26 Mar Rock & Roll
The English English Podcast – Episode 10
Playing Rock ’n’ Roll in the 1950s
An interview with Pete Taylor
Glossary
youth – the period of life between childhood and adult age
pluck – to move a string with your finger to make a sound
plywood – wood made up of various layers of thin wood
oak – a hard-wood tree. Its fruit is the acorn
tumble-dryer – a machine for drying clothes
line post – the piece of wood or metal used for holding ends of the washing line
saw mill – a place where they cut wood
scrapped – the past tense of scrap – to sell or give away something old so that its
components can be used later, or the raw materials can be reused
pretended – to fake something, act in a misleading way
slot – a time-slot is a place in the order of events
split up – not to be together anymore
Use the words above to fill in the spaces while you listen
1. The neck and the finger board I actually made from my mother’s ……………
2. One of those posts was made of ………..
3. The group ……………, in fact we all went different ways.
4. There were no ……………….. in 1957.
5. We’re talking to my Dad, Pete Taylor, about his ………… as a rock n roll
musician in the 1950s and 1960s.
6. Gradually the rock ’n’ roll ……….. became longer and longer until all the
poor old dance musicians were out of work.
7. At the end of the second world war when all these things were being
…………. somebody bought up a load of these and sold them to bassists and
guitarists.
8. You´d ………… the string.
9. If you look at that bass it’s actually made out of ……………….
10. I took the oak down to the ………………. and got it sawn up.
11. We …………….. we were 18.
Pete mentioned all these kinds of music. Which of these styles did he
actually play?
Skiffle
Country Blues
Rock n roll
Rock
Big band dance music
Country
Jazz
RnB (rhythm and blues)
Folk music
Blues rock
Acoustic blues
Can you match the music vocab with the pictures?
1. Washboard
2. Tea-chest bass
3. Electric bass
4. Drum kit
5. Amplifier
6. double bass
7. pick-up
8. fret/finger board
9. neck
Links
Sister Rosetta Tharpe ? Didn’t it rain
Pete’s current band – Bessie’s Blues