This From Today's Scotsman -

Claim that Scots invented rock 'n' roll hits bum note RHIANNON EDWARD AN ATTEMPT to boost tourism by claiming rock 'n' roll and country music were invented by Scots has been criticised by musicologists. A Scottish Executive website claims that stars such as Elvis Presley, Hank Williams and Little Richard were influenced by Scottishs folk music. The Executive's Scotlandnow website - aimed at expats - has been accused of "romantic nationalism" by music experts after claiming that modern music was shaped by Scots who fled to the New World during the 18th century. Scottish Executive chiefs want to use the country's "jock and roll" links to attract American Scots to visit their ancestral homeland. But some experts have criticised the website for exaggerating Scotland's role, and said that the country's influence was "negligible" in shaping the American musical scene of the 1950s and 60s. The article - written on the arts and culture page of the Friends of Scotland's Scotlandnow site, claims that the 250,000 Scots who fled to the new world in the 18th century took the folk songs which eventually mutated into rock 'and 'n' roll. Professor Richard Peterson, of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, said: "It is safe to say that if the Scottish part of the British Isles had never existed US country music would be much as it is today."