A Historical Book Review of Glenn C. Altschuler’s All Shook Up: How Rock ‘N’ Roll Changed America…
Looking at the influential power of rock ‘n’ roll, Glenn C. Altschuler, in his book, concentrates on the abrupt social change and developments in America during the 1940s to 1960s through the lens of popular music. Altschuler argues rock ‘n’ roll was a pivotal moment, it changed the youth culture of America and encouraged everyone to be more accepting of people of all races, ages and sexualities. The power of music was certainly influential and aided as a catalyst to change, but he grants rock ‘n’ roll too much authority over social change in that era. Altschuler failed to look outside of his perspective and elaborate on other variables that contributed to change like the mass media and technological advances.…
It is an important genre of music because it has the power to not only influence but sustain itself through generations of people. Rock 'n' roll has had a huge impact on American society by consistently helping set the trend for pop music and influencing other genres of music like hip-hop and neo-soul. Rock 'n' Roll has been influenced by many different types of music as well and has paved the way for originality, self-expression and free thought.…
After the Great Depression and WWII, people turned to music for joy. A simplistic style of happy, feel-good music that was innocent and meant to be non-offending to it’s listeners. People were not expressing their true feelings and they had to fit a ‘role’ in American society. By the time the baby boomer generation was growing up, they had different experiences in their lives and had different ideals than their parents in the Great Generation. They expressed themselves through Rock and Roll. Elvis was a major icon for this type of music. He was loved by his adoring fans, mainly teenage girls. Although, he appeared vulgar and unappealing to the parents of said fans because of the way he moved his hips. Another group of people expressing themselves, were the Hippies.…
Rock and roll has been an integral part of American culture since the 1950s. Throughout the decades, Rock and Roll has contributed to the vast array of sounds and musical styles in the pantheon of musical genres. Rock and roll has also influenced the creation of other musical subgenres, including alternative, metal, hardcore, punk, and grunge. Inspired by the emergence of blues and jazz, and the popularization of country, rock ‘n’ roll strived to imprint a deeper legacy into U.S. society and culture. Rock and Roll has also been very important in popularizing the genre of music. Key players in the Rock and Roll have transformed the genre into something that is now ingrained within our culture…
had to respond and Coltrane did it with Alabama . Coltrane praises the atmosphere of Alabama which was the sweet home for the girls. But then he says that an unfortunate incident took place under the blue sky. The authority is solely responsible for it. They could prevent it but they fueled it instead. The girls were supposed to return home, but now they have gone to the shelter of the lord. The simplicity of phrases attacks the system viciously. There are a number of songs written through the 1950s and 1960s that were impacted by the civil rights movement, racial relations, and related incidents. All of these songs had strong messages that strengthened the whole American community.…
The Sixties had been a witness to numerous historical events including the Vietnam War, the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the Civil Rights Movement to name a few. However, it is also the year American popular culture experienced a watershed development as British groups gained popularity in the US and became significant to the transatlantic counterculture. This paper, while focusing on the forerunner of the British Invasion – the Beatles – provides an overview of the British Invasion and examines its impact on American popular music. In doing so, it investigates the success and historical significance of the invasion in the evolution of popular music.…
Welcome to an era filled with sock-hops, diners, and poodle skirts. But that's not all! Arguably the most important aspect of the 1950's was that it was also a time filled with the newly evolved genre of "rock 'n' roll", a type of music that resulted from a combination of rhythm and blues, gospel music, country, and jazz. Rock and roll completely revolutionized musical tastes and essentially changed the world, especially among the youth. Suddenly all across the nation, teenagers were able to listen to this new music and rebel from their parents in ways that they never could before.…
The article “When America Was Rocked” tells about how the American culture was changed and shaped throughout the 1940s and 1960s. One of the biggest changes was the amount of young people in America and the music they listened to. Young people at this time were being called reckless or rebellious. However most teenagers found out that they could express themselves better through music. Music at this time was sang only by white people, but a new genre called “race music” was becoming very popular. Race music, or as we know now as rock and roll, was a mix of blues, country and white gospel. Although Race music was very popular, it was hard to find a white person who sang this type of music. Until one day Elvis Presley walked into Sun Records to record two songs. Elvis became an…
