When is the 50th Anniversary of Rock and Roll? As with any cultural paradigm, reasonable people can come to different conclusions about the point in time that Rock and Roll actually emerged. However the very nature of this celebration presupposes a point in time for that emergence. One of our first duties at Rock and Roll 50TH AnniversarySM was to articulate a specific date or set of dates for this passage. Rock legends Bobby Curtola and Bill Haley. (used with permission of Bobby Curtola) We have performed comprehensive historical research and determined that while it might be difficult to identify what might be the first actual rock and roll song, it is clear that its significant cultural emergence occurred in the 1954-1955 time period. During this period we see what was to become Rock and Roll developing, virtually simultaneously in Memphis via Sam Phillips and Sun Records, and in Chicago with Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry for Chess Music. The release of "Blackboard Jungle" in the spring of 1955 brought "Rock around the Clock" to attention of millions. In the fall of 1954, Alan Freed officially attached the name he had been using for several years to the "Rock and Roll Coronation Ball" further punctuating what was a revolutionary shift in the collective musical consciousness of the nation. Rock and Roll had arrived. We therefore, announce the following official yearlong of celebration for Rock and Roll's 50th anniversary: Starting Date: July 5th 2004 - 50 years to the day that Elvis Presley, in the studio at Sun Records in Memphis, records "That's Alright Mama". Ending Date July 5th 2005 - 50 years after Rock around the Clock hits #1 on the Billboard Charts firmly establishing Rock and Roll as an independent form of music as well as cultural phenomenon.