Rock and Roll: The Turbulent Teenage Revolution of the 1950s

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After World War II, America 's youth twisted and gyrated celebrating their way out of the war at the chagrin of any person over the age of thirty. The 1950 's were a time when teenagers had money and were spending it on records, albums, and concerts stirring up the world in a way no previous generation ever accomplished. Parents no longer had to scrimp and save every penny; the Great Depression was over and America 's youth did not have the worries others before them had. These affluent teenagers would go into the stores to buy records and would skip right over Sinatra and Como and reach for Pressley and Holly. The influence of the rock and roll era would poke holes into the political, social, spiritual, and historical pockets and change …show more content…

It fused African American blues with gospel. Today it includes punk rock, hard rock, alternative rock, and several other striations. One reason this fusion took place was the great migration of blacks northward. African American artists such as Chuck Berry started getting airtime and it grew in popularity partly due to one disc jockey. According to the United States History website, "Disc Jockey Alan Freed began a rhythm-and-blues show on a Cleveland radio station. Soon the audience grew and grew, and Freed coined the term "rock and roll" (“The Cold War Continues,” 2014). The teenagers loved it and parents hated it. The churches believed it was devil music but rock and roll was born and carries on into the future. The political ramifications of the rock and roll movement would have to include the defining of an age. Before, teenagers had no politically defined group and now this newly formed segment demanded freedom and rights. Parents feared that with rock and roll juvenile delinquency would rise and teenagers would rebel. Sub-cultures arose such as "hippies" that came from San Francisco and spread outward in the 1960 's. Because music is an international language, cultures from many areas became intertwined. Once television was created, music could even influence political

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