Birth of the teen market

1958

Elvis ships out, the Hot 100 debuts, and teenagers finally hear a chart that speaks their language instead of their parents'.

Rock and Roll Claims the Charts

Elvis is in the Army and the jukebox doesn't miss a beat — teenagers finally have a sound that feels like theirs, not their parents'. Billboard's Hot 100 debuts and suddenly every week reads like a referendum on what America wants to dance to. The big-band era isn't dead yet, but the volume knob has turned. Rock and roll isn't a fad anymore — it's the language the jukebox speaks after dark.

• rock and roll
• Hot 100 debut
• Elvis
• doo-wop
• teen market

• Billboard Hot 100 launches August 4
• Elvis inducted into the U.S. Army
• Chuck Berry's 'Johnny B. Goode' breaks through
• Danny & the Juniors' 'At the Hop' tops the year-end chart