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Rock n roll and civil rights
The history of rock and roll
The history of rock and roll
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At the beginning of the 1950s, a new form of music began causing public ripples, exciting an expanding teenage audience while worrying many others who preferred smoother, and more calmer music, this new music form would come to be known as "Rock & Roll". Rock & Roll music was created from a combination of electric blues, country and gospel music. Some people say that the rise of Rock and Roll was in a way related to the civil-rights movement, which occurred during the same time period. Teenagers fell in love with "Rock & Roll" becoming an instant hit, listening to it on radios they started buying it in record stores. Rock & Roll music expressed themes such as love and freedom from the oppression ,and boring life of middle-class society. …show more content…
Elivs brought a new generation of rock ,and changed the way that rock music would be played, playing for large crowds of not just teen fans ,but more mature fans. In April of 1956 Elvis Presley tops the Pop Charts with his first ever album release of "Heartbreak Hotel". By 1957, Rock and Roll artist show up frequently on the music charts and by 1959, Rock and Roll records account for 43% of all records sold. For big record labels, Elvis’ success was marketed for the potential of teenage idols not only did Rock and Roll encourage a feeling of rebellion, Rock and Roll also began tearing down racial barriers in popular culture, as white teens listened to African American musicians such as Chuck Berry and Little Richard. The death of rock and roll stars Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens in 1959 inspired the now well-known song "American Pie" by Doc McLean. In the sixties rock music started to become popular ,and really started dominating the popular music …show more content…
The music industry had made a recovery from its economic decline by the creation of a new technology in the 1980s known as, "digital recording". Vinyl records were started to get replaced by compact disc or (CDs), a technological revolution that had a conservative effect. MTV (Music Television) was launched on 300 U.S. cable TVs in 1981. The popularity of music videos were used as a marketing tool ,and were very important in the creation of new bands and new music styles into the mainstream media. The creation of synthpop, rap and hip hop was becoming more known in the mainstream media. Rock, had become, both a way of making money ,and making music. This had caused a couple problems that were unknown until the 1980s. First, musical tension started rising between the mainstream and the musicians, which had originally caused rock and roll popularity, was now used for making money ,and profits. In 1985, the television was present covering different live events including some charity concerts taking place around the country. This created the opportunity to show this music around the globe, not only did this show the rock establishment and its variety of musical artist ,but also made the television a marketing potential. The 80s, was becoming a way more different time than the 1950s ,and the 1960s
During the 1960s and the early 1970s, music reflected the political and social changes that America was undergoing at the time. Some of these major changes included the African-American civil rights movement and the conflict over America’s role in the Vietnam War. During these hard times, people turned to music for hope, peace, happiness and answers.
Elvis Presley was able to capture the essence of African American rhythm and blues yet modify them in a way to appeal to a large white audience, however he added a lot of sexual hip gyrations which drove young fans wild and gained parents disapproval (Charlton). When he performed on Ed Sullivan the 60 million people who tuned in that night saw those, now famous, dance moves which resulted in CBS only filming him from the waist up in his next two appearances (Ed Sullivan). Overall Presley established the foundation of rock and roll but the Beatles took it to the next level. Debuting in 1964 on Ed Sullivan, The Beatles broke the stereotypical rock and roll image by dressing in suits with mop-top haircuts, and writing songs not just to dance to but that also had personal and relevant meaning (Sneed). With an audience of 73 million The Beatles impact was nothing less than huge (Ed Sullivan). The Rolling Stones, were the next British band to invade American however they were quite different than their predecessor. They exposed the rebellious side of rock and roll by representing a "bad boy" image and using rhythm and blues, American country music, soul music, and reggae elements in their songs (Charlton). The Ed Sullivan Show helped launch and continue the success of these performers and
Rock n - roll In the 1950s rock-n-roll established its own mark in history. It spread throughout the decade in a thrilling, substantial, and even livid manner to those Americans trying to get rid of all sorts of conflicts and challenges that occurred during this time period. As exciting as this music was, the novel “All Shook Up” portrays how rock-n-roll brought many changes to the American culture and later to the sixties. It expresses many concerns such as race relations, moral decay, and communism, but in ways that are partially true.
