Cultural Impact Of Rock And Roll

“Music has always been both a barometer measuring and responding to society's problems and possibilities, and the twentieth century was a period that witnessed the emergence of a diverse range of musical styles and genres, each seemingly in reaction to the dominant sociopolitical concerns of the day” (Morgan). Presley, Dylan, and Joplin had the greatest influence on American culture in the 1960’s.

Rock and Roll has revolutionized the way we behave, dress, and much more. To this day rock and roll continues to make its statement in society. It had become a popular music genre that dominated the 1950’s and currently today 's music culture. The music genre originated in the 1950’s. It is a combination of Jazz, Blues, and Gospel. This music style had shaped the future of those in the 1950’s setting a platform of the music to come. Rock and Roll couldn’t have taken flight without the popular artist of the time including the widely known “King of Rock” Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, The Beatles and many more bands from England and America.

Since the founding of the United States of America, culture, religion, and race have always been interlaced. If one of these changed, the others struggled to adapt. There was never a time in America’s short history that these three matters collided more brutally or ferociously than during the emergence of rock ‘n’ roll. It is quite obvious that not one single event, action, or phenomenon caused the turmoil during this era, but rather a perfect storm of cultural and racial revolutions that collided head on with tremendous religious backlash.

The music of the 1960s and 1970s definitely had an impact on culture and society in the United States. Protest music, specifically, brought ideas, as well as problems, to the attention of many Americans. Radio stations across the nation were a big part of the spread of protest music. Radio experienced a boom after World War II. Stations started appearing all over, which meant more people could be reached. The messages written in popularized protest songs were heard over the radio by people who otherwise may not have gotten the chance to hear the artists.

All Shook Up: How Rock N’ Roll Changed America, by Glenn C. Altschuler, does a great job in discussing all of the conflicts of the time and how rock n’ roll helped or discouraged the conflicts throughout the 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s. Altschuler used essential sources such as newspapers and magazines, as well as other books on the issue to argue main points about the conflicts and affects that rock n’ roll had during this time period. By using and analyzing the primary sources through a social history and in a narrative format, he makes a solid reason and argument for how rock n’ roll really affected and changed America. Throughout history, music has played a huge role in changing the lives of people. However, as the time has passed music, itself,

The music industry has played a large role in shaping the society in which people live in today. Music has the ability to not only impact an individual’s life but society as a whole. One genre/subgenre in particular that was able to cause dramatic change within the US itself was punk rock. Punk rock, which could be consider a subgenre of rock n roll or a genre of its own, came into the popular music scene in the 1960s and 70s and played a huge role in shaping the lives of many Americans especially those whose voices were not heard in the mainstream. Throughout history and still in today’s society many groups of people go unheard and are not respected as they should be under the constitution. The genre/subgenre of punk rock has brought

Conformity is behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards. Also according to Webster's dictionary social repression is is the act of controlling, subduing or suppressing people, groups and larger social aggregations by interpersonal means. I agree to the greater extent that during the 1950’s were a time of conformity and social repression. In American life housing, genders and culture get an impact on conformity and social repression.

Responding to the opening question requires another question first be addressed: what is drug culture? Psychologist Pamela Brian defines drug culture as “the lifestyle of people who take and abuse drugs that create an altered form of consciousness” (Brian). The US Center for Substance Abuse Treatment is even more specific and defines a drug culture as one with its own history as well as shared values, beliefs, customs, traditions, rituals, and behaviors. Members of a drug culture often share similar ways of dressing, patterns of socializing, language, and styles of communication (Center). Drug cultures also tend to be localized to a certain degree (Center). This localization promotes the formation of various drug subcultures while simultaneously

After the end of the WWII, the Australians struggled to rebuild their lives. The veterans came home, and the radio captivated the attention of people at home when parents and children sat together in front of the radio to hear the latest news and listen to successful radio novels as Big Sister (1942) When a Girl Marries (produced after Big Sister). By the end of the 1940s and the beginning of the 1950s, the radio producers captivated the attention of young people with programs like Tarzan, Superman and others.

The war in Vietnam to do this day has gone down as one of the influential and controversial wars in United States history. The war lasted from 1955 to 1975.The nation as a whole began to uproar over the war and the major consequences of the war. There were many reasons why so many Americans were against the war. Public opinion steadily turned against the war following 1967 and by 1970 only a third of Americans believed that the U.S. had not made a mistake by sending troops to fight in Vietnam (Wikipedia). Not to mention, many young people protested because they were the ones being drafted while others were against the war because the anti-war movement grew increasingly popular among the counterculture and drug culture in American society and

Rock and roll would not have survived if there were no racial division in the 1940s. Because “rock ‘n roll” had such an overwhelming influence on social interactions of both black and white teens alike, the genre forced record labels to sign black artists because their music became so popular and profitable. Rock and roll influenced not only daily life, but fashion, and attitudes.

Some of the early Rock ‘n’ Roll pioneers include; Muddy Waters who had a great voice and influenced other musicians. “Big” Joe Turner introduced Rock n’ Roll to Atlantic Records and helped in its spread. Ray Charles led to the spread of Black popular music by blending gospel, jazz, and blues. Louis Jordan, Little Richard, and Chuck Berry are also known as the early pioneers of Rock n’ Roll and credited with the development of the style and its spread among different communities during its inception. Rock ‘n’ Roll was important because it redefined the role of African-Americans in music and established their influence in the music industry. According to artists in that era, Rock n’ Roll was associated with some level of ruggedness and unruliness. Rock n’ Roll also provided an opportunity for people to escape from prevailing challenges and further challenge the status quo.

The Harlem Renaissance took place during the 1920s through the 1930s, and is noted as the first point in American history when African-American achievements in art, music, and literature flourished and were widely accepted. In the early part of the 1900s, the American public was shifting its interests from the “minstrel show” format to that of vaudeville. This created a wave of changes in theater in egeneral, and one of the most interesting was the appearance of African American actors and purely African American “themes”. For example, the 1917 play “Three Plays for a Negro Theater” was a first of its kind and eliminated the stereotypical portrayal of “blackface” in favor of African American actors insteadMany view this as the birth of the

Rock music in the 1960s was egalitarian, eclectic, and real based on a number of reasons. To explain the 'real' piece of rock music in the 1960s, one would have to know that there was war going on overseas that didn't make sense to Americans as to why it was going on (the Vietnam war). There was also still severe inequality between blacks and whites causing protests to occur via the Civil Rights movement, led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There was inequality between women and mens rights. These issues caused dissatisfaction to occur in the American people. What better way to vent dissatisfaction than through music! Also in addition to the frustrations described above, teen rebellion from the parental obligations was also in full swing. The result of this was 'free love' and experimenting with drugs. This led to creative, and mind you interesting, rock that Americans loved like "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by The Beatles. Aside from the above,

The decade of 1960s has a great impact on people of all backgrounds because of the ‘affluent society’ (Hecl 6). The 1960s was the time when people started to settle with the war in the economic sense. This result of the post-war socio-economic shifts after the second world war has led to the increasing affluence and new technological inventions in mass production which help cheapen the price of goods thus lower the costs of living (Bennett 9). This has allowed the working-class and the young to participate in the ‘consumer culture’ as well (Hecl 6). At this period, the working-class were able to attain more free time as all vital things they needed become secured which