Though mainstream narratives of rock and roll music often spotlight artists like Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly Archives

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National News July 1, 2026

How Black Artists Shaped Rock and Roll — and How That Story Was Reframed

AFRO-AMERICAN – WASHINGTON — THE AFRO — “The white artists in the first generations of rock and roll would acknowledge where their music was coming from. They would talk about the fact that they were being influenced by Black American music,” said Maureen Mahon, professor of music at New York University (NYU). “But the people who were writing about it or retelling the story didn’t make that the focus. The emphasis was on the white artists.”