1950's Pop Music

Music as a whole blends together. One style leads to another, the music becomes more progressive. It evolves to fit the new generation, leaving the old generation behind. From the spritual songs of the late 1800s to the gospel of the early 1900s. Then it changed into rhythm and blues, and when the 1950s rolled around it became Rock’ n’ Roll. With the invention of new iconic instruments like the Fender Precision Bass and then the Fender Stratocaster, the sound of the music changed. The sound that was soft and low was now crunchy and loud. While it did not sit well with the adults, it was a hit among the new generation. Even the African American roots of the music didn’t deter the youth listening

consciousness. Fourth was the rock genre. Rock music is a form of popular music that kindled from rock and roll and pop music during the mid and late 1960s. The fifth genre was Reggae.

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.

This kind of subculture emerged originally in the 1960s when pop music first arrived on the scene. It was during a time when teenagers wanted to rebel against the system or just wanted be different to everyone else and this kind of music allowed them to do so. The first fan bases came about because of groups like The Rolling Stones and the Beatles, these particular groups especially had an impact on mainstream culture as many teenagers spent a

From its birth in northern Mexico and southern United States in the early 1920s, country music has continuously brought controversy to the music industry. During the 1950s country music was mostly conservative in regards to politics. Other topics of country music include love, middle to lower-class life, and living in the south (Country Music). The country music of the ‘50s centered around “Rockability” which was the combination of Rock-n-Roll music with Hill-Billy music (Honky Tonk). There were traits of nearly every music genre present in the country music of the 1950s.

Sex, drugs and Rock and Roll, this saying goes along with the music industry like peas in a pod, but never has it had more of a literal meaning than it did in the free loving 1960s. Many of the greatest rock bands and rock artists in history were forged out of the 60s, which culminated in 1969 with a festival of peace, love and happiness in a time of war.

The change tearing through America in the 1950’s persists to this day. 2010 has brought a busier, more materialistic, culture than ever before. The trends of women working outside of the home and increasing teenage autonomy persists. American teenagers are given more discretionary time than ever before in history. Reed Larson studied this continuing trend and explains, “If we look back over the past 200 years, the most striking historic change in young people’s use of time is that youths spend much less time on labor activities today than they did in America’s agrarian past” (160). Some teenagers use

During the 1950s African Americans migrated into the urban cities for jobs, which caused for African Americans and whites to be in close proximity to each other. This closeness created overlap in various fields including music. With the arrival of rock and roll a revolution started brewing in the world of popular music. Rock and Roll, a combination of rhythm, blues and country music took the younger generation by storm. Bill Haley and His Comets became the first group to be labelled rock and rollers. Their “Rock Around the Clock” (1955) was a smash hit. Chuck Berry was another noted black performer who blended country with rhythm and blues in “Maybellene”. Other musicians were Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P Richardson and Fats

With the daring and radical cultural up rise within the last few decades coming from icons we grew to love, to what was happening right there in our very own home, the 1950’s was the “golden age” of change, and change only. Rock n’ roll began the decade, so called “perfect family” living carried on throughout the decade, the television took over minds, new fashion, and many things this country was not used to could be heard or seen right in their living room. Many look at this decade as more of a state of mind rather than categorizing it as just another decade in history. Our nation just emerged victoriously from the second World War so families began to feel more at ease with the moral purity that spread throughout homes and the economy progressing

Rockabilly music became popular in the mid-fifties due largely in part to the introduction of Elvis Presley. In 1954 this 19-year old Mississippi native took the radio waves by storm with songs that were unlike anything the American public had heard before. This new sound was an amalgamation of genres, pulling elements from what was considered hillbilly music (country and western, folk, bluegrass) and colored music (rhythm and blues, jazz, gospel.) While the roots of rockabilly are much indebted to country music, they are quite different genres. Different styles of country and western music had been popular since the Great Depression era.

As one of the most popular music genres, rock music has grown and expanded to incorporate many styles throughout the years. A rock band usually consists of a vocalist, an acoustic drum kit played with a strong beat, usually a back beat, and features electric and acoustic guitars. From its beginnings in the late 1950s and early 1960s until the present day, rock has changed styles seemingly every decade as new bands become popular because of their unique style of music. Throughout the years rock has influenced our culture and helped shape the world we live in today.

Before Rock and Roll in the 1950’s young males were expected to get out and find jobs right out of high school and the young women were expected to marry and have families at a young age. Collage was an option for only a select few. In the early 1950’s the economy was booming and parents could give their children more freedom than in the times before. Therefore, giving the teenagers their own independence to be able to make their own choices and giving more time to socialize. Rock and Roll not only gave independence from their parents but brought teens to have their own style. Creating the rebellious teenagers that we have today.

The 1960s included a diverse amount of music. Many songs had messages or views of the artist; especially related to popular culture. Artist like Bob Dylan, The Beates, and Edwin Starr all wrote popular songs about the war and being anti-war.

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed in the 1950’s. Rock music is considered a mixture of country, blues, and gospel music. Rock music was formed by African Americans who at the time didn’t get much credit because of racism and segregation. Some of the founding fathers of rock music are Lloyd Price, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Haley and the Comets, Bo Diddley, Roy Orbison, Johnny cash, Robert Johnson.

me to kick back and relax. A heavy and loud rock song for example, would not fall under my “chill” playlist. A heavy rock song would be more suitable for the “rock” playlist that I have. Songs have different characteristics, while also evoking different feelings within the those who listen. This fact hints at the concept of subclasses and super classes. For example, the genre “rock and roll” could be the super class of “punk rock,” because Rock and Roll is a fairly broad category of music and punk rock is a more specific type or flavor of rock; thus showing how punk rock is a subclass of Rock and Roll. Punk Rock is a category within a category of music. Rock and Roll demonstrates how a genre can evolve from being relatively specific to generally broad as time progresses and new music is introduced over the years. With the superclass of Rock and Roll at the top of the hierarchy, under it could be other subclasses like hard rock, blues rock, pop rock, psychedelic rock, Christian rock, Latin Rock, southern rock, etc.