Back to This Week in Music History: December 16 - 22
December 17: Rock 'n' Roll and Rap Both Join the Big Leagues
Topical Press Agency | Getty
On this date in 1954 Bill Haley and his Comets' breakout single "Shake, Rattle and Roll" hit the British pop charts. What this meant was that rock 'n' roll was officially going worldwide and nobody was going to stop this crazy new hip-shaking music.
On the same date in 1984 rappers Run-DMC had the first-ever gold-certified rap album for their self-titled debut. Much in the same way that Haley breaking Britain legitimized rock 'n' roll, when Run-DMC scored all those album sales it proved that this hippity-hop music had some power to it.
