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Essay on music and national identity
Thesis about the evolution of american music
Contemporary youth culture
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Chuck Berry and Teenage Culture in the 1950s
Teenagers were a new species at the beginning of the 1950's. Before then, adolescents in America had traditionally gone to work to support their family or to start their own family as soon as they were old enough. However, the years of post-war prosperity and the expansion of suburbia provided teenagers (who were too young to remember the scarcities of the Depression and the war effort) with plenty of leisure time. At the same time, advances in technology made vinyl 45's cheap and easily accessible to both artists and listeners. White teenagers bought up pop hits coming off the Billboard 100, although many who were listening to black radio stations preferred rhythm and blues tunes which were always played by black performers. In fact rhythm and blues was pretty much used as a synonym for black music. Chuck Berry was one of the first black musicians to do well with a white audience. Because of his middle class background, his energetic performing style, and his youth-associated lyrics, Chuck Berry broke through the race barrier and became one of the first "rock stars."
Berry became a representative of the teenage generation, even though he recorded his first single at the age of 29. His experience growing up, though he was almost 15 years older than many of his fans, was similar enough to the suburban experience that he could easily identify with the restless attitude of white middle class teens. Berry was "a city kid from St. Louis . . . not rooted in the rural past as were the country blues artists at Chess." (DeWitt, 140) The joys of fast cars, young love, and a rockin' beat that Berry prized as a teenager did not diminish with his age.
Berry grew up around East St. Louis. Li...
... middle of paper ...
...ve developed in the way it did, but without teenage fans, Chuck Berry might never have recorded a song.
Bibliography
Berry, Chuck. Chuck Berry: The Autobiography. New York: Harmony Books, 1987.
Chapple, Steve and Rebecca Garofolo. Rock 'n' Roll is Here to Pay. Chicago: Nelson Hall, 1977.
Cohodas, Nadine. Spinning Blues into Gold: The Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2000.
DeWitt, Howard. Chuck Berry: Rock 'n' Roll Music. Freemont, CA: Horizon Books, 1981.
Halberstam, David. The Fifties. New York: Villard Books, 1993.
Hendler, Herb. Year by Year in the Rock Era. London: Greenwood Press, 1983.
Reese, Krista. Chuck Berry: Mr. Rock and Roll. London: Proteus Books, 1982.
Rudolph, Dietmar. A Collector's Guide to the Music of Chuck Berry: Lyrics. http://members.tripod.com/~buitendeboot/LYRICS.HTML. 2001.
There is without a doubt that the 1950s saw the rise of the King of Rock 'n' Roll, known as Chuck Berry. His musical take on rhythm and blues was a large influence on many successful artists that rose the following decade, but most notably The Rolling Stones. This paper examines the earlier musical career of Chuck Berry and how The Rolling Stones modeled themselves upon him and then expanded themselves further.
Promoted by new, independently owned record labels and radio stations marketed to blacks, R&B also captured the imagination of young white audiences and led directly to the popularity of rock and roll. During the early 1950, more white teenagers started to become aware of R&B and also purchased the music, for example: forty percent of 1952 sales at Dolphins of Hollywood record shops came from the whites. In the early 1960s, British R&B developed it often brought African American service men stationed in Britain during the Cold war, or merchant seamen visiting ports such as London, Liverpool, New castle on Tyne and Belfast. The British R&B bands produced music which was very different in tone form that of African American artists, often with more emphasis on guitars and sometimes with great energy. In the 1980s a new style of R&B developed known as “Contemporary R&B”, It combines element of Rhythm and Blues, Soul, Funk, Pop and Dance. Soul music dominated the U.S R&B chart on the 1960s, and many recordings crossed over into the pop charts in the U.S, Britain and elsewhere. By 1968, the soul music genre had begun to splinter, some soul artiste developed Funk music. By the early 1979s, soul music had been influenced by Psychedelic Rock and other genres leading to Psychedelic Soul. The
Gordy Berry originally wanted his artists to have nothing to do with racism and he believed the controversy could slow the succession of this record company.
Not only did race relations play a big factor in the 1950s, it was a start to a lot of controversy in the beginning between African Americans and whites. They connected with each other because of the style of the music. This type of music deeply emphasized integration for African Americans and also during this time they were trying to gain civil rights. “At the center of that struggle, rock-n-roll unsettled a nation that had been “living in an ‘age of anxiety’” since 1945 (All Shook Up, 7). Most artists were criticized and punished for not supporting their own races and staying within their boundaries.
To conclude, the sixties had their way to write, hear and enjoy music, and I think that influenced a lot in our society, let's think for a moment: If the movements of the sixties never existed, what would have happened to the music of today? Seriously, I don't know.
