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Relationship between music and racism over time essay
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Introduction
The political possibilities of popular music particularly in the sixties served as a reflection on the society of the United States of America, as it has been suggested throughout my thesis. I have argued that blues revolutionized music and folk politicised it. Now, I will demonstrate how rock contributed to a widespread and far-reaching cultural exchange between black and white America in regards to the issues the counter-culture was concerned about. Rock also reflected the political conflicts of the day and through which the young generation sought liberation and self-respect. In this process they found personal identities and at the same time experienced collectiveness. What cannot be overlooked in this discussion, is the commercial climate; an important factor that successfully managed to fuse the folk and rock worlds as saleable commodities in the age of “constitutional re-play of mass production. ” In this crossover of music styles, deep soul and R&B even further revolutionized the sixties countercultural protest music and the American popular culture. Part of this debate will be the importance of Otis Redding, whose 1967 performance at Monterey Pop Festival marked a pivotal moment in the future preservation of black culture. First, in this chapter the intention is to point out to the promise and the power of rock music as a revolutionary and authentic 1960s political and cultural resource that forever transformed U.S. society (and the world in a broader sense.) Second, I also intend to demonstrate the significance of black and white musical intersection in order to explore the political uses of popular music of this era. Ultimately, I wish to illustrate the controversies about countercultural protest music, wh...
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...bilities of popular music particularly in the sixties served as a reflection on the society of the United States of America, in which culture - and therefore music as fine art - “is a complex and contested reality.”
Bibliography
Books
Hill, Sarah. “When deep soul met the love crowd: Otis Redding: Monterey Pop Festival, June 17, 1967” in Ian Inglis, eds., Performance and Popular Music: History, Place and Time. UK: Ashgate, 2006
Pratt, Ray. Rhythm and Resistance: explorations in the political uses of popular music. New York: Praeger, 1990
Periodicals
Rolling Stone Magazine:
Landau, Jon. “Soul ’67.” Rolling Stone Magazine, Feb 24, 1968.
Traum, Happy. “The Swan Song of Folk Music.” Rolling Stone Magazine, May 17, 1969.
Interviews
Dylan, Bob. Rolling Stone Magazine. The Rolling Stone Interview: Bob Dylan. January 20, 1968. Print
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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.
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Subotnik, Rose Rosengard. Developing Variations: Style and Ideology in Western Music. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1991.
In the 1950s rock-n-roll established its own marks in history. It spread throughout the decade in a thrilling, substantial, and even livid 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 decays, and communism, but in ways that are partially true.
Before 1963, the music being played in the 60’s were closely reflecting the sound, style, and belief of the decades before. After 1963, many social influences changed what peopled were viewing as popular music. The assassination of Kennedy, war in Vietnam, and the Civil Rights Movement all greatly impacted the mood of American culture and how the music began to reflect change. The “British Invasion” was a time period in which many British bands and artists came to the United States, and excelled extremely well. The most famous of these bands were “The Beetles,” who would eventually go down in history as one of the most famous bands in history. At the height of the music industry in the 60’s, one single event changed American music forever. Woodstock was a three-day concert full of sex, drugs, and a lot of hippies. The organizers were only expecting about 50,000 people to show up. To their surprise, more than 400,000 appeared at the infamous dairy farm in New York. With artists like Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan, many were drawn to witness this phenomenon. This festival is widely known as the definitive moment for the larger counter-culture generation. The 60’s drastically revolutionized music in a way that shaped music into the powerhouse that it is for generations to
Through Elvis Presley, rock ‘n’ roll changed the face of American music, and influenced a whole generation’s political philosophy. Composer Leonard Berstein once said, “He introduced the beat to everything and changed everything-music, language, clothes; it’s a whole new social revolution-the 60s come from it” (Wattenberg 6B). To his credit, Elvis embraced rhythm and blues not as a from to be imitated, but as a form to honored and interprete... ...
In her early years as an adolescent, Janis Joplin was known as a rebel in her home town of Port Arthur, Texas. Campbell explained that Janis “‘felt deeply conflicted by her, own desire to “belong” and her equally strong reaction against the values that glued Port Arthur society together’”(par 9). As a result, Janis latter came to the conclusion that she needs to experience life outside her home town and find a place where she could fit in. Meanwhile, the world was beginning to experience a social change in mainstream music. According to Gianoulis one of the authors of St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture “The music of the 1960s and 1970s was one of the baby boomers' most enduring contributions to American culture”(182). Uniquely so, Janis became apart of the music culture that ultimately made her a symbol of the counterculture it self. With that in mind, one needs to ask themselves exactly what was so appealing about Janis Joplin. The the truth was that there was no other person with her talent and charisma, and for a culture that was set on defining social norms, Janis was a rebellious figure that represented the
In the duration of one year, 1968, the American national mood shifted from general confidence and optimism to chaotic confusion. Certainly the most turbulent twelve months of the post-WWII period and arguably one of the most disturbing episodes the country has endured since the Civil War, 1968 offers the world a glimpse into the tumultuous workings of a revolution. Although the entire epoch of the 1960's remains significant in US history, 1968 stands alone as the pivotal year of the decade; it was the moment when all of the nation's urges toward violence, sublimity, diversity, and disorder peaked to produce a transformation great enough to blanket an entire society. While some may superficially disagree, the evidence found in the Tet Offensive, race relations, and the counterculture's music of the period undeniably affirm 1968 as a turning point in American history.
Music’s role on society has changed drastically through the course of its history as it has become ever so increasingly expansive. Many of the previous musical movements were only for the wealthy as entertainment
Defined by a popular culture that manages to thrive even in today’s society, the 1960s is a decade that refuses to die. Bell-bottoms, free love, incense, and psychedelic rock is a style that, although at the time was labeled as corrupt, anarchistic, and radi...
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 ...
The 1960s was the era of rebellion. It was a time when views of many people started to change dramatically as unexpected things were happening from the Cold War to the assassinations of nation’s leaders. So within this disturbed era, many citizens started to rebel and question the authorities saying that they were ruining the country. The younger generation, especially, stood firmly in front to lead the action to change the ideas of the older generation. One of the main methods they used to speak their opinions was through music and we can see the power it had on the people through one of the main protest anthems called “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1969. The song speaks out to the elite controlled America and becomes one of many instances of the younger generation questioning and rebelling against the authority in the late 1960s. They send people a message that the citizens of United States do not live in a fair world and the authorities are not doing their jobs. By creating images through the comparative and descriptive lyrics such as who “waves the flag” , and “some folks are born with silver spoons in hand”, its repetition of the chorus “it ain’t me” and the instrumentation of the song which sounds like the cry of the working class to signify that the Vietnam War is a rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight, this song by the Creedence Clearwater Revival shouts to the world that the elite-controlled America is unfair as it can get; and becomes a big part of the counterculture movement. However, contrary to the message of the song, challenges to authority and privilege did not come exclusively from the working class. Rather, members of the upper class were also involved in opposition movements, for instance vi...
In conclusion this report has helped us understand the significance of Music in America. Also, the impact it has on music we listen too. Music is very much like a big chain reaction. Rock ‘N’ Roll, much like music today, stood out and was in a way rebellious. Parents now hate Rap and we love it. People in the 70’s loved Rock ‘N’ Roll and parents hated it. This shows that maybe no matter how much older people deny it, the time gap and generation gap is not too far apart. Without Rock ‘N’ Roll the World would without a doubt be changed. Any guess to that of which way would be a good one.
Paxton, Tom. (2011). "Music as a Tool of Social Protest." Squidoo: Welcome to Squidoo. Retrieved November 13, 2011, from .