The decade of the 1950s will always be remembered for many things: the introduction of television as a purveyor of mediocre (at best) entertainment, the rise of suburbia, bomb shelters, hula-hoops, oversized automobiles adorned with big fins and tons of chrome, poodle skirts, Marilyn Monroe with her ruby red lips wearing a white dress with a plunging neckline and wind blowing up her skirt, and the Eisenhower Administration. However, the one institution that most marks the decade as a radical departure from previous ones came into being during the period 1952-54, when Bill Haley and His Comets, a country swing band that had been around for several years, switched gears and created a new sound with the release of "Rock Around the Clock." This new sound, dubbed "Rock and Roll" by Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed, quickly swept the nation, and the world. In the years that followed, Rock and Roll became the dominant cultural force for the entire world for the next half century, and more.
The inaugural group of inductees into The Skinner Zone Rock and Roll Hall of Fame includes the greatest artists of the Eisenhower era. These performers would not only create a body of work that has lasted well into the twenty-first century, but would also influence many later artists who would build upon their accomplishments and create an even greater variety of great works that would fall into the overall category of Rock and Roll.
