The major artists whose talents emerged in the 1950's were both rock and roll artists together with those who remained entrenched in their respective genres. In the field of rock and roll, the greatest artists were Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Bill Haley and his Comets, Carl Perkins and Ray Charles with hits like "Blue Suede Shoes", "jailhouse Rock", "Johnny B. Goode", "Rock around the clock", "What'd I say" and "Bo Diddley". The other major artists who dominated in the fifties were Louis Armstrong, Johnny Cash, Nat "King" Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Roy Orbison and BB King. These covered the most divergent genres from soft soulful music to western style and the blues.

While rock and roll was at its peak during the time, the other fields continued to develop with artists like Johnny Cash and Nat King Cole. Johnny Cash was a country artist who is considered to be one of the single most influential artists of century. In the hands of Nat "King" Cole, jazz flowed into the mainstream of music and still remains there. His songs like "Mona Lisa" and "Too Young" were composed in the fifties and created a mixture of pop music with the traditional jazz culture. In the Rhythm and Blues (R&B), Ray Charles was the singular master with hits like "the little girl of mine", "Lonely Avenue" and "drown in my own tears". Even in the later decades, he was successful in making a complete transition to pop music and still managed to score some major hits like "Georgia on my mind".

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