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Elvis impact on pop culture
Elvis impact on pop culture
Elvis impact on pop culture
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History of Popular Music from the 1950s to the present:
Origins
Popular Music evolved from several genres, Pop music charts didn’t properly exist until 1950. Also this was when the term “teenagers” was created. Before then there was only childhood and adulthood. One of the reasons was due to the end of World War 2.
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Rock and Roll 1930s
1932, Adolph Rickenbacker creates the first version of his lap guitar; he would later make his invention better.
Due to racial discrimination and segregation, African Americans were not allowed to play in “white people’s” clubs; therefore the music did not catch on to the main population of USA. Until artists like Elvis Presley came to the scene. Elvis Presley grew up in a mainly black neighbourhood
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Elton John was the biggest name during the seventies period. He is a pianist, singer and songwriter. He was a child prodigy playing the piano at the age of four to a high level. He formed a band with his friends at the age of fourteen, they were known as the Corvettes.
Elton met Bernie Taupin a lyricist, and they started working together as musicians. He then changed his name to Elton John, adapted from the name of two musicians, Elton Dean, a sax player and Long John Baldry another musician.
They recorded their first song ‘Scarecrow’ in 1967. With Taupin writing the lyrics and Elton performing the songs.
His debut album was recorded at 1969, ‘Empty Sky’, Then another album ‘Elton John’ was released in 1970.
Elton was a rock pianist being influenced by the blues and boogie-woogie.
In 1974, Elton collaborated with John Lennon from the Beatles and was Lennon’s final performance. Elton became a success and received critical acclaim.
1980s, Audio CD Is Invented
Sony and Phillips invent audio CD.
1980 was the ‘golden age’ of several performing acts such as Duran Duran, Prince and
In October 1955 as Elvis' special advisor (Bob Neal was still managing Elvis), Colonel negotiated a recording contract with RCA Victor for Elvis. It should be noted that it was, at that time, the custom for the A&R people to choose the songs for an artist to record. However Colonel insisted that Elvis choose his own songs. Today it is common practice for the artist to choose their own material. . . .but Elvis was the first.
Although most of the singing was by Paul, John Lennon wrote most of the songs in the album. The only song John Lennon starred in the album was
AIDS is the one of the most devastating diseases known to man as of today. “At the EJAF (Elton John AIDS Foundation) we believe that AIDS can be beaten” (Elton). Elton John AIDS Foundation is one of the most well-known charities in it’s field and is well respected throughout the world. Elton John decided to start this organization after losing two of his close friends, Freddie Mercury and Ryan White, to the disease. The foundation was initially set up in the United States (New York) in 1992, and then the United Kingdom (London) in 1993 (Elton). The principal advocacy of the foundation is to improve the quality of life of those diagnosed with or at high risk for HIV/AIDS.
Like Martin Luther King Jr. said, “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” In the 1950’s the South was heavily racially segregated. Elvis Presley unintentionally put himself in the position to become a valuable instrument in the battle against segregation. “Without casting himself as a fighter for racial equality, Elvis became a subversive standard bearer for cultural desegregation at a time when the codified racism of the South was under increasing pressure.” How did an uneducated white hillbilly from the south influence both black and white teenagers against segregation? It was quite simple, for Elvis Presley had a unique talent of combining traditional black music; such as the blues and jazz, with the traditional white music; like country and white gospel. This unique style of blending different types of music, gave Elvis the edge on the musical racial barriers America was facing; and open the path for both sides to enjoy the music together and therefore desegregated.
With a new name and a determined spirit, Elton answered a talent advertisement for Liberty Records. This opportunity introduced him to Bernie Taupin and they began writing songs together by sending letters to each other (Elton John). Bernie would write the lyrics of a song first and Elton would compose the music; throughout their careers they have continued to use this method of songwriting. In 1970, Elton John released a self-titled album and the hit “Your Song” introduced him to a worldwide audience (Elton John). The album peaked at number four on The Billboard 200 chart and “Your Song” reached the eighth position on The Billboard Hot 100. More importantly, the song established Elton as a familiar voice on the radio in the United States where he would ultimately garner tremendous success (All Music).
