sam Phillips, and the record man John Hammond of Columbia; and as “early influences” the 1930s Mississippi blues singer Robert Johnson, the “Father of Country Music” Jimmie Rodgers, and the boogie woogie pianist Jimmy Yancey—on through the jazz pianist Jelly Roll Morton, the blues singers Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith, the jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong, the gospel group the Soul Stirrers, the country singer Hank Williams, the folk singers Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, and Pete Seeger, the nightclub vocal group the Ink Spots, the jazz singer Billie Holiday, the jump-blues bandleader Louis Jordan, the jazz guitarist Charlie Christian, The Los Angeles rhythm and blues bandleader and impresario Johnny Otis, the Western Swing band Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, the R&B singers Dinah Washington and Charles Brown, the founding rock ’n’ roll vocal group the Orioles, the gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, the bluegrass bandleader Bill Monroe, the Texas blues guitarist T-Bone Walker, the jazz singer Nat “King” Cole, the record man Leonard Chess of Chess, the blues singer Muddy Waters, the harmonica player Little Walter, the songwriter Willie Dixon, the blues singer Howlin’ Wolf, the New Orleans record man Cosimo Matassa, the guitarist Les Paul, the guitar maker Leo Fender, John Lee Hooker, the blues singer Elmore James, Big Joe Turner, Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters, Bill Haley and the Comets, the songwriter Jesse Stone, the record men Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun, Paul Ackerman, Jerry Wexler, and Tom Dowd of Atlantic, Bo Diddley, the record man Milt Gabler of Decca, the New Orleans pianist Professor Longhair, the pianist Johnnie Johnson, the guitarist Scotty Moore, the bassist Bill Black, the drummer D. J. Fontana, the song-writer Otis Blackwell, the record man Syd Nathan of King, Jackie Wilson, the Platters, the New Orleans songwriter and bandleader Dave Bartholomew, the Coasters, the songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, the saxophonist King Curtis, Carl Perkins, LaVern Baker, Lloyd Price, the record man Art Rupe of Specialty, Roy Orbison, Ruth Brown, Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps, the rockabilly singer Wanda Jackson, Johnny Cash, Ricky Nelson, the guitarist and producer Chet Atkins, the guitarist James Burton, Jimmy Reed, the record man Ralph Bass, Little Willie John, the Moonglows, the Flamingos, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, the Dells, Eddie Cochran, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Dion, Hank Ballard, Bobby Darin, the promoter Dick Clark, the songwriter Doc Pomus, Ritchie Valens, the Impressions, Brenda Lee, the New Orleans songwriter and producer Allen Toussaint, the pianist Floyd Cramer, the New Orleans drummer Earl Palmer, the guitarist Freddie King, the Famous Flames, the Miracles, the record man Berry Gordy, Jr., of Motown, Bobby “Blue” Bland, the Isley Brothers, Duane Eddy, Etta James, Miles Davis, the producer Phil Spector, Gene Pitney, Darlene Love, the Ronettes, the drummer Hal Blaine, the songwriter Mort Shuman, the Ventures, the Shirelles, the Beach Boys, Buddy Guy, Del Shannon, the Aldon Music songwriters Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, and Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, the Aldon Music publisher Don Kirshner, Marvin Gaye, Bob Dylan, the Temptations, the Four Seasons, the Four Tops, the producers and song-writers Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland of Motown, Stevie Wonder, Martha and the Vandellas, Solomon Burke, Ike and Tina Turner, the Beatles, the Beatles manager Brian Epstein, the producer George Martin, the Rolling Stones, the Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham, the Dave Clark Five, the Righteous Brothers, the Supremes, the bassist James Jamerson and the drummer Benny Benjamin of Motown’s Funk Brothers, the Lovin’ Spoonful, Dusty Springfield, the Byrds, the Who, the Hollies, the record man Lou Adler of Dunhill, Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Booker T. and the M.G.’s, the record man Jim Stewart of Stax-Volt, the Kinks, the Young Rascals, Van Morrison, Simon and Garfunkel, the Animals, Donovan, the Yardbirds, Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, the concert promoter Bill Graham, Aretha Franklin, B. B. King, the Doors, the record man Jac Holzman of Elektra, the Velvet Underground, Wilson Pickett, Percy Sledge, Bobby Womack, the record man Clive Davis of Columbia and Arista, Neil Diamond, Smokey Robinson, Albert King, Frank Zappa, Buffalo Springfield, Cream, Sly and the Family Stone, Curtis Mayfield, the Staple Singers, the Mamas and the Papas, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Pink Floyd, the Small Faces, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Leonard Cohen, Fleetwood Mac, the Bee Gees, Dr. John, Santana, Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone, the Band, Neil Young, the San Francisco disc jockey Tom Donahue, Alice Cooper, Isaac Hayes, Crosby, Stills and Nash, the Jackson 5, Traffic, the producer Glyn Johns, the O’Jays, the producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, Randy Newman, Rod Stewart, Jeff Beck, Cat Stevens, Led Zeppelin, the Stooges, John Lennon, Paul Mccartney, George Harrison, the Eagles, Elton John, Paul Simon, the record man Mo Ostin of Warner Bros., Linda Ronstadt, the saxophonist Steve Douglas, Bob Seger, Jimmy Cliff, Al Green, the self-proclaimed Master of Time and Space Leon Russell, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Bob Marley, the record man Chris Blackwell of Island, ABBA, Eric Clapton, the Allman Brothers Band, the organist Spooner Oldham, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Laura Nyro, the record man David Geffen of Asylum and Geffen, David Bowie, Parliament/Funkadelic, Billy Joel, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Genesis, the record men Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss of A&M, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Earth, Wind and Fire, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, Black Sabbath, Michael Jackson, the producer Quincy Jones, Steely Dan, Queen, Kiss, Aerosmith, Heart, Donna Summer, the Ramones, Patti Smith, Blondie, the Sex Pistols (who declined), Talking Heads, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the Clash, the Police, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Rush, Hall and Oates, Ac/Dc, ZZ Top, Prince, Madonna, the Pretenders, U2, the record man Seymour Stein of Sire, the concert promoter Frank Barsalona, R.E.M., Van Halen, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, John Mellencamp, Run-D.M.C., Tom Waits, Public Enemy, Metallica, the Beastie Boys, Peter Gabriel, Guns N’ Roses, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, and, likely over the next years, at some point past the eligibility date of twenty-five years after their first recording, N.W.A, Tupac Shakur, Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Green Day, the Notorious B.I.G., Lil Wayne, the Roots, Eminem, Beyoncé, and Jay-Z.