Biography of Musician Lou Reed

In the 1960s, Rock ‘n’ Roll was replaced in popularity by other branches of rock such as Acid Rock, Psychedelic Rock and Hard Rock as a hippie counter culture arose, mainly to protest against the Vietnam war. These new forms of rock provided social commentary on the wide range of assassinations and anti-civil rights actions that infested the country, and united those that wanted to end them. They too celebrated anti-authority actions, but now they were used to promote peace and drugs. Americans—mainly college students—were still rebelling against societal constraints, but instead of fighting against the conformity of white suburbia and their parents, they were uniting to fight against U.S. governmental authority. Rock in the 1960s still mainly appealed to the younger generations, but its influence was spreading. Folk Rock (Bob Dylan) was playing in protest, reminding the individuals there that they were fighting for peace, and Psychedelic Rock—which replicated or enhanced the mind altering experience of psychedelic drugs—created a soothing and new atmosphere in the U.S. Music festivals such as Woodstock in 1969 sprung up to promote peace, do drugs, listen to music, and enjoy being alive and young.6 However, this element of extreme partying and pleasure, eventually brought a few stars to early deaths, such as Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. In the

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

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

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

When I first browsed through the different topics on which we were to write essays on, I was ecstatic when I saw one about rock and roll. Once I started skimming through all the bands and artists I know and love, I knew there would be no problem writing this essay. I firmly believe that I was born in the wrong generation of music because I am a hardcore oldies junkie at heart. For this reason, the bands I have selected are as follows: The Beastie Boys, Fleetwood Mac, The Police, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Cash, and The Righteous Brothers.

“You’ve got to listen to the heavens, you got to try to understand. The greatness of their movement is just as small as it is grand.” Most young adults of my generation do not know who The Grateful Dead are, but they unknowingly dawn the apparels and slang created in the counterculture of the bands following the Deadheads. The band, The Grateful Dead, became popular in the 60s and carried out wide spread recognition and fame into the 80s. Their calming, peace-promoting music became popular because it ‘transported’ people, it took them away from whatever they were going through in their life and set them on a new path. Fans of the band

The bizarre, avant garde music of the Velvet Underground was too much for the family-friendly mainstream of the mid-sixties. While the Beatles were performing two minute pop songs, and the Rolling Stones were covering blues numbers, Lou Reed, the lead singer and primary songwriter of the Velvet Underground, was composing experimental art rock on such topics as heroin, sexual deviancy, cross dressing, and hedonism. His strong interest in literature influenced his songwriting. Reed claimed he wanted to “bring the sensitivities of the novel to rock music”. His lyrics depicted the “Underground”, the misfits and social outcasts on the fringes of society that mainstream culture shunned. Four particular aspects of the “Underground” referenced in Reed’s

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

     From the sounds of Elvis many other important bands of the sixties were inspired, even people a thousand miles away from America. One of these important bands was the Beatles. The Beatles took the rock sound and added more lyrical and musical complexity to the sound. The Beatles were the starters of the “British Invasion” in 1963 when they released “I want to Hold Your Hand” (Kallen, 2012, 31). After their first single they had immense success with other hits such as “She Loves You” and “Woooo!” The Beatles continued to reinvent their music on the various other albums throughout the sixties delving into complex, heavy existential concepts and psychedelic elements, becoming the most relevant influence for modern rock.

They not only made but also gave such an important role in the history of rock and roll. The Stones were extremely important to the development of rock and roll because they created a style of music that no other band could have created. They established their own sound and musical style. With a music career that continues advance after 50 years, the Rolling Stones still pursue to share their talented skills with old and new coming bands. The song’s lyrics, for their day, were controversial because they challenged the current cultural mores.

The emergence of Rock and Roll was one of the most pivotal moments of our nation’s history. The impact that this genre of music made is still evident in our culture. However, before this genre was able to gain momentum, it faced many cultural conflicts. The book, All Shook Up: How Rock ‘N’ Roll Changed America by Glenn C. Altschuler analyzes the impact that rock and roll music has made on American culture. It explores how the Rock and Roll culture was able to roughly integrate and later conflict with preceding cultural values. This is especially apparent in chapters regarding race and sexuality. Overall, Rock and Roll was extremely controversial amongst parents and educators. This new music genre was condemned by the previous generation as

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

For thousands of years, music has been influencing people in extraordinary ways. The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band should not be mistaken as an ordinary album. Without a doubt, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, an incredibly innovative album, stands as the most influential album of all time; it stands as a true masterpiece. People all around, especially artists, were influenced greatly by the innovations the album brought to the world of music. Many people have said that from the moment they heard the first track of the album, it was life changing. Like the first falling domino tile of a domino show, June 1, 1967, would mark the start of the influence of many generations of music to come. The album helped popularize concept albums, in which songs are connected to a theme, which would inspire many musicians to do the same. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was a psychedelic rock album; a manifestation of life in the 1960’s. This genre of rock is home to the work of numerous artists who were influenced by the album’s use of this style of rock. The hours of work put into by the Beatles to create this album surpassed those of any of their albums. Not only that, it altered the way music was recorded by creating their own recording techniques. Surely, these recording techniques and tactics were used by future artists in their work which then led to the creation of legendary music. Sgt. Pepper’s opened the gate to innovation; an album whose impact on

The New York rock band, The Velvet Underground became a vital chapter in musical history as they emerged into the work in 1964. Initially the band achieved little critical recognition with the release of four studio albums between their formation in 1964 and the bands departure in 1973. Today The Velvet Underground are widely recognized as one of the most influential bands of our time as front man, Lou Reed, originated the spirit that defines the punk rock genre through unconventional lyrics that broke forbidden boundaries by poetically objectifying the darker side of New York City culture and the drug addiction, violent, and social nihilism that. The Velvet Underground is often defined with Lou Reed’s ability to describe without judgment,

In the Living The Good Life edited by Bargdill, Alfred Alder suggests in order to live a good life one “must make a contribution to society” (Bargdill 19-20). Weisstein formed several social community organizations like the Chicago Women’s Liberation Union (1969), Chicago Women’s Liberation Rock Band (CWLRB) in 1970. These organizations along with her other many contributions to social society inspired a new wave of rational thinkers within the community. Sidney Jourard describes personal growth occurs when the present “world structure” has shattered (through an insight) and a new “world structure” replaces it. (Bargdill 181). Weisstein’s connection, “In Chicago, one cold and sunny day in March of 1970, I was lying on the sofa listening to the radio. First, Mick Jagger crowed that his once feisty girlfriend was now “under his thumb.” Then Janis Joplin moaned with thrilled resignation that love was like “a ball and chain.” I somersaulted off the sofa, leapt up into the air, and came down howling at the radio: “Rock is the insurgent culture of the era! How criminal to make the subjugation and suffering of women so sexy! We’ve got to do something about this! We’ll… We’ll organize our own rock band!” Why not see what would happen if we created visionary, feminist rock? Not only did every 14-year-old girl in the city listen to rock, but also every feminist did. We all identified with the counter-culture; rock was considered Our Music: dangerous, sexy, and our harbinger of the