Rock And Roll Essay

Rock 'n Roll: The Revolutionary Spirit of Crazed Abandon

Most things have their beginnings in something small: a word, a breath, or idea; but not music. Music begins with a single vibration. It explodes and carries on, morphing worlds of unrelated personas. It lives rampantly in the mouths of millions of unruly and free-spirited teenagers, like a fever. The rock 'n roll trend that defiantly rose against the conformist ideology of the mid-twentieth century left remnants that commenced the start of a progressing society: a culture that redefined the rules of society and pushed social and moral limits while addressing social concerns.

Although the birth of rock 'n roll is held to be debatable, primarily based on individual opinion, it is probable that its advent initiated during the 1950s. America experienced a great deal of post-war (WWII) economic prosperity in resemblance with the affluent Roaring Twenties. The British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said during this era that “America at this moment [stood] at the summit of the world” (History.com Staff 1). In comparison with the Jazz Age mania that endured throughout the Roaring Twenties, rock 'n roll served as the modus operandi, or method of approach, to a fresh and enlightened age: a step towards modernization. Above else, the music was the medium through which self-expression charged through the youthful minds, bold and unrestrained. With an increasing appetite for destruction and independence, America's youth relentlessly dared to question stagnant mindsets and authority by rewriting the rules of society, one record at a time. Rock 'n roll was their means to achieve that rebellion, "hardening parents and school authorities in their opposition to rock and roll" (Rockin' th...

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...ent for the Vietnam anti-war movement, rock 'n roll was indubitably a source of communication for the Civil Rights movement. At the start of the 1950s, rock 'n roll began to develop a conscious, epitomized by the involvement that it demonstrated as the demand for racial equality picked up momentum. To begin with, rock 'n roll took on a powerful role by crossing over racial boundaries. It integrated musical styles of both black and white artists. The music was definitely considered to be touching incredibly controversial and dangerous topics, especially as it defied the status quo at the time. As it became the movement's unofficial anthem, the aesthetic approach of rock 'n roll allowed black artists to be signed to labels due to the music's popularity and potential profitability. Rock 'n roll brought both black and white teenagers to break the barriers of prejudice.