The Effect of Rock and Roll on American Society

Music is often considered “the universal language.” Throughout, history it has symbolized love, brought people together, and has been the cornerstone of many lives. In the 1950s, a new form of music entered American mass culture that drastically changed the culture of the United States (U.S.): rock music. In the U.S., it began as Rock ‘n’ Roll, a originally “black” music genre that was then taken and promulgated by white Americans. Post WWII, many Americans—especially teenagers—struggled with the newfound societal conformity and normalcy, and rock provided them a form of retaliation. From its beginning, Rock united the younger generation of Americans, stirring up a sense of community amongst teenagers and troubling many adults by their actions—heightening

Rock and Roll was the start of a new revolution in America. It introduced the world to many of the famous artists that continue to be a part of our lives today. "Artists who became popular in the 1950s such as Elvis, began to pave the way for others such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly" (The History of Rock 'n' Roll until 1960). With the introduction of rock 'n' roll, there came many new changes to the lives of many Americans. Rock and Roll was a major contributor for the change in teens' behavior in the 1950s because it encouraged new freedoms for teenagers, encouraged new fads among teenagers, and caused a generation gap.

The decade of the 1960s can be said to be a subversion of the United States. From the civil rights movements, anti-Vietnam war demonstration, Kennedy’s presidency, to the assassination of the civil rights leader Martin Luther King, the impact of the surging social movements and political turmoils to the American society is extremely far-reaching. There has been a lot of researches on the various social movements in this period. However, people 's attention seems to be limited to another important cultural phenomenon of this period, that is the prosperity of rock & roll. This paper is intended to analyze the

As a result cultural industries saw fit to move in and make profit from this reality by offering a form of escapism through music. Music mainly Rhythm and Blues was expressing the experiences of young teenagers. Teenagers no longer upheld the values and message that their parents and schools were promoting. This created conflict between the cultural industries who were promoting the pleasures of consumption with the traditional view of educational demands. This was seen to be the background formation and experience for rock n roll. It was due to the experiences of teenagers that Rock n roll formed. Rock n roll is due to Presley etc.

Rock n Roll was everything the suburban 1950’s were not. While parents of the decade were listening to Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, and the Big Bands. Their children were moving on to a new beat.” (U.S. History) Teenagers started to like this new type of music called rock and roll. It became very popular and artists started to experiment with it which influenced the development of rock n roll throughout the 50’s and 60’s. The experimentation with rock n roll changed music forever and greatly influenced our music today. Rock n roll was mixed with country, rhythm, and blues when this combination happened rock n roll kept developing through the fifties and sixties.

Bands like these can best be remembered for their power ballads and great guitar solos. Cars were effected by the music in this time. Rock stars would drive American muscle cars in their music videos and this influenced people to purchase cars that were used in these videos, such as Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaros. Always listening to music, athletes are exposed to music all the time, and famous Athletes would also appear in music videos to support their bands. Rock and Roll fans were mostly white Americans. After getting almost all the airtime on MTV, Rock and Roll became more popular. The Rock and Roll life style was criticized because they praised beer, partying, and all out being wild in their

In order to break away from the social norms of the real world, teenagers at this time in history found themselves attracted to rock and roll music as sort of an escape from reality. As a parent during this time I would despise their fascination with rock n roll music because of the negative influences that comes with it such as hedonism and pessimism. A teenager during this time would have

Rock and roll music emerged as a part of American teen culture during the notably conservative time period in the country’s history which shortly followed the traumatic events of World War II. Being that the genre’s target audience was white teenagers, many Americans- already overwhelmed and on-edge due to the anti-communist movement inspired by the Cold War- were apprehensive about the influence that this up-and-coming style of music might have on their country’s future. America’s youth openly accepted rock and roll’s racially integrated culture of performers and embraced the relatively lewd nature of many songs and performances associated with the genre, much to the dismay of their elders.

Rock ‘n’ roll music has widely influenced music and society and continues to do so today. Rock ‘n’ roll emerged in the 1950’s a time where whites and blacks were heavily segregated. Rock and roll music not only changed the nation’s current musical norms, but indicated the joy of the emerging youth culture of the generation. It influenced artists whether black or white to come into the mainstream music. Famous artists still remembered today also influenced rock and roll. Those pioneers helped change the musical norms and the overall history of music. White rock ‘n’ rollers helped build a ladder for black artists to come into the scene. It was certain that rock ‘n’ roll made it possible for greater acceptance, appreciation and a wider

Loud, soothing, meaningful, and deep, rock music has many characteristics. These characteristics are ones that rock music fans appreciate. But, many people have different preferences of music, such as pop, rap, country, and other genres. Although there are several types of music, most modern music comes back to the foundation of rock and roll. Many artists have been influenced by the heart-wrenching power of rock music. Most people that enjoy rock music do not know how rock started. It is a genre that has evolved over the years.

Rock ‘N’ Roll started from Southern Blacks slaves that migrated to the North. They brought in a sound of Rhythm and Blues. In it they talked about their hardships in the plantation and to end discrimination. It represented the life of the African-American working in the south. Rhythm and blues was a slow steady beat; it had a 2-4 beat drum and

Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll or rock 'n ' roll) is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States. The music we know as rock and roll emerged as a defined musical style in the mid 1950s, even though a form of it had been on the horizon for at least a decade or so. A quarter of the American population moved during World War II, and that is what brought southern, rural, sacred and secular traditions into contact with urban-based music and its audiences. Rock and roll drew on many different styles. It derived most directly from the rhythm and blues music of the 1940s, which it developed from earlier blues, boogie-woogie, jazz and swing music. It was also influenced by gospel, country, western, and traditional folk music. With the combinations of all of these genres of music, that help to create this new style of music excited a worldwide generation of young listeners. Even though it had the attention of young listeners it started to upset the already established social, cultural and musical authorities. With this new music style coming into full affect along with new dances and people having voicing out their own opinion caused a lot of turmoil. Many people began to question this new genre of music and labeled it as the devil music while other loved it and couldn’t help but dance

Rock ‘n’ roll has played a major role in some known historical developments post World War 2. Music plays a significant part in America 's Cold War culture. Music gave us a sense of new technologies and helped the world to prosper. It also is linked with African Americans living in the South. Music was known for shaping the lives of the people during the 1950s and 1960s. Music was geared towards the youth, race, ethnicity, gender and class. “All Shook Up: How Rock ‘n’ Roll Changed America” by Altschuler, Glenn C, tells us the story of the birth of rock and roll during the concrete years of 1955 to 1965. Altschuler gives us a overview of how rock ‘n’ roll has an historical context. “ For two years the Times printed dozens of

The thing that really started rock and roll was the influence of African American culture in gospel and blues. The genres had spun from the sad hearts of those oppressed because of their race and the wars that had come and gone. The event named “The Great Migration” brought large sums of African Americans to the North from the grooving South. With the movement came spans of different music and tastes accustomed to their home. The slow, chill vibes of gospel and the blues drew many people of different ethnicities and statuses to its attractive humm. But sadly, because of segregation and racism, songs didn’t get much time on the radio. However, a DJ out of Cleveland named Alan Freed began a Rhythm & Blues show on his radio station. This grew the genre and eventually Freed came up with the term “Rock and Roll” . Soon enough, everyone had a

Rock and Roll has has had an impact on several decades of generations of people. It has also sustained itself throughout this period without dropping in popularity. Rock and roll has had a huge impact on the society we live in today because it affects other music genres such as hip hop and neo-soul. It has not only affected other genres but also opened up a way for originality, self-expression, and free thought. It also influenced artists to give political opinions through their songs which also influences the government and how it governs specific laws including many that were apart of the civil rights act. It has been given credit for integrating teens and adults through 1950’s-1970’s. It has also helped with equality with races being able to perform and be successful without being treated unfairly about their quality of music because of their race.