Most influential pre-Beatles Rock'n Roll?

What bands/artists really got the Rock'nRoll ball rolling in your opinion? And why?

Elvis?
Little Richard?
Chuck Berry?
Who else?

Been digging out these old 1950's/early 60's gems from my record/CD collection and they still sound on fire HOT!

 

Chuck Berry. He was rock 'n' roll.

 

Elvis, Elvis, and Elvis

 

"Nothing really affected me until I heard Elvis. If there hadn't been an Elvis, there wouldn't have been The Beatles." - John Lennon, 1965.

 

Chuck Buddy and Elvis

 

Don't forget Buddy Holly. He was a huge influence on many, especially because bands realized they could write their own material and still have hits.

 

Ike Turner
Fats Domino
Eddie Cochran

 

Little Richard

 

Carl Perkins? Anybody?

 

And don’t forget...Elvis!

He was it, too true.

 

I don’t believe there is such thing as one person being the most influential. It just doesn’t happen. Every artist influences in a different way, I mean the Beatles had a lot of Buddy Holly, Elvis inspired them (and hundreds of kids) to become rockstars, etc.
It’s a mix, I think.

 

Most influential pre-Beatles Rock ‘n Roll is:
Buddy Holly

Per Wiki:
“Teenagers John Lennon and Paul McCartney saw Holly for the first time when he appeared on Sunday Night at the London Palladium.[72]

The two had recently met and begun their musical association. They studied Holly's records, learned his performance style and lyricism, and based their act around his persona. Inspired by Holly's insect-themed Crickets, they chose to name their band "The Beatles".

Lennon and McCartney later cited Holly as their main influence. [73] “

 

Holly & Elvis...big ones.

 

Fats Domino ?
Jerry "The Killer" Lee Lewis ?!
Roy Orbison ??

I'm not asking for just one. Throw 'em all out for consideration/discussion.

 

Link Wray ?? (Debut LP 1960)
Johnny Cash ?!
Bill Haley & His Comets ?!
Big Joe Turner ?
The Shadows ??!
Screaming Jay Hawkins ?

 

Elvis.

 

Image: Elvis
Guitar: Berry
Songwriting: Holly
Vocals: Little Richard
Performance: Jerry Lee Lewis
Badass Quotient: Cash

 

Robert Johnson.

 

Hmmmmm. Okay, then. That was fun! Lols.

 

One addition in bold

 

Just adding one more.

 

in Europe the Shadows and Cliff Richard where not that bad.... Some great records... very influential ....!

 

It wasn't just one artist. All the great '60s bands were influenced by a stew of influences. In general, I would say the main ingredients were:

Everybody on Sun Records (Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison etc.)
Everybody on Chess Records (Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Willie Dixon, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, etc.)
+ Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Everly Brothers, and the other '50s greats.

It was a mix of blues, country, pop and soul.

 

Who else?

Some big ones not on your list from the '50s and the early '60s:
Bo Diddley
Jerry Lee Lewis
Gene Vincent (and his great guitarist Cliff Gallup)
Eddie Cochran
Everly Brothers
Buddy Holly
Fats Domino
Dion (with and without the Belmonts)
Carl Perkins
Roy Orbison
In the early '60s all the girl groups -- The Shirelles, the Chantals and Phil Spectors' group the Crystals and the Ronettes, the great teen drama records produced by Shadow Morton on the Shangri-Las

R&B acts with a tight rock and roll crossover during the period:
Ray Charles
The Five Royales
The Dominoes
The Coasters
The Drifters
Huey Smith
Clarence "Frogman" Henry
Ben E. King
Ike & Tina Turner
Sam Cooke
Isley Brothers

Plenty of other great ones, or ones with just a handful of great hits, and others like Johnny Burnette someone mentioned above who had influence beyond the scope of their success, but the above list I think includes most of the most popular and most influential of the period who didn't make your first list.

 

In the UK - all those listed plus:

Tommy Steele
Lonnie Donnigan
Billy Fury
Joe Brown
Marty Wilde
Johnny Kidd & The Pirates
Cliff Richard
The Shadows