“Good Rockin' Tonight”

By 1956, rock and roll had been established as a musical form. Rock and roll was a fusion of blues and country music, with an emphasis on a big beat (for a while the music was called the Big Beat). In addition, the imagery of such loud music was reinforced by the lyrical content, which often included fast cars, young love, and rebellion. Both the sound and the soul of rock and roll gelled from a series of events that happened throughout 1955. Fats Domino recorded the single “Ain't It a Shame.” Fats Domino had no less than fifty-nine hits on the R & B charts throughout the fifties, thirty-seven of those hits reaching the Top 40 charts. Pat Boone recorded Domino's song as “Ain't That a Shame.” Pat Boone appeared regularly on Arthur Godfrey's popular television show, and that helped to raise public awareness of rock and roll, but it took Elvis Presley to begin the rock and roll revolution.

“Mystery Train”

When Elvis got back to Memphis, he went into Sun Studio to record. The first single he recorded was “I Forgot to Remember to Forget.” This was the song that established Elvis's popularity in the country and western market. The B-side was “Mystery Train.” “Mystery Train” reached number one on the country charts in November 1955. It was the last single that Elvis recorded for Sun.