How Did The Radio's Impact On American Culture

The years of the 1950s and 60s was a time where many hardships occurred as global tension was high and as a result many wars occurred as well as movements. The historical issues and events of the fifties and sixties was often propelled by popular culture through art and media such as television, paintings and music. The civil rights movement succeeded in bringing equal rights to the African American population within the United States in a peaceful manner thanks to meaningful art forms. The Vietnam War was widely seen as a controversial conflict and opened insight to Australians as to what was actually happening through music and television which in turn swayed the public opinion of Australia’s involvement with the war.

The 1970s are known for it’s bold fashions and vibrant art forms, but also is a decade of cultural movement and changes in government. A time filled with flower power and peace, but also violence and emotion. The ‘60s really flowed over into this decade and branched out more extensively than past decades due to the huge steps made by the people. Music was a huge asset to the time that not only influenced audiences but entertained them. Some popular artists of this time that were huge fashion icons include Janis Joplin, The Eagles and Stevie Nicks.

In the early 1960s Newton Minow, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and later, chairman of the board of PBS, once described television as a �vast wasteland.� He also said, �When television is good, nothing is better. When it 's bad, nothing is worse.�

In other words, they changed popular culture. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame puts it this way: “They literally stood the world of pop culture on its head, setting the musical agenda for the remainder of the decade” (“The Beatles”). There is nobody more important than The Beatles when it comes to popular culture (“The Beatles”). The Beatles changed fashion; in hope to be like the band, boys started growing their hair out, purchasing cheap suits, and buying boots just like The Beatles. The sixties were about personal liberation, with this in mind, The Beatles had perfected a soundtrack to go with that. As Steven Stark once said, “In a country in which popular culture is extremely important, there’s probably nobody more important than 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 poor economy of the 1980s influenced new styles of music because musicians would sing about it. Many musicians used their music to express their points of view and opinions about the war, and peace among the people of the U.S (Woog pg. 79). Another thing that had a huge effect on music was drugs. They influenced wild, risqué rock and punk styles that took over the music industry. The birth of new genres of music that expanded the social acceptance was so successful they still influence music today (Gelipter). Lastly, the new creations of MTV and CDs expanded the way music sounded and how it was seen and heard. Musicians had the option to add drum machines and synthesizers into the music on CDs, bringing a new original sound to the music industry, while MTV brought image and interpretation (Gelipter). Although the 1980s was a rough decade, the music industry benefitted from the vast changes.

February 9th, 1964: The Beatles took the world by storm by making their debut on “The Ed Sullivan Show”. The popular rock group included John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. They’ve changed the world with their music and became the best selling band in history. The Beatles are one of the most influential music groups impacting the world in more ways than one.

The Beatles and more specifically John Lennon had an immense impact on society throughout the 1960s to the 1980s. The Beatles affected society with their music by bringing about an age where experimentation with drugs, sex and hallucinogens (previously taboo) became the norm. They were also very popular amongst the new hippie counter culture as they too were anti-war and shared continuity with the ideals of the band. They served as examples and leaders not only to the hippies and other youth movements, but also to the youth of society in general. The Beatles and their music redefined the rules of society. They started new and innovative trends of experimentation with sex and started the idea of using drugs for recreation. They promoted peace and opened up capitalist society to the idea of socialism. These are all major themes which have forever altered the course of future societies and are themes that are still massive influences on our societal decisions today!

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

En Masse, Rock and Roll has influenced various areas of the youth culture amid the 1960’s, dominating many areas of the world. The popularity and international outlook for rock music resulted in a compelling impact on society as Rock and Roll influenced everyday fashions, attitudes, and behaviors. Drawing on many different styles, this genre of music excited a worldwide generation of young listeners, while, at the same time, distressing musical, cultural, and social authorities. Presently, it is tough to fully understand the bitter criticism the new music generated in its entirety. Rock music gave shape to many different counter-cultural movements which engulfed the world. Without Rock and Roll, many genres of music would never have emerged, such as: garage rock, pop rock, blues rock, and psychedelic rock. Although rock no longer rules popular music, the styles of the 1960’s still appeal to the ears of those born long after. The utopian frenzy of rock defined the music of that era, and to this day continues to structure the music we call Rock and Roll

The reading “Popular music and the civil war” explained the heavy influence that music had leading up to and during the civil war. Music was used to express the way Americans, those in the north or south, were feeling during this time. Through their lyrics, writers and singers were able to convey their feelings on topics such as being separated from loved ones, losing someone, patriotism for the confederates or the union, and anything else that related to war time. Many of these songs appealed to the Americans because they could easily relate to what the lyrics were saying. Therefore, songs were being greatly produced during this time because people were purchasing the music, whether that was by going to see the performance of it, or buying

All Shook Up: How Rock ‘N’ Roll Changed America showcased how one aspect of the Cultural Revolution during the 1950s and 1960s supplemented the perfect storm of social reforms. The first half of the book, Dr. Glenn Altschuler, largely focused on how rock ‘n’ roll and those who wrote and produced it stirred up topics such as race and sexuality. As with any new social or cultural shift, rock ‘n’ roll faced an almost immediate resistance from both religious and fundamentalist extremists. In most cases, it was the same types of people that opposed rock ‘n’ roll also opposed other major social reforms such as racial integration.

Until the middle of the 1950’s “Jazz dance” was more commonly referred to as tap dance due to tap being performed to jazz music.

The most popular music types were bluegrass, scat and jazz ( Hooper ). Bluegrass is music that explains how culture impacted America. Scat is a way that humans use their mouth to make instrumental sounds. Jazz is a type of music that is relaxing to some and is played with a saxophone. The difference between bluegrass, scat, and jazz is that each song tells a different story. Music was mostly listened to by soldiers in World War I ( Hooper ). For example, some songs that soldiers listened to were, “Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag”, “Keep the Home Fires Burning”, and “Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning” ( Hooper). Music was mostly essential for teenagers and dancing events ( Barrett). Music changed the life of people and bluegrass, scat, and jazz produced more genres of music like pop, country, classic, and instrumental ( Feinstein ). In addition, music impacted the culture of the United States in the 1910s by giving people more jobs like a producer, singer, songwriter, etc. and making singer and songwriters

In the early 1960’s voices like Elvis Presley and Brenda Lee were common and highly liked by many. By the middle of the decade the music style began to develop diversity. Elvis began to fade and names like the Beatles began to come into focus. The Beatles being a non-native group from England became widely popular during this time. As time moved on the end of the decade was filled with different race and ethnicticity. Most all of the singers were African American and it was totally accepted. It is safe to say that the beginning of the era was not diverse. Other races were not widely accepted until the mid ‘60’s. When the end of the time period came up many singers were of different races and backgrounds.