What was one effect of rock and roll music on u.s. society during the 1950s?
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Rock and roll was everything the suburban 1950s were not. While parents of the decade were listening to Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, and big bands, their children were moving to a new beat. Show In fact, to the horror of the older generation, their children were twisting, thrusting, bumping, and grinding to the sounds of rock and roll. This generation of youth was much larger than any in recent memory, and the prosperity of the era gave them money to spend on records and phonographs. By the end of the decade, the phenomenon of rock and roll helped define the difference between youth and adulthood. The Roots of Rock Alan Freed, the Cleveland disc jockey credited with coining the phrase "rock and roll," was the master of ceremonies at many of the first rock concerts, including his 1955 Easter Jubilee. The roots of rock and roll lay in African American blues and gospel. As the Great Migration brought many African Americans to the cities of the north, the sounds of rhythm and blues attracted suburban teens. Due to segregation and racist attitudes, however, none of the greatest artists of the genre could get much airplay. Disc jockey Alan Freed began a rhythm-and-blues show on a Cleveland radio station. Soon the audience grew and grew, and Freed coined the term "rock and roll." Early attempts by white artists to cover R&B songs resulted in weaker renditions that bled the heart and soul out of the originals. Record producers saw the market potential and began to search for a white artist who could capture the African American sound. Chuck Berry's songs about girls and cars hit a nerve with American teens and sent his star rising high in the early days of rock and roll. Sam Phillips, a Memphis record producer, found the answer in Elvis Presley. With a deep Southern sound, pouty lips, and gyrating hips, Elvis took an old style and made it his own. From Memphis, the sound spread to other cities, and demand for Elvis records skyrocketed. Within two years, Elvis was the most popular name in the entertainment business. After the door to rock and roll acceptance was opened, African American performers such as Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, and Little Richard began to enjoy broad success, as well. White performers such as Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis also found artistic freedom and commercial success. Satan's MusicElvis Presley brought rock-and-roll music to the masses during the 1950s with hits such as "Love Me Tender" and "Heartbreak Hotel." Rock and roll sent shockwaves across America. A generation of young teenagers collectively rebelled against the music their parents loved. In general, the older generation loathed rock and roll. Appalled by the new styles of dance the movement evoked, churches proclaimed it Satan's music. Because rock and roll originated among the lower classes and a segregated ethnic group, many middle-class whites thought it was tasteless. Rock and roll records were banned from many radio stations and hundreds of schools. But the masses spoke louder. When Elvis appeared on TV's The Ed Sullivan Show, the show's ratings soared. Rock and roll is the most brutal, ugly, degenerate, vicious form of expression — lewd, sly, in plain fact, dirty — a rancid-smelling aphrodisiac and the martial music of every side-burned delinquent on the face of the earth. – Frank Sinatra (1957) The commercial possibilities were limitless. As a generation of young adults finished military service, bought houses in suburbia, and longed for stability and conformity, their children seemed to take comfort for granted. They wanted to release the tensions that bubbled beneath the smooth surface of postwar America. Generally regarded as the first rock and roll record, "Rocket 88" reached its 60th anniversary in 2011. Featuring an 18-year-old Ike Turner on piano, it served as a musical template for the new style, and was even recorded in Sun Studios by Sam Phillips, who would make further contributions to rock in the coming days. Paving the way for wholesale cultural revolution in the 1960s, rock and roll in the '50s became the voice of adolescence. EconomicsThe 1950s were an economic boom time for the United States, with manufacturing and new homes growing at record rates. The automobile solidified its cultural place, and economic prosperity was, for the first time, reflected in teen society. The word "teenager" was barely 10 years old. Allowances and discretionary spending grew. Radio stations appealed to the newly affluent youth through the draw of rock and roll. The economy was given a boost through both the growing record industry and the results of rock and roll radio advertising. DemographicsThe coalescing force of rock and roll was magnified with the rise of the teen demographic that resulted from the post-World War II baby boom. The sheer number of potential fans allowed an upward spiral to begin, with more demand for rock and roll, which increased its exposure, and that in turn attracted more fans. As the teen population climbed toward the end of the decade, so did the popularity of the music. IntegrationRock and roll as a style has origins in both white folk music and black blues. Common points of shared music began to help blur the racial lines, encouraging empathy and acceptance. Rock and roll reviews started out with black and white audience members separated by rope, but audience mixing became more common, and original "race" records found mainstream popularity over watered-down white cover versions. Planting SeedsFans of rock and roll in the 1950s included many of the musicians of the '60s, who ushered in changes to music, fashion and culture 10 years later. Artists such as the Beatles were influenced by '50s rockers like Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly. The Beach Boys built on the car/music alliance forged by Chuck Berry. Presley's massive popularity in the late '50s brought rock and roll into the mainstream. References
Writer Bio A full-time content creation freelancer for over 12 years, Scott Shpak is a writer, photographer and musician, with a past career in business with Kodak. How did music affect the 1950s?Music in the 1950s was dominated by the birth of rock and roll. Rock and roll was a powerful new form of music that combined elements of rhythm and blues (R&B), pop, blues, and hillbilly music to create a sound that truly shook America.
How did music change American society during the 1950s?In the 1950's a specific style of music known as Rock 'n' Roll affected american society by influencing family lives, teenage behavior, and the civil rights movement. This decade helped to influence everything that we listen to on the radio today. Rock 'n' Roll, influenced the culture and reflected its changes.
What was rock n roll and what was its effect in American culture?A blend of African-American and white musical traditions, rock and roll challenged existing social norms, including the segregation of the races. Rock and roll also became the soundtrack of a youthful generation defying the expectations of their parents.
How did rock music affect society?Rock music has influenced society in many ways, from the fashion and hairstyles of its fans to the political and social messages conveyed in many of the lyrics. Rock music has also been a source of inspiration for many other genres of music and has helped to shape popular culture over the past few decades.
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