Analyzing 50 's And 60s American Society Through Music

Music is an outlet to all aspects of life and culture is a significant way of forming people and the way they live. Although not always seen directly culture has an overbearing influence on the music that is produced and made popular. The political Climate of the early seventies was full of fire with issues such as Vietnam and constant protest throughout the county. Later in the 70’s the end of the Vietnamese conflict brought the rise of the Watergate scandal and Iran Contra. These issues swept headlines and ingrained people’s thoughts. Social issues also played a big role in the developing culture of the seventies. Protests and constant outbreaks about gay rights and women’s rights seemed to

Music has continued to change throughout each decade, but the 1960s was the most influential decade in the history of music. Starting in the early 1950s, rock music was first introduced. Major record labels were releasing new “cover songs” which were originally made by black artist, but now by white artist (Rock and Roll). These cover songs changed a few lyrics from the original songs to avoid copyright issues and to also make the song more appropriate for the white listeners. The biggest star of the 1950s was Elvis Presley, who was known as the “King of rock n’ roll”.

The social and political context of the 1950’s is crucial to any understanding of the birth of rock n roll.

During the 1960’s, Nina got involved with the current events – the civil rights fight – as an activist. Outraged by the events and her own struggles this led her to take action; She used her music to try to change society. Her music was often anthems for civil right movements - such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee - during the 1960s and 1970s. After almost 50 years of music, Nina Simone

The 1940’s was recognized as the era of the common household names such as Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Perry Como. Jazz was the strongest music genre in the 40’s era with Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong taking the lead. Radio was the most common way to listen to music back then, but phonograph players were just starting to get affordable for the average wage.

The Sixties were an exciting revolutionary period of time with great social and technological change. Some people called it the “decade of discontent” because of the race riots in Detroit and La, and the demonstrations against the Vietnam War. Other people called it the decade of “peace, love, and harmony”. It was called this because of the peace movement and the emergence of the flower children. (Britannica) The sixties were about assassination, unforgettable fashion, new styles of music, civil rights, gay and women’s liberation, Vietnam, Neil Armstrong landing on the moon, peace marches, sexual freedom, drug experimentation, and Woodstock. All of these components caused a revolutionary change in the world of popular Music.

Rock and roll was not just a new generation of music; it was music that created a new generation. Rock and roll had a transformative effect on American society because it encouraged younger people to break out of the more conservative American mold, increased the use of technology in daily life, as well as implemented civil rights movements that bolstered minority groups and races.

Many people inaccurately assess the 1950s and 1960s. Historians, in particular, tend to describe the 1950s as a decade of prosperity and the 1960s as one of turbulence. According to most, peace and harmony defined the 50s while violence and protest conjured the 60s. This isn't true because controversy existed in the fifties, many achievements occurred in the sixties, and both decades had its political ups and downs. With all the criticism surrounding it, the 1960s remains one of the most controversial decades in American history.

“People today are still living off the table scraps of the sixties. They are still being passed around - the music and the ideas.” This was pronounced by Bob Dylan, a folk musician of the sixties: an era in which the music heavily influenced the culture of the time and continues to influence the music and culture today. The music and artists of the 60s influenced radio and television, the music, fashion and lifestyles of the people, particularly youth, heavily influenced the popular culture Australia, USA, Britain and other Western Countries.

Mammie, Jezebel, and the ever ready prostitute and Sapphire. In “Four Women” Nina Simone links the history of black women in America as defined

The 1960’s was one of the most controversial decades in American history because of not only the Vietnam War, but there was an outbreak of protests involving civil and social conditions all across college campuses. These protests have been taken to the extent where people either have died or have been seriously injured. However, during the 1960’s, America saw a popular form of art known as protest music, which responded to the social turmoil of that era, from the civil rights movement to the war in Vietnam. A veritable pantheon of musicians, such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan sang their songs to encourage union organizers to protest the inequities of their time, creating a diverse variety of popular

Throughout its history, music has permeated the significant events of American history. Its effect on American society and the way the American people cope with each event has only grown as popular music evolves and new genres reach more and more individuals. People can remember where they were and their exact surroundings to amazing detail when asked about life-changing events in history. Older generations will remember the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Their children will remember when Kennedy was assassinated and when man walked on the moon. Their grandchildren will remember much of the turmoil of the ‘70s and ‘80s and their great grandchildren grew up in the world impacted by the events of September 11, 2001. Even one’s surroundings during the start or end of a relationship or personal events such as graduation, getting a driver’s license, or getting married can all be paired with the music that was popular at the time.

Throughout history, music have defined or depicted the culture and social events in America. Music has constantly played an important role in constituting American culture, where people have expressed themselves through music during flourishing and turbulent times. In the 1930’s, Swing music created a platform for audiences to vent their emotions in the midst of Great Depression and political unrest. Such strong relationship between music and culture can be seen throughout history, especially in the sixties.

People in the late 70’s and 80’s have both happy and frustrating memories about the cassette tape. This era of adolescents spent hours creating mix tapes to have their favorite songs on one tape instead of having constantly switch out tapes for different songs. This made the sharing of music more personal, important, and meaningful because one would want the perfect tape. However, once the compact disc-commonly known as the CD- released in the early 1980’s (Downes 1) people were not aware of how it will affect this culture of mix tapes and love for music. As the 80’s ended, also did the era of the cassette. The end of this era started in 1983, where the sales of the compact disc reached 800,000 worldwide sales, and officially ended in 1990, where sales reached one billion sales (Downes 1). This demised caused the rise of the CD and what it brought. What the compact disc brought was better sound, made it easier to produce and record music, and destroyed the

The history of American music begins with a fundamental process of exchange through all different social lines, where diverse cultures meet, and mix. Music has and always will be defined as sounds that are arranged in a particular pattern that are played to be meaningful and pleasurable. The chronology of music began in the Medieval period, when chanting was introduced into the Church. Music has then moved its way through many stages: renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic and leading up to 20th century American music. American 20th century music is made up of a diverse number of styles that are reflected by cultural traditions and the era’s of the past. Immigrants from Spain, France, England, Germany and Ireland all contributed and brought their own unique styles to the forefront, hence creating American music. African Americans created influential musical traditions that include rhythm and improvisation that were later combined with European traditions and other indigenous music.