Rock And Roll 1950's

Throughout the semester, we have discussed the multitude of changes to the overall identity of the United States. These changes were influenced by, and have influenced: politics, social order, economics, technology, the entertainment industry and many more. Elvis Presley who was a musician and actor in the 20th century, had a huge impact on social order, and the entertainment industry. From the start of his career Presley had a broad cultural impact. Being brought up in Mississippi, Presley was exposed to many types of music; blues, gospel, blue grass, and pop.

Rock and roll music emerged in the 1950s and greatly influenced the post-World War II society in America. When it began, some people enjoyed it, but once it began growing in popularity many groups opposed it and tried to censor those who created it. Rock music not only influenced American society and culture, but it also spread to many parts of the world and influenced their cultures as well. The rock and roll music created in the 1950s-1960s has overstepped boundaries and faced many challenges while helping change society and the music scene forever.

Although the music from the 1960’s to now, 2017, has greatly changed. There were many different types of music in the 1960’s. Rock was one of the most popular styles of music in the 1960’s and many popular bands and artists sang rock songs. Although, some popular bands and artists sang other styles too. First, there are many

The English rock music group known as The Beatles gave the 1960s their musical standard and had a great influence on popular music. They were able to gather together a unique band with few performers, but what made The Beatles standout from other American bands was their style. This style which mixed rock and roll and rhythm in blues and even some Tamla Motown is what had thousands of screaming fans irking to see them perform. The effect The Beatles had on teenagers and even adults is astonishing. Thomas Fitzpatrick says, “..young girls leap to their feet and begin to wave their arms and scream”.

To start the switch in styles of Rock and Roll, the Alabama White Citizens Council came out with a pamphlet titled A Manual for Southerners . This literature acknowledged that it is the music industry that has the biggest influence on how kids present themselves from the way they dress to their mannerisms. The white, southerners who wrote this pamphlet were afraid their children would start interacting in interracial manners and wanted to protest this vulgarism by boycotting “Negro records”. (Larson page 53) This did not help in the upcoming battle towards civil rights for African Americans.

Elvis Presley has had more impact on American society and culture than any other person in history for the three following reasons; his large contribution to the start of the generation gap in the 1950’s, his huge impact on rock ‘n’ roll music, and finally, his music opened a door for some integration between races. First of all, in the 1950’s Elvis Presley and his music started the era of the generation gap between teenagers and their parents, an era which is still going on today. With Elvis being very young, attractive and his new type of music and dancing, teenage girls fell head over heels for the young star. Most parents though, did not feel the same way about Presley. He was often described a vulgar and many accused him of corrupting the youth.

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.

A social economist views the 1950s as the social classes being defined. The time boasted an image of successfulness during a time of peace and conformity. However, the 1950s do not deserve its reputation as a time of peaceful conformity. The harmonic image of the 1950s was an over-generalization that ignores the realities of what was going on in the country. The peaceful conformity was a false image that showed it’s true colors through gender/ethnic relations and the beginning of the Rock and Roll era.

Rock “n” Roll was an example of a turning point for America in the 1950’s. Rock “n” Roll music was the newest sound for the generation. The music made people think more about racial barriers, brought people together, and led people to have a different outlook on the generation. Rock “n” Roll is a mixture of country, pop, blues, and gospel music. Rock “n” Roll includes the elements of a few black and white American music styles together.

The progress of music from earlier years to the mid 1950’s was great. Not long after, Little Richard, in 1956, Elvis Presley, made his debut and in 1957, Jerry Lee Lewis. Music attached to those particular names gave people a way to express themselves, the music gave people an idol that “understood” them. Rock and Roll also gave people back in the 1950’s freedom to be who they wanted to

The 1950s was an intrinsically important time for the development of culture and most evidently, music. The 1950s gave birth to what we know today as rock and roll. As a pioneer of the genre, Chuck Berry had great influence on its development.

Rock and Roll brought both races together with one common interest and that was to enjoy the lively music. These teenager would go to concerts together and slowly start to get comparable with each others presence. Also with black musician being so popular, many people were forced to work with them to stay in business. Those are the ways rock and roll had affected

The British Invasion in American music would not have been as prominent without The Beatles, who paved the way for other British groups to come to America and be successful. The 1950’s rock and roll artist like Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, and others, influenced many British groups during the early 1960’s, but in America in the early 1960’s folk music was the popular choice of music. The popularity of folk music was due in large part to what was going on in American society with the civil rights movement, JFK assassination and the Vietnam War and folk music spoke to what was going on in America. The British Invasion ended the popularity of folk music in 1964 with The Beatles and other British groups.

The United States is a country with ever-changing morals, social norms, and ideas. Triggered by significant events such as new laws or wars, the changes that occur usually result in altered attitudes towards existing morals, norms, and ideas. One of the country’s most important changes was the huge cultural shift among young people that took place during the 1960s which had an immense influence on society. The 1950s was a decade most do not pay much mind to due to it typically being seen as untroubled and quiet, although many things both good and bad, were growing under the surface.

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,