How Did The Radio's Impact On American Culture

Radio and Television

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.

FM radio was where alternative music first started playing. This was because FM was not as sponsored as AM. FM did not have the same restrictions as AM. The format was different. LPs were used instead of 45s. This meant that longer songs could be played. Many artists were first heard on FM radio, such as Jimi Hendrix and Jefferson Airplane. Another way protest music reached millions across the United States was television. Bands began playing on television shows. They could be seen and heard by households across America.

The Ed Sullivan Show, in particular, hosted popular bands who played their protest songs for millions of viewers. For example, the first appearance of The Beatles garnered over 70 million viewers. There were opportunities for African-American

Different races, ethnicities, genders, sexualities, and religions banded together to pretest the war. People view the John Lennon song, “Give Peace A Chance,” as a good example of how the war brought people together. The recording of the songs features an acoustic guitar, with a tambourine, and the voices of, reportedly, 50 people in a hotel room. The song was written by Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono during their “bed-in,” where they stayed on a bed in a hotel for a week at a time, in order to protest the war. This song was adopted by the anti-war movement as its