It is derived from African American roots in musical styles such as gospel, boogie woogie, jazz, jump, and rhythm & blues but also has strong roots from hillbilly music which would later be known as country. Rock and Roll has really been in existence since the early 20th century but never attained the name until April 12th 1954, the day some would say that Rock ‘n’ Roll was born, when Bill Haley & his Comets recorded ‘Rock Around the Clock’. Although considered the day Rock ‘n’ Roll was born, many other events in American history have given foundation to this much-loved idea. Rock ‘n’ Roll is much more than just music, rather it is the movement which underlines cultural imperialism. Rock promotes a culture of comfort and freedom from social constraints.
I believe that the history of rock and roll demonstrates a link between culture and social class race, and age; by the way a genre brings all the people in these different categories into one big group. When rock and roll began to emerge people from different cultures and social classes started to come together as a group by the way they dressed. It was not only the music but also the fashion it brought along with it. People from this era changed the way they dressed, styled their hair and their means of transportation. This brought together people from different cultures and social class, race and age all together.
I. I now come to an end of explaining the changes the music industry has gone through from the fifties on through today. The fifties with its rhythm and blues that gave way to rock and roll, the sixties with the rise of big record labels and their attention shifting more towards pop music that would drive their profits sky high. The seventies with the advent of what we now know as rock.
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 ‘60s were the age of youth, as millions of children’s from post World War II became teenagers and rebelled against the conservative fifties. Denying civil rights to African-Americans and liberation to teenagers in previous decades and Vietnam War, created a vortexes which lead to massive rebellion against the status qua. Music of the 1960s was characteristic of the revolution that was going on during the decade. It was a time of rebellion and counter-culture in which the teenagers and college students were critical of government, business, religious institution and other various aspects of life. Era marked by civil rights movement, Vietnam War, environment of drug abuse and sexual freedom formed new music like: folk rock, soul and psychedelic rock. These genres starkly contrast the teen idol music of ‘50s pop mainstream. Writes John Covach; “World was exploding, and rock musicians were listening more closely than ever.”(Covach, 152) Such stark contrast in pop music directly relay to changing social culture in America, which further echo’s the relationship between music and culture.
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 ...
While going through our history of rock and roll course, one thing has become apparent, and that is that music brings people together. Sometimes it takes music to get a point across, and our world has endured a lot of social and a cultural change, which is how we music today. Just like our world is evolving, music is the same way. When a baby is born until the day it dies, it has evolved internally and externally and that is the same way I view the history of rock “n” roll. For instance, the great wars and the civil rights movement help influence to history of rock and roll. It gave people a purpose to listen to music and let artist express themselves through their songs. I’m not saying by any means that all the struggles we as a nation have
Now everybody knows Elvis Presley as the King of Rock-and-Roll. In 1953 Elvis Presley walked into Sun Recording Company and recorded "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartaches Begin" on a two sided record. But, Elvis went unnoticed until 1954 when he recorded “That’s alright (Mama)” and “Blue Moon of Kentucky.” (A&E Biograph...
Music around the 1980s was all about making an image with also the popularity of TV shows, to accompanied artists became more important than ever. The 1980s reflected mainly on music. Several music genres included Rock and Roll, Hip Hop, New Wave, and Hair Metal, of which have influenced our music today. Arguably the most important event to influence music during the 1980s was the creation of the cable network MTV (Music Television). MTV was the first network to exclusively showcase music videos, making its debut on August 1st, 1981. The first music video to be played on the channel was, appropriately, the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star," as music would forever change and the focus would shift from music and lyrics to fashion and theatrics,
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.
It was no coincidence that rock ‘n’ roll and the civil rights movement started at the same time. The genre originated from African American music and was greatly discriminated against. Traditional white Americans would target anything bad about it. But as the teenager demographic of the 1950s started increasing the sales of the music, the genre started gaining more popularity. It was the style of Elvis Presley and his new voice that made girls weak in the knees and boys want to be him. Artists such as Presley had enough influence to change the view of their devoted fans on civil rights issues. Soon as protest songs and rock ‘n’ roll became more popular and influential, it began a gap between the young adult generation and their parents which led to the rebellion of the civil rights movement. Through these factors rock ‘n’ roll influenced a great deal over the civil rights movement.