Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Primarily from a combination of African American Blues, jump blues, country, jazz and gospel music. The elements of rock and roll can be heard in country records of the 1930s,and in blues records from the 1920s. Rock and roll did not get its name until the 1950s. Music influenced many peoples lives in the 1950's. Common points of shared music began to blur racial lines, encouraging empathy and acceptance.