The 1950’s were a time where children were basically mini versions of their parents. These teens were the picture perfect children, non-rebellious, safe, and rule obeying. Suddenly, a new music genre called Rock and Roll started to become popularized. Rock and Roll was an new, exciting and dangerous music genre to these vulnerable teens. They listened to this music in private, seeing how almost every adult hated it and couldn't understand how their children could be listening to such “repulsive” music. Rock and Roll hit America like a hurricane. Teenagers strayed away from the music of their parents generation, and started to listen to the music hated by the older generation. In fact, the church hated rock and roll music…
The only possible explanation is that there was a culture shock. The art of the time can attest to it. One great example of how the art changed was through their music. The 1950's was the decade of the "crooners". These singers ranged from Elvis Presley, who later became better known as the King of Rock, Bing Crosby, Buddy Holly, Frank Sinatra, and Ray Charles. The 50's represented a time of innocence, formality, and portrayed a feeling of peace. On the other hand, the top bands of the 1960's were the British Beatles who appeared out of Liverpool, the Rolling Stones who became one of the most iconic rock bands, and the Beach Boys from California. The music of the time switched from the slow love songs of the 1950's to the wild tumultuous ballads of the 1960's. During the 70's, 80's, and 90's our culture went through other various shifts. We underwent the first of many major women's liberation movements in the 70's, the King of Pop in the 80's, and the internet in the 90's. Currently, we have a combination of all of the changes and events from the past but we place our own unique spin on things. We have our own very unique artists who pay respect to the past by either reinventing their favorite songs or by creating new and exciting songs that reflect our current culture. A few of the top singers in America are Adele, Bruno Mars, Carrie Underwood, Demi Lovato, Ed Sheeran, and Sia. These artists not only reflect what our current culture is, but they are also ushering in a new cultural era. One of the many special and unique things about works of art, cinema, music, and literature are its fans. We have something which is commonly known as "fan culture" or a people being a part of a "fandom". "Fandom" is when a group of fans is characterized by having a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. This "fan culture" brings fans from across the globe…
Blues, work songs, ragtime, spirituals, and minstrel songs were, in their own ways, all part of the great "Africanization of American music" that was originated by enslaved Africans in the southern United States. But the greatest of the musical forms developed in this process was jazz--one of the major American contributions to world culture. Each of these forms of music made essential contributions to the development of jazz itself but each, more or less, retained its own integrity and none could be said to have been transformed into jazz. What differentiated Jazz from these earlier styles was the widespread use of improvisation, often by more than one player at a time. Jazz represented a break from Western musical traditions, where the composer…
In my opinion, I feel that the Beatles is a group that greatly impacted American culture when they came to America until present day. Since February of 1964 the Beatles took over America with their first step on American soil. Their music is amazing and they brought a different style of pop/rock in America that we have never experienced. Another great group that also shook America was the Rolling Stones, just like the Beatles their music was trendsetting and impacted American culture. Both these groups came to America and changed the way Americans were listing to music.…
Rock n’ Roll was a significant part of American History. It was a genre of popular music that was derived in the year of the late 1940s and the early 1950s. Rock n’ Roll consisted of Blues, Country and Gospel music. The name Rock n’ Roll did not obtain its name until the year of 1950s. Piano or saxophone were considered the lead instrument in the earliest rock and roll such as the late 1940s and early 1950s, however, these were later on replaced by guitars in the middle to the late 1950s. Rock n’ roll has changed the United States and also many lives of American people, without Rock n’ roll, today’s music wouldn’t be the same.…
Rock and roll has developed a long way throughout the years from a dance craze in the 1950's to a political and cultural landscape that is recognized worldwide. Rock and roll has come to define the roots of teenage rebellion, people who don't follow the norms, and have disrespect for authority. The style of rock and roll itself is a melting pot of music, a combination of sounds that include jazz, country, blues, ragtime, gospel, swing, classical, and ethnic music. It can be a simple variation of three chords to a complex chromatic scale combination. It can convey emotions such as love, hate, fear, lust, sadness, joy, disillusion, or a strong sense of reality. Many things can be said about rock but the fact is that it is the most widely diverse of all music genres.…