Rock and Roll and Social Change

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Richard Welch published the article “Rock ‘n’ Roll and Social Change” in History Today on February 1, 1990. In the article “Rock and Roll ‘n’ Social Change” “This revolution created a music which became the common property not only of two generations of Americans, but also millions throughout the world, creating the most ubiquitous, and perhaps the most influential form of American popular culture” (32). History Today, one of the world’s oldest history magazines, has been published monthly in London since January 1951. The magazine was founded by Brendan Bracken, Minister of Information after World War II. He served as chairman of the Financial Times and was a lieutenant under Sir Winston Churchill. Annually, History Today with Longman (an English publishing company) holds an awards ceremony, the Longman-History Today Award, to recognize work in the field of history. The war was over and baby boomers were just starting to become teenagers. I like rock ‘n’ roll. The teenagers did because the existing music of the time, folk music and country music, was pretty monotonous. Whether it was Elvis Presley or the fact that Sun Records had previously recorded black blues music is not really relevant. Rock ‘n’ Roll was a new form of music that had some spunk too it. I completely understand why teenagers in the 50’s and 60’s liked it. Furthermore, it sounds great today because it has rhythm and style and beat unlike the modern hip-hop or foul laden music of today. Country Music has since taken off, but it was not sophisticated and too subdued. “Social revolution” might be too strong of a term, but it was at least an evolution. Rock ‘n’ roll was something teenager, desiring to rebel could relate to it. Rock ‘n’ Roll spread, mainly through r...

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... how it became the pillar of popular music. Also, he illustrates how influential music is and the important role it plays in our lives. Musical events provide an outlet for people to socialize and make friends. Personally, I am glad Rock ‘n’ Roll raised expectations of music. Socialization was needed in America; society was becoming more prosperous, more culturally accepting as exhibited by the start of black and white segregation. Teenagers, who are going through the conflicts of youth also were impacted by the change in society and required a stabilizing influence of their own, also known as Rock ‘n’ Roll. In conclusion, Richard Welch accurately depicted the events, the complexity of music, and the young culture milestones that led up to revolution of popular music in American History.

Works Cited

Allen, Richard. Rock n Roll and Social Change. History Today.

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