1. The first Number One Billboard Top 100 hit that could be considered "Rock & Roll" music was what classic that topped the charts on July 9, 1955?
From Quiz The Billboard Pop Hits of 1955
Answer:
(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock
"(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and His Comets is considered to be the first Rock & Roll record to top the Billboard Top 100 but that was not the first recording of the song. The song was written in 1953 by Max Freedman and James Myers, (the actual contribution that each made to the piece is disputed), specifically for Haley following his Number 12 charting success that year with "Crazy, Man, Crazy". However, Haley's recording date had to be postponed and another band, Sonny Dae and His Knights, beat him to the punch by about a month. Haley and his band recorded it in April 1954 and it charted for one week at Number 29 the week of May 29, 1954. It might have slipped into oblivion except it was used as the theme for the movie "Blackboard Jungle" which was released on March 25, 1955 and interest in the song exploded, culminating in its eight week run at the top of the Billboard chart with similar charting results around the world. It would take a while, but eventually the MOR ballads and instrumentals popular in the early 1950s would be replaced by this new genre.
In terms of its place in the chronology of Rock and Roll music, it was by no means the first song of that genre as witnessed by his earlier success with "Crazy, Man, Crazy". Many music historians credit the R&B hit "Rocket '88'" by Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats as the legitimate precursor to rock music while others insist that the doo-wop classic "Sh-Boom" by either the Chords or the Crew-Cuts deserves the honor. Whatever, the R&R cat was out of the bag!