Multiculturalism In Music Essay

Rock and Roll was the start of a new revolution in America. It introduced the world to many of the famous artists that continue to be a part of our lives today. "Artists who became popular in the 1950s such as Elvis, began to pave the way for others such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly" (The History of Rock 'n' Roll until 1960). With the introduction of rock 'n' roll, there came many new changes to the lives of many Americans. Rock and Roll was a major contributor for the change in teens' behavior in the 1950s because it encouraged new freedoms for teenagers, encouraged new fads among teenagers, and caused a generation gap.

Music and society have always been closely related. For years now music has been apart of people’s everyday lives all around the world. Having so many different genres out there, it makes it easy to be appealing to so many different ethnic backgrounds. However, one type of genre in particular has seemed to grab the attention of a younger generation. Rap music has undoubtedly had its utmost impact on African American youth, since many of the performers themselves are African American. An overtly masculine culture dominates rap music and creates gender stereotypes that become abundantly popular to the youthful audience. Three constant themes that are found within the rap culture are encouragement of violence, the misogynistic representation of women, an extreme hatred of homophobia. Each theme plays a detrimental role in the process of defining black masculinity as well as shaping the values, morals, and beliefs that its younger audience adopts after tuning into this “gangster lifestyle”.

To get back on track, rock and roll started in the 1950s. Most parents would listen to Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, and etc. while their children (mainly teenagers) were beginning to listen to this new found “Rock and Roll.” During the Great Migration many African Americans moved to North cities, bringing “their” music (race music) with them. When I say bringing their music I mean Gospel, Blues, Rhythm music which many white teens were fascinated with but were not allowed to listen to because there was still segregation and racism going on.

Rock n Roll was everything the suburban 1950’s were not. While parents of the decade were listening to Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, and the Big Bands. Their children were moving on to a new beat.” (U.S. History) Teenagers started to like this new type of music called rock and roll. It became very popular and artists started to experiment with it which influenced the development of rock n roll throughout the 50’s and 60’s. The experimentation with rock n roll changed music forever and greatly influenced our music today. Rock n roll was mixed with country, rhythm, and blues when this combination happened rock n roll kept developing through the fifties and sixties.

This week we learned about many genres of music, some similar some different. The two genres I want to compare and contrast are Rock and Blues. When you hear rock music, you picture electric guitars, amplified sounds, and complex styles of play. But if you take a deeper look you would probably be surprised to learn that rock would not even have existed without simple 12-bar forms, antiphonal textures, or “walking bass lines” used in much blues music. Though Rock and Blues are distinctly different they have a lot of similarities that most likely go unnoticed. Rock and Blues were developed at almost the same exact time around the late 19th century. Blues originated from African American folk music and like Blues, rock music style can also be

The misunderstood subculture of music that many have come to know as “hip-hop” is given a critical examination by James McBride in his essay Hip-Hop Planet. McBride provides the reader with direct insight into the influence that hip-hop music has played in his life, as well as the lives of the American society. From the capitalist freedom that hip-hop music embodies to the disjointed families that plague this country, McBride explains that hip-hop music has a place for everyone. The implications that he presents in this essay about hip-hop music suggest that this movement symbolizes and encapsulates the struggle of various individual on

Rock and roll music emerged as a part of American teen culture during the notably conservative time period in the country’s history which shortly followed the traumatic events of World War II. Being that the genre’s target audience was white teenagers, many Americans- already overwhelmed and on-edge due to the anti-communist movement inspired by the Cold War- were apprehensive about the influence that this up-and-coming style of music might have on their country’s future. America’s youth openly accepted rock and roll’s racially integrated culture of performers and embraced the relatively lewd nature of many songs and performances associated with the genre, much to the dismay of their elders.

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

Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll or rock 'n ' roll) is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States. The music we know as rock and roll emerged as a defined musical style in the mid 1950s, even though a form of it had been on the horizon for at least a decade or so. A quarter of the American population moved during World War II, and that is what brought southern, rural, sacred and secular traditions into contact with urban-based music and its audiences. Rock and roll drew on many different styles. It derived most directly from the rhythm and blues music of the 1940s, which it developed from earlier blues, boogie-woogie, jazz and swing music. It was also influenced by gospel, country, western, and traditional folk music. With the combinations of all of these genres of music, that help to create this new style of music excited a worldwide generation of young listeners. Even though it had the attention of young listeners it started to upset the already established social, cultural and musical authorities. With this new music style coming into full affect along with new dances and people having voicing out their own opinion caused a lot of turmoil. Many people began to question this new genre of music and labeled it as the devil music while other loved it and couldn’t help but dance

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

music evolves, yet keeps its values intact. To many, rock music is an essential element of

Many artists created a new form of music through the influence of the black artists. The first signs of this influence appeared in the music of Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly. It carried on to artists like Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and various other musicians.4 A new form of music emerged, rock and roll. This new style of music was fueled by emotion. One of the first stages in the development of rock and roll was sacrificing musical complexity for the sake of capturing an audience. The jazz and blues songs that were popular before rock and roll emerged, consisted of several chords and elaborate rhythms, while rock and roll songs are comprised of only three or four chords and very simple rhythms.5 More direct expressions of emotions were used, and lyrics of personal and political significance were brought into the mix. The relationship between artists and their audiences changed. Fans related to the musicians’ opinions rather than simply the style of the music. As a result of the bold lyrics, a general respect for musicians

Rap music, also known as hip-hop, is a popular art form. Having risen from humble origins on the streets of New York City during the mid-1970s, hip-hop has since become a multifaceted cultural force. Indeed, observers say, hip-hop is more than just music. The culture that has blossomed around rap music in recent decades has influenced fashion, dance, television, film and—perhaps what has become the most controversially—the attitudes of American youth. For many rappers and rap fans during it’s early time, hip-hop provided an accurate, honest depiction of city life that had been considered conspicuously absent from other media sources, such as television. With a growing number of rap artists within this period, using hip-hop as a platform to call for social progress and impart positive messages to listeners, the genre entered a so-called Golden Age

Although artists do not create certain music to cure diseases or to make scientific or technological discoveries, music is one thing society can never live without. To both artists and their listeners, music provides an indispensible beauty that helps fulfill lives, and connect to nature. Music expresses the human condition in the purest way and affects everyone at a personal level. Plato, a well-known classical Greek philosopher once said, “If you want to measure the spiritual depth of society, make sure to mark its music.” Generally performer collaborate songs to represent the popular pop culture, and social issues, and wish for their society as well as their current era. For instance, controversial issues such as sex, violence, racism

Rock music has come a long way since its development in the early 20th century. The genre, defined “as a merger between rhythm&blues and country” (Scaruffi, The History of Rock Music:1955-1966), started out more as an underground market, but ended up becoming a significant aspect of American popular music history. Rock-n-Roll music produce many legendary artists who will for ever be known as innovators of the genre. Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry were some of the many artists in Rock-n-Roll who will always live on in their music.Many teenagers were also to identify it due to its rebellious nature their disapproval of the cold war. Towards the end of the 1950s, Rock-n-Roll was ending on a particularly bad note, with a brief decline: