Rock And Roll In The 50's

The 1950s was one of the most exciting decades for music because that is when the term rock music came in place with different types of genres including; soul, punk, rap, disco, and one of the most important rock ‘n’ roll. Frank Sinatra called rock and roll, ugly, degenerate, dirty and many other brutal terms. But that is not the true meaning of rock and roll. Music has and always will be a very important aspect in the development of society, with the release of the first Gibson guitar to many fights in the war music has always been by people’s side.

The beginning of the 1950s started out with a rough patch since World War II had just ended and had a widespread of destruction. The conflict killed 50 million people and shattered the political
structure of Europe (Kallen, Stuart A.). Although the United States did not have the physical destruction like Europe, Asia, Japan and Russia, Russia still stood with the largest army. The United States had ended the war with Japan by dropping atomic bombs on… Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Kallen, Stuart A.). After many years of reconstructing order many faults started to emerge including faults in the American Dream. African Americans who had fought side by side… during World War II, were denied their peace in the American Dream. (Kallen Stuart A.). Another fault that had happened was atomic weapons such as nuclear weapons and atomic bombs which instantly became popular with more exposure to the press. Look magazine cheerily pointed out that A-bombs were “one of the cheapest forms of destruction known to man.” (Kallen Stuart A.). Although many things were starting to change with the United States, music was also changing in many ways.

After The Great Depression, World War II, and the post war baby boom many things starting to change good and bad. Since the postwar baby boom grew older, many kids were starting to get bored which meant for new entertainment including changes in music. Rock ‘n’ roll music offered teenagers a new way to rebel against their parents (Kallen, Stuart A.). Many parents did not like their children listening to rock ‘n’ roll since they were listening to Frank Sinatra and many teenagers were listening to artist like Elvis Presley. By far, rock and roll’s greatest popularizer was Elvis Presley, who added the elements of gospel, folk, and country to rhythm and blues in a rockabilly sound (Kallen, Stuart A.). Rock ‘n’ roll was a way for teenagers to express themselves in a way many parents did not like. By the end of the decade, the phenomenon of rock and roll helped define the difference between youth and adulthood ("America Rocks and Rolls."). Although nothing was stopping them to listen to their favorite artist except their parents it caused a war.

Even though World War II was over, teenagers were fighting with their parents because they wanted to rock and roll since it was the new music and it was changing a lot faster than people expected.
Following the detrimental effects of World War II, the United States was about to embark on a musical journey that would change the face of music for decades to come ("Music Played in the 1950's Popular Music From the 50s."). Racial tensions were another effect since the civil rights movement was happening during this time and most of the musical influence came from African Americans. R&B and Rock ‘n’ Roll popularized “black” music and many African-American musicians rose to prominence and enjoyed success, but… many others were forgotten or denied access to audiences through segregation ("Music Played in the 1950's Popular Music From the 50s."). It was not uncommon for white artists to make covers of African American artists music and get all the fame for that song, with this happening it caused even more racial tension. A perfect example… is when Pat Boone was made to cover Little Richard’s song “Tutti Frutti” and Boone’s version topped higher on the charts… ("Music Played in the 1950's Popular Music From the 50s."). With this controversy happening it just separated the people even more than the civil rights movement did and made it hard for everyone to get
along.

Through hard times and good times music played a huge part in the world evolving and music changing helped new creations become invented like the jukebox, new guitars, etc. If it was not for all the difficulties throughout the 1950s the world would not be how it is today.