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Rock and roll impact on american culture
History of rock and roll midterm
Rock and roll impact on american culture
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Not parents, not teachers, but music changed the decade of the 1950s. Welcome to the decade, where rock ‘n’ roll music emerged. Rock ‘n’ roll changed the world, but it wasn’t just the music. The music created a movement. People were not afraid to be different. The Birth of Rock ‘n’ roll, created a major impact on many cultures and society. When I think of Rock ‘n’ roll music, I think of the music, as a stepping stone for Americans. I think of Rock ‘n roll music as a stepping stone for Americans because the music reflects on the change of America after the war. Everybody was afraid to break out and be different. Rock and roll music made it cool to be different. During the 1950s no other genre of music was accepted or despised as much a rock ‘n’ roll. The popularity of rock music can also be traced to the controversy that the music stirred up. When rock ‘n’ roll music hit the white suburbia area and became popular to the youth, the following decades talk trash about rock ‘n’ roll music. Despite the people talking trash about rock music, the music did help break down racial barriers. Rock music was universal. The music allowed different races to join together on the dance floor. As we take a journey through the 1950s, we will be able to understand the roots of Rock ‘n’ roll, famous idols, fashion sense the music created, and why rock ‘n roll has stirred up so much controversy during the fifties.
Before we explore The Birth of rock ‘n’ Roll, we must first reflect on other sounds that influence this genre of music. Sounds from blues, country, jazz, and gospel music all played a huge role in the birth of rock ‘n’ roll. The creation of different genres of music mixed together created a loud, fast, liberating sound that primarily a...
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... White America was furious because of the emergence of rock and roll music. Parents would call radio stations to get disc jockeys to stop playing the rock and roll music, but this stunt affected the economy as well. Most of the money was being produce by rock and roll artist. A lot of parents knocked rock and roll, but the music did united people from many cultures together.
Works Cited
Cayton, Mary. Rock and Roll. Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll Music During the 1950s Ed. New
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Miller, Jim. The Rolling Stones. New York: Rolling Stones Press, 1976.
Palmer, Robert. Rock & Roll. New York, New York: Harmony Press, 1995.
Smith, Isabel. “History of Music.” Stories of Rock and Roll Music from 1950s Ed. New York: Plume, 1989. 87-95.
Williams, Peter. Encyclopedia of American Social History Ed. New York: Gale U.S. History,
1993.
What emerged after the explosion of rock and roll in the 1950s abandoned the roll and has now come to be known just as classic rock. This rock that was created following the decade of The King became a completely unique and different sound that changed the musical landscape and what was once a single, unified genre gave way for multitudes of variation in its sounds. These new sounds, that came mostly from abroad, had been notably influenced by the American rock of the 1950s, such as Elvis, Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry. These pioneers of rock came to be the essential reason for the arrival of the British Invasion and other sounds that defined the decade of the 1960s.
During the 1960s and the early 1970s, music reflected the political and social changes that America was undergoing at the time. Some of these major changes included the African-American civil rights movement and the conflict over America’s role in the Vietnam War. During these hard times, people turned to music for hope, peace, happiness and answers.
The book depicts the story of culture conflicts of the music, which arose from the introduction of the foot-tapping, hip-swaying music now known as rock n' roll (Graarrq). The outcome of rock n’ roll coincided with tremendous uproar in the movement to grant civil rights to African American. Trapped in the racial politics of the 1950s, rock n’ roll was credited with and criticized for promoting integration and economic opportunity for blacks while bringing to “mainstream” cloture black styles and values (Altschuler). Black values were looked over and kind of not important to whites. Whites were very much so well treated then blacks were, however no one spoke out until the outcome of rock n’ roll.
Rock n - roll In the 1950s rock-n-roll established its own mark in history. It spread throughout the decade in a thrilling, substantial, and even livid manner to those Americans trying to get rid of all sorts of conflicts and challenges that occurred during this time period. As exciting as this music was, the novel “All Shook Up” portrays how rock-n-roll brought many changes to the American culture and later to the sixties. It expresses many concerns such as race relations, moral decay, and communism, but in ways that are partially true.
Newfield, Jack. “Who Really Invented Rock ‘n’ Roll?” New York Sun. New York Sun, 21 Sep. 2004. Web. 28 Nov. 2010
I. First I will start by discussing the various genres that created rock music in the 50’s and 60’s.
Music has continued to change throughout each decade, but the 1960s was the most influential decade in the history of music. Starting in the early 1950s, rock music was first introduced. Major record labels were releasing new “cover songs” which were originally made by black artist, but now by white artist (Rock and Roll). These cover songs changed a few lyrics from the original songs to avoid copyright issues and to also make the song more appropriate for the white listeners. The biggest star of the 1950s was Elvis Presley, who was known as the “King of rock n’ roll”.
Harris, James F. “Listen to the music: the meaning of classic rock,” The World & I, Vol. 11, 12 Ed. (1996): December, pp. 306.
The development of Rock ‘n’ Roll in the late 1940s and early 1950s by young African Americans coincided with a sensitive time in America. Civil rights movements were under way around the country as African Americans struggles to gain equal treatment and the same access to resources as their white neighbors. As courts began to vote in favor of integration, tensions between whites and blacks escalated. As the catchy rhythm of Rock ‘n’ Roll began to cross racial boundaries many whites began to feel threatened by the music, claiming its role in promoting integration. This became especially problematic as their youth became especially drawn to ...
McPherson, Ian. “The Salt of the Earth: 1955-1960 R&B-Derived Rock & Roll.” Time Is On Our
Rock and Roll was the start of a new revolution in America. It introduced the world to many of the famous artists that continue to be a part of our lives today. "Artists who became popular in the 1950s such as Elvis, began to pave the way for others such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly" (The History of Rock 'n' Roll until 1960). With the introduction of rock 'n' roll, there came many new changes to the lives of many Americans. Rock and Roll was a major contributor for the change in teens' behavior in the 1950s because it encouraged new freedoms for teenagers, encouraged new fads among teenagers, and caused a generation gap.
It was no coincidence that rock ‘n’ roll and the civil rights movement started at the same time. The genre originated from African American music and was greatly discriminated against. Traditional white Americans would target anything bad about it. But as the teenager demographic of the 1950s started increasing the sales of the music, the genre started gaining more popularity. It was the style of Elvis Presley and his new voice that made girls weak in the knees and boys want to be him. Artists such as Presley had enough influence to change the view of their devoted fans on civil rights issues. Soon as protest songs and rock ‘n’ roll became more popular and influential, it began a gap between the young adult generation and their parents which led to the rebellion of the civil rights movement. Through these factors rock ‘n’ roll influenced a great deal over the civil rights movement.
1 Gass, Bryan "A History of Rock Music: The Rock and Roll Era" World Book. Ed. 6. 1994.
Stone, A. (2008, January 1). History and Evolution of Rhythm and Blues. . Retrieved May 28, 2014, from http://www.last.fm/user/Alex_Stone91/journal/2008/03/03/b87fp_the_history_and_evolution_of_rhythm_and_blues_
Powell, A. (2007). The Music of African Americans and its Impact on the American Culture in the 1960’s and the 1970’s. Miller African Centered Academy, 1. Retrieved from http://www.chatham.edu/pti/curriculum/units/2007/Powell.pdf