As the era of War and Depression was coming to a close, a new America was on the rise. Women began taking their place within the role of housewife while teenagers were careless with their actions. Since the Great Depression was over, the economy was booming and all the worries about money were gone. Race and segregation was still a problem and becoming more and more controversial. African Americans were fighting for desegregation, especially in schools such as in the Board v Brown case. While the new era brought on some social changes, many known changes came from one man known as “The King of Rock and Roll”: Elvis Presley. With Market potential on his mind, Sam Phillips of Sun Records was looking for an artist who appealed to both whites and blacks, found just what he was looking for in Elvis, a man with a white face and a black sound. Phillips managed to find an artist who appealed to the largest consumer base; white society. Presley’s music would go on to revolutionize future genres along with the people themselves. Elvis Presley did not only impact fashion, attitude, music and views on race during the 1950s, but also had a profound influence regarding these aspects that can still be seen in today’s society.
Rock and roll music existed before Elvis Presley came along, but with his arrival on the performing scene, Americans could ignore it no longer. In 1956, he strode in front of a television camera for the first time as the provocative image of a high school hood and achieved an instant rapport with millions of U.S. teenagers who were experiencing their own adolescent rebellion. Hip-wiggling gyrations that brought a storm of protest from the adult world reinforced his popularity with young people, and he became the epitome of a whole generation that saw itself as defiant, disenchanted, and less inhibited than the one that had gone before. His songs, an amalgam of white country and western music, black rhythm and blue, and gospel sounds of both races, heralded a change in popular music that would eventually make this interaction of black and white musicality an accepted idiom in American culture.
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”.
Rock ‘n’ roll and 20th Century Culture According to Philip Ennis, rock ‘n’ roll emerged from the convergence of social transformations which resulted from World War II (Ryan 927). Despite its pop culture origins, rock music is arguably one of the strongest cultural factors to develop in this century. Artists such as Lennon, McCartney and Dylan defined the emotions of a generation and, in the last decade, it as even been acknowledged by members of the establishment which it hoped to change as a major influence in the country. In order to understand how rock went from a sign of rebellion to a cultural icon, it is necessary to understand where it came from.
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 ...
Rock ‘n’ Roll Rock ‘n’ roll was a controversial yet fashionable genre of popular music that emerged in the early 1950s (America in the World, 1776 to the Present : A Supplement to the Dictionary of American History: Mâ€'Z, Index. 2016, p896-899.). Its origin is also started from the revolution of bourgeois. The younger generation had gone through the Second World War, though, the older generation had treated kids. Two generations that had each world war had divided. A lot of the pain and anger felt by the younger generation made them to resist against the social establishment. As a result, the war had created a gulf between generations but further reduced the gap between blacks and whites. The youth of the 1950s felt unconnected to their society and began looking at the world more globally, and also began looking for new role models who reflected their ideas and beliefs. They knew that ideas of old generation would no longer work in a modern society. Thus several young leaders stood out and took center stage that setting the pace for the direction of society and its music form that point on. At this time, technical innovations had emerged such as electric guitar and electric bass. This is the impetus of creation of music including rock ‘n’
It became less about the outwardly racist and degrading stereotypes and became more about black artists being pushed to the side with their work covered by white artists. The most obvious example is the Rock N Roll revolution. Rock N Roll was marketed to teenagers as a way to command attention and was seen as a way of rebellion: Elvis Presley’s gyrating hips and abundance of sex appeal at the forefront. There is no doubt that Elvis Presley was a great performer and arguably the first real rock star. He was able to command a stage and have a room full of women scream at the top of their lungs with just one note. Doesn’t mean that he all those notes were his. For instance, Hound Dog, one of Elvis’s most recognizable songs was also a cover. The original artist, Big Mama Thornton, wrote the song in… and never got to see her version reach a fraction of the fame Elvis’s did. In fact “as to her royalties she says, “I got one check for $500 and I never seen another. (235)” Elvis’s version of Hound Dog sold roughly 2 million
Duke Ellington’s journey to fame started at the age of 15 when he wrote his first song. Writing songs helped him create his first real band, “The Washingtonians”, and his first real performances. Ellington did not always come up with his music all by himself, he often used
Popular music at the turn of the century came largely from musical theater - Broadway and Hollywood. Originally, popularized by traveling groups and sheet music sales, popular music really came into its own with the arrival of radio broadcasting, jukeboxes, 78 r.p.m recordings and other twentieth century technologies which continued into the Fifties.
George attended Dovendale Primary School, two forms behind John Lennon, and then he attended Liverpool Institute, one form behind Paul McCartney. George and Paul took the same bus to school, and soon found they had music and guitars in common.