Discussion #2 Racial Politics and Rock and Roll
In this week’s discussion we were ask to discuss racial politics and its effect on rock and roll. In order to understand this we first must understand what racial politics is. According to the English dictionary racial politics is, “the practice of political actors exploiting the issue of race to forward an agenda”. Then we must ask ourselves how does racial politics relate to rock and roll?
Upon the completion of my required lecture readings this became very clear to me. Rock and roll developed during the civil rights movement. During this time there were many positive events as well as many stormy events that occurred. In the late 1950s we could still observe racial politics interfering
However, Freed was the first to use the term “Rock ‘n’ Roll” to refer to rhythm and blues music that was crossing over to white teenage audiences. Rhythm and blues was largely segregated genre, much like American society at the time. This new term of “Rock ‘n’ Roll” helped bridge the gap between the two cultures that both enjoyed the same music. Freed worked under Leo Mintz in the early 1950’s who encouraged him to emcee a rhythm and blues radio program at WJW radio.
The 1960’s was a time of change for the better. Motown influenced white culture greatly through the founding of the company, its style of music, the crossover between cultures, and its participation in certain movements. First, Motown’s founding and overall business
Introduction: Chuck Berry, an iconic African American singer-songwriter, is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of rock and roll. With his innovative guitar riffs, energetic performances, and captivating storytelling, Berry's music not only defined the genre but also broke down racial barriers in the music industry. This essay explores the life, musical contributions, and lasting legacy of Chuck Berry, highlighting his impact on popular music and his enduring influence on generations of musicians. Early Life and Musical Influences: Charles Edward Anderson Berry, known as Chuck Berry, was born on October 18, 1926, in St. Louis, Missouri. Growing up in a racially segregated society, Berry was exposed to both African American
Essay question 1. Starr and Waterman note that “the use of encoded, or hidden, meaning in the blues has its roots in many earlier genres of African American music.” These coded messages often take the form of referencing local landmarks (i.e., “where the southern cross the dog”) and sexual references (i.e., “That Black Snake Moan”). How do these traditions continue to impact popular music?
Rock N’ Roll was a new music genre accepted and loved by many teenagers of the time. While their parents felt that Elvis Presley ruined music, the teens disagreed, and with so many teenagers at the time, there were many to keep the genre alive. Teens wanted to release the tensions that bubbled beneath the smooth surface of postwar America. In a biography about Presley, a.k.a. the king of Rock N’ Roll, it writes a historical moment, when Presley was filmed from only the waist-up.
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.
Fans and musicians were now using rock and roll to fight for social equality, while the unrecognized roots of the genre were a part of the issue in question. Rock was born in an age of segregation. From education to music, the racial division of Jim Crow America was everywhere. For decades, the music industry had been separated into “black music” and “white music.” Black and white artists both made music targeted either adults or children; so teenagers would listen to both.
Rock and Roll was a very popular cultural aspect of the 50s. It originated from African American culture then the whites interpreted it. One of the first singers to do this was the very king of rock and roll himself, Elvis Presley. Many adults hated this new music and wanted to ban it. A huge part of it was censored, for example on the Ed Sullivan show, Elvis had to wear a tuxedo and wasn’t allowed to dance because his moves were “sexually inappropriate”.
There was rock, folk music, and many more. But, in the late sixties Rock n Roll, commonly reckoned as the golden age of rock and roll when it attained a maturity unimaginable for the delinquent rebellion of the fifties, there are numerous references to the Vietnam War. The criticism of the war is submerged in or displaced by the politics of sexuality, lifestyle, and drugs. Rock music of that time period celebrated anti-materialism, spiritual awakening and social disengagement (James pg 133). Like the social movement it made possible, hippie music was ideologically and economically assimilable.
Throughout Presley’s career, he defined the Rock and Roll genre, encourages a rebellious attitude on American teens, and because of him, the black community and music became much more widely accepted. Before Elvis, there was Rock and Roll, but it was not the same and not nearly as popular. One of the reasons for this was because most of the pre-Elvis Rock and Roll artists were black and
During this period in the late 1930s and early 1940s, blues and jazz musicians under the western swing category “began to experiment with rhythmic music and amplification.” They also started to shout vocals and utilize solos with saxophones ("The Antecedents of 1950s Rock and Roll" 2013).All of those things are incredibly familiar and prevalent in rock and rollof the past and the present. As mentioned previously, country music also came in to impact rock and roll music slightly later in the 1940s and 1950s. Country, specifically rockabilly, introduced new instruments like the drums and electric guitar to rock music allowing it to have a wider variety of rhthyms and sound. It also served as one of the first ways for female singers to get into the music business by performing this southern style of music ("The Antecedents of 1950s Rock and Roll"
The migration of workers to urban areas, prosperity, and the anxiety of social change all contributed to the development of Rock and Roll and Civil Rights. Social anxieties of the Civil Rights Movement such as: institutionalized racial slavery, segregation, discrimination, and the struggle for equality were strongly exemplified throughout African American music, which would soon transform into Rock and Roll. Essentially, Rock music originated amongst the African American culture deriving from jazz, gospel, rhythm, and blues. Ultimately, these genres together corresponded to create Rock and Roll. Seeing that music has the ability to reflect and influence social movements and interactions, the music that becomes popular can gain national recognition (“Concurrent
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.
The creation of the blues, however, is not solely defined by the customs and traditions of African-Americans. The melding of cultures together then developed blues into the form it is today. Although in its beginning stage, most white-owned record companies didn’t believe a market existed for African-American music, audiences for the blues became increasingly “white” and European. The story of the blues focuses on black culture and its coming of prominence and influence in American society and the race relations of the U.S. toward a future of more understanding and fairness, which eventually came to be an interest among individuals of all backgrounds and races.
The African American community has not gained full equality to this day. Even after fighting for many years this present day issue has come to light in Hip-Hop artists songs like Macklemore & Ryan Lewis song, White Privilege II. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are respected in their line of work because they have become very popular in today 's Hip-Hop music. Hip-Hop has been the newest way of news being broadcasted. As many artists like Macklemore have become more of an activist in this day and age.