Chapter 965 964 [Originator of Rock and Roll]

CBS acted quickly and found Zhou Hexuan the next morning and invited them to the broadcasting company's studio to perform live singing.

After the radio program was broadcast, American listeners showed three different reactions-

The upper class and some middle-class white people said they couldn't accept it. This thing was too noisy and noisy, and it was completely unworthy of their elegant status.

Rural listeners in the Midwest were indifferent to this. They neither liked it too much nor disliked it too much. Their favorite thing was country music.

The black group, the lower class people, some middle-class white people, and the vast number of young people from all walks of life have shown an unprecedented love for rock music.

The controversy is huge, and the source of the controversy is those young people.

Some high-status congressmen and wealthy people suddenly discovered that their children and grandchildren were holding on to the radio and listening to noisy and vulgar songs. This made them feel unforgivable and insulted, so they started a round of scolding wars in newspapers.

Zhou Hexuan couldn't laugh or cry about this. He could predict that rock music would cause controversy, but he did not expect that the initial controversy would be related to class and race.

Who lets black people and the poorest people listen to noisy songs?

This is more serious than parents hating their children and grandchildren for listening to Jay Chou, and has escalated into class and racial conflicts.

But it’s actually not that serious. Take “swing” as an example. It is actually a type of jazz, and jazz originally belonged to black music. At the time of World War I, jazz was not very accepted by mainstream American society, but it obviously changed in the 1920s.

By the 1930s, swing, a variant of jazz, quickly became popular throughout the United States. This low-key and noisy form of music became the favorite of young Americans and the middle class - quickly moving from folk dance halls to top concert halls.

Rock music, to put it bluntly, is the ultimate evolution of swing, blues, and pop. It has a wide fan base in the United States.

And to be honest, the song played by Zhou Hexuan is not noisy. Under the arrangement of the two black singers, section A even has the flavor of black spiritual songs, which is fresh, soothing, sad and sacred. The emotions of the whole song are progressive, and it turns into crazy shouting at the end, which made it easier for people in the early 1940s to accept it.

When mainstream public opinion begins to condemn an ​​emerging thing, it means that the emerging thing has succeeded. Just like at the beginning of the 21st century, the whole world was discussing the dangers of Internet addiction. In the past ten years alone, everyone has been surfing the Internet, and it has become a habit and normal life.

The record companies with the most sensitive sense of smell immediately organized musicians to conduct analysis and discussion. Many swing singers also spontaneously tried the new type of rock music.

Just a week later, a swing song adapted into a rock version appeared in dance halls. Those rock songs were full of sexual innuendos and swear words, and were wildly popular among young people and the middle class who were looking for fun.

This led to two results: first, rock music quickly became popular; second, rock music was regarded as a symbol of vulgarity because it was full of pornography and violence.

Hardcore swing musician Fletcher Henderson was dissatisfied with this. He wrote an article in Billboard magazine saying: "This new music form named rock and roll by Mr. Zhou Hexuan should not become a vulgar song. A trash can should be positive and pursue freedom and liberation."

Immediately, Fletcher Henderson, who is good at composing, personally adapted three of his classic swing songs into a rock style, and they were sung by the famous young swing singer Count Siebel. These three rock songs were recorded into albums two months later, and sold 250,000 copies within half a month, making a lot of money.

Since then, more and more record companies have begun to produce and sell rock songs. Although public opinion controversies still exist, the popularity of rock music has been irrepressible. Zhou Hexuan was also regarded as the "ancestor of rock" by countless fans later.

…

Headquarters of Huamei Association.

Three young black men inquired for a long time and finally found the club sign in a certain building. They walked in and asked, "Is this where donations for the war to aid China are accepted?"

"Yes," the staff of the China-American Association said, "Thank you for your generous donation. If possible, please leave your name and information. The Chinese people will always remember your friendship."

"My name is Oscar Moore, and I'm donating $50."

"My name is Nate King Cole, and I'm donating $50, too."

"My name is Wesley Prince, and I'm donating $50."

After everyone had registered, Nate Cole suddenly said: "Please tell Mr. Zhou that I like his rock songs very much. They are really great. I hope he can release a record."

The staff member smiled and said, "I will pass it on, thank you."

These three black youths are the newly formed "Kim Cole Trio". They are not famous yet, but they will become famous in a few years. Even after Nate Cole died, his records still sold an average of more than 5,000 copies per week for 35 years after his death.

Nat King Cole was a jazz singer. Most of the songs he sang in the 1940s were swing songs, which shows how popular this type of song was.

"By the way, this is our band's new record. Please help us pass it on to Mr. Zhou." Nate Cole took out a vinyl record.

When Zhou Hexuan got this record, his expression was a little weird, because it was the first record of a legendary American band, and it also came with the signatures of the three original members. If it were taken out 50 years later, it would definitely drive jazz fans completely crazy.

Will that black singer be affected by this and switch to rock music in the future?

Yu Peichen counted the donation account and said happily: "Brother Xuan, this performance was so successful. We received 2,833 US dollars in anti-war donations in one week. What's more important is that many American newspapers are reporting on our performance now. China’s war of resistance was also mentioned, and more and more Americans sympathized with China.”

"Yes, those who are enlightened will be helped," Zhou Hexuan said, "Come back to China with me to celebrate the Spring Festival."

Yu Peichen shook his head and said: "I want to stay in the United States. I like my current job very much."

Zhou Hexuan couldn't help but smile bitterly: "What you said is exactly the same as what Vivien Leigh said."

Yu Peichen was a little embarrassed: "How about I come back to China to see you on New Year's Day next year? I'm really busy during this period and I can't leave at all."

"It's okay. It's good that you find something serious to do," Zhou Hexuan urged. "It's not easy to go back to China. It's very dangerous. I'll come to the United States to see you in the future."

"That's okay," Yu Peichen said with a smile. "Judging from the current situation in the United States, they will soon join the war. As long as the United States joins, China will definitely win. I estimate that the Anti-Japanese War will be over by 1942. By then we will The family can be reunited.”

"Yes." Zhou Hexuan did not want to dampen Yu Peichen's enthusiasm.

Historically, when the news of the United States' participation in the war reached China, Chinese people of insight were also jubilant, and some even predicted that Japan would be driven away in three months.

Yu Peichen said: "You can leave after New Year's Day. My daughters have just learned to call you daddy and are very close to you. They will be very disappointed if you leave."

"Well, we'll leave after New Year's Day." Zhou Hexuan nodded. He also wanted to acquire shares in Coca-Cola.