音乐家帮助诠释了五六十年代摇滚乐含义

Musician Helped Define¹ Rock n’ Roll in 1950s and 60s 音乐家帮助诠释了五六十年代摇滚乐含义

The music we call “Rock n’ Roll” became popular in the United States about 60 years ago. Rock n’ roll developed from two other musical traditions: Blues², and Rhythm-and-Blues.

Saxophone player Grady Gaines was one of the people who helped define rock music in its early days. He performed with such 1950s stars as Little Richard, Sam Cooke and Fats Domino.

Grady Gaines has now told the story of his life, in a book called “I’ve Been Out There.”

During the early years of rock n’ roll, sax player Grady Gaines felt like he was on top of the world. He can be seen performing with Little Richard in the 1956 film “Don’t Knock the Rock.”

White teenagers loved rock n’ roll music. Their support helped break down racial barriers in the United States.

Grady Gaines says he and his fellow musicians did not fully³ understand the powerful effect they were having on American society. He thought they were just playing the songs they had always played, but with a few small differences.

“We didn’t know that it was going to be rock n’ roll, because we all thought we were doing rhythm-and-blues.”

Mr. Gaines says Little Richard should be recognized for what happened.

“He actually is the first one who created the rock n’ roll stuff, Richard, Little Richard is. He had funny jokes to tell. He always had something exciting to make you laugh. To be around him, your whole spirit just lifts because he was that type of guy.”

Just as he became the most famous rock n’ roll star in the country, Little Richard left the music business to become a clergyman. Grady Gaines then began to play for singer Sam Cooke.

“If I played with Sam Cooke, it would be mellow⁴ and I tried to make my band sound Sam Cooke-style.”

Mr. Gaines played with many of the most-popular singers of the early rock n’ roll period. He then returned to his home in Houston, Texas, where he continues to perform with his own band.

Rod Evans helped Grady Gaines write his autobiography⁵.

“I went to Grady’s house and I just sat down with a tape recorder and after researching his life (I) came up with a bunch of questions to ask him about different segments⁸ of his life.”

Mr. Gaines says he worked hard to remember the events of his life.

“I tried to tell ‘em all in that book (as) much as I could, much as I could remember, and every time I read that book it’s just like me re-living my life over again.”

Rod Evans says he is sorry he was not able to talk with Little Richard about the book.

“Initially⁹, we, I thought I was gonna to be able to get him into the book and talk to him about bringing Grady into his band, but his health just declined¹⁰ to the point that he just really wasn’t up to doing it.”

Grady Gaines is now 81 years old. He continues to play the saxophone, mostly for private parties. People continue to enjoy seeing and listening to one of the musicians who helped create rock n’ roll.

Words in This Story

stuff – n. (informal) a word that is used to speak in a general way about something that is talked about or written about

mellow – adj. very calm and relaxed

style – n. a particular form or design of something

autobiography – n. a biography⁶ written by the person it is about

bunch – n. (informal) a large amount, a lot

segment⁷ – n. one of the parts into which something can be divided

initially – adv. occurring at the beginning of something

up to doing it – idiom feeling strong enough or healthy enough to engage in an activity

1 define   

vt.解释，下定义，阐述，限定，规定

参考例句：

• Please define the words.请解释这些字的意义。
• It's hard to define exactly what has changed.很难解释清楚到底发生了什么变化。

2 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 mellow   

adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟

参考例句：

• These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节，苹果就熟透了。
• The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时，色彩变得柔和了。

5 autobiography   

n.自传

参考例句：

• He published his autobiography last autumn.他去年秋天出版了自己的自传。
• His life story is recounted in two fascinating volumes of autobiography.这两卷引人入胜的自传小说详述了他的生平。

6 biography   

n.个人经历，传记

参考例句：

• He is now collecting material for a biography of Tao Yuanming.他正在为写陶渊明传记搜集材料。
• Boswell wrote a famous biography of Dr.White.鲍斯韦尔为怀特博士写过一本著名传记。

7 segment   

n.切片，部分，段，节

参考例句：

• The company dominates this segment of the market.这家公司控制着这一部分市场。
• Give me a segment of a tangerine to taste.给我一瓣柑橘尝一尝。

8 segments   

部分( segment的名词复数 )； 瓣； [计算机]（字符等的）分段； [动物学]节片

参考例句：

• He is eating oranges in segments. 他正在一瓣瓣地吃橘子。
• Gene cloning provides a means of purifying and propagating specific DNA segments. 基因克隆化提供了一种纯化和扩增特定DNA片段的方法。

9 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

10 declined   

v.辞谢，谢绝（邀请等）( decline的过去式和过去分词 )；（道路、物体等）下倾；（太阳）落下；（在品格、价值上）降低

参考例句：

• We asked her to come to our party, but she declined. 我们请她来参加我们的晚会，但是她谢绝了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He declined to charge his memory with so many details. 他不愿在脑中记这么多细枝末节。 来自《简明英汉词典》