As World War Two came to a close, a new American culture was developing all across the United States. Families were moving away from crowded cities into spacious suburban towns to help create a better life for them during and after the baby boom of the post-war era. Teenagers were starting to become independent by listing to their own music and not wearing the same style of clothing as their parents. Aside from the progress of society that was made during this time period, many people still did not discuss controversial issues such as divorce and sexual relations between young people. While many historians regard the 1950s as a time of true conservatism at its finest, it could really be considered a time of true progression in the American way of life.
After many of World War II’s harmful effects, the 1950s served as a period of time of musical change that reflected the dynamic of society as well as the traditional norms and values. Many factors contributed to this transformation. For example, the civil rights movement heightened many racial tensions, and the music produced consequently manifested this tension in itself. Rock-n-roll and R&B music universalized music typically associated with African-Americans, and many African-American musicians gained fame; however, as with any relatively-widespread success, there were many musicians as well who missed their opportunities due to the same racial segregation. While “radical” genres such as R&B and rock-n-roll laid the foundation for music future forms of music, the standard pop, jazz, and country music adhered to traditional values, and thus continued to maintain popularity amidst phenomena such as the Elvis craze.
Being that African Americans were if not just getting their foot in the door as being looked at as human and beginning to be accepted in U.S. society at that time. Executives in the recording industry encouraged white artists attempt to replicate the sound of popular black musicians for profit. This resulted in music like rock-n-roll that is largely associated with whites and the African American pioneers who laid down the foundation for the music are forgotten or better yet not even heard of. Cultural appropriation is still remains a concern even
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”.
America was still changing rapidly as African Americans were allowed more and more rights and social justices. During this time in America’s history, racism was still largely found across the nation. It was almost customary for average white people to hold their black counterparts and lower regards. It was very rare for people of mixed races partaking in activities together, let alone creating music. Swing resolved some of these issues, and connected the races. The audience of Swing was also different in the sense that “college-age and high-school-age youth” built up a large majority of the common listeners (Edsford 1). The inclusion of younger aged consumers of Swing music is monumentally important contrasted with swing’s predecessors, where people of this age had no outlet of listening to music of any kind. The later part of the Swing revolution occurred during the first consumer era of America, allowing people of all ages to spend more time doing things they enjoyed, compared to just trying to survive. This brought a new flair to the world and transformed the bleak and monotone life of working all day into a luxuriant
Berry Gordy and his two younger sisters conducted Motown’s artists to precise training, however, the training did not include what most people would see as a fit for record labels. The artists were not just trained as singers, but as young men and young ladies, and as entertainers. They were taught to tailor themselves, how to walk, how to speak, and how to use a salad fork, this to Berry Gordy was highly important for the success of Motown Records, as he comments “to dress neatly and conservatively, to speak without an accent, to defer with respect to others, these are the signs of refinement and the path to achievement for many blacks in this decade” (Gordy, 1970). Gordy also saw the importance of stage presence when performing; the artists were trained not just to hit notes with perfection but how to handle a microphone, and how to move with beauty on-stage so that the artist were respected with the highest regard. Motown’s vision was to have its artists performing in theatres and stadiums, not too just hear themselves on radio stations but also on television and movies, and conclusively the artists did. Gordy’s motto was “someone will walk into Hitsville as a nobody and walk out as a star” to keep this reoccurring Gordy was the one who accepted through
In closing, the undoubtable influence of music, more specifically of Rock ‘n’ Roll on American society is responsible for a number of changes to the status quo. These range from sexual liberation and racial desegregation all culminating with other influences to create an intergenerational identity. Despite the desperate attempts of older generations to smother these influences, these changes ultimately shaped the years that followed, molding the country into what it is today. Along the way these changes as well as individual involvement in them has also eased the lives of many through empowerment and a feeling of community and purpose. Despite a lull and renewal Rock ‘n’ Roll continues to serve as an agent of influence and change in today’s youth culture and continues to burn in the heart of past generations of loyal fans.
Johnson, Kevin C. "Chuck Berry Hopes for 200 More Duck Room Concerts." St. Louis Post-
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.
In conclusion this report has helped us understand the significance of Music in America. Also, the impact it has on music we listen too. Music is very much like a big chain reaction. Rock ‘N’ Roll, much like music today, stood out and was in a way rebellious. Parents now hate Rap and we love it. People in the 70’s loved Rock ‘N’ Roll and parents hated it. This shows that maybe no matter how much older people deny it, the time gap and generation gap is not too far apart. Without Rock ‘N’ Roll the World would without a doubt be changed. Any guess to that of which way would be a good one.