Music And Censorship In Rock And Roll Music

The Rolling Stones, self-acclaimed and fan-supported, is “The World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band.” The Rolling Stones is well into its fifth decade performing together as a group. They are the longest lived, continuous performing band in the history of music. From the band’s early British beginnings through the present, The Rolling Stones has continued to adapt its music to the sounds and styles of the past five decades, to remain ever visible and popular in the eyes of the world. The “Stones,” as the band has become known by, was formed by the blues-loving London born, childhood friends, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Over the period following Jagger’s and Richards’ chance reunion on a train at the Dartford

Since the being of time people have been making and listening to music. Music has been considered the best way to express ourselves. The Bible even talks about how music was used to praise God. Music has been used for all type of things ranging from to getting a girl to notice guy, trying to get over a broken heart, or maybe losing a love one. Now society says that music has become too violent and sexually oriented. Many people have different point of view on this topic some people feel that there should be some type of censorship, while other feel censorship is against the first amendment, and others feel that parents should be responsible for what their children listen to. The question that comes to mind is should

     Racism, hate, sex, drugs, and profanity are among many things people encounter in everyday life whether they want to or not. The one thing that people do have control over is what kind of music they listen to and to take that right away from anyone would be more offensive than having the president of the United States of America get oral sex in the oval office, one of the most honored places in the country. People get more worked up over the things in life that mean nothing, than worrying about crucial issues. Our society can tolerate watching parents smack their children in *Wal-Mart more than they can stand to hear a curse word, or a sexual comment in a song. Music is an

The loss of these legendary singers with the death of Buddy Holly, the enlisting in the Army of Elvis Presley, religious choice of Little Richard, the scandal of Jerry Lewis and incarceration of Chuck Berry sent the entertainment industry into an unpredictable state of what rock n roll would become. However, rock n roll remained a real thing, it continued to captivate and motivate its fans around the world. With the new singers such as the Beatles and Rolling stones and many other British musicians coming in would not let rock n roll

In 1964, The Rolling Stones catapulted to fame amid outrage and controversy about the surliness of their demeanor and the length of their hair. The Stones were considered "dangerous" and riots and scenes of hysteria erupted wherever they played. "Today, they're in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, winners of the prestigious Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and on the cover of TIME magazine" (RIAA; History 2 of 4). "There's nothing new about pop and rock music finding its roots in the anger and rebellion of young people, and there's nothing new in older people expressing unrealistic fears about that music" (RIAA; History 3 of 4). History has shown us that what may be initially perceived as objectionable is actually only the reaction of a new or different experience.

“The rise of rock ‘n’ roll and the reception of it, in fact, can tell us a lot about the culture and values of the United States in the 1950s. According to historians James Gilbert, there was a struggle throughout the decade ‘over the uses of popular culture to determine who would speak to what audience, and for what purpose”. At the center of that struggle, rock ‘n’ roll unsettled a nation had been “living in an ‘age of anxiety’” since 1945” (p.15). Altschuler talks about how music and race interlock with one another. Rock had become a “highly visible and contested arena for struggles over racial identity and cultural and economic empowerment in the United States” (p.35). Other chapters within the book state the battles involving sexuality, generational conflicts, as well as other social issues. The author states ideas that are somewhat problematic. For example, he states that there is a myth that rock ‘n’ roll went into a “lull” following the payola hearings (the practice of record promoters paying DJs or radio programmers to play their labels ' songs) of 1959 and did not come about again until the arrival of the Beatles in 1964.

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

When listening to the radio, most people come across a song that has been changed from its original version, whether certain words are beeped out, or a string of lyrics are replaced altogether. This is censorship, and it is very common on the radio. It is also very controversial. People don’t agree what should be censored or if anything should be censored at all. However, we believe that censorship is a good thing. Censorship allows offensive music to be altered so that it is not offensive anymore. It also prevents younger children from being exposed to harsh and inappropriate content in a society where access to music is growing. The positives of censorship outweigh the negatives by far.

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

Censorship in music has been a major problem plaguing America since the early nineteen forties. It came to a head during the nineteen sixties with the Vietnam War and the hippie movement. During the nineteen seventies and eighties heavy metal and hard rock were getting the brunt of the censorship heat. Now in the nineteen nineties the major focus of censorship is rap; primarily gangster rap. Some of the main factors of music in general that cause legal ramifications are sexual content, suggestive violence and obscene language. Censorship is an attack against our first amendment right guaranteeing the freedom of speech. However if a song or album is deemed obscene the first amendment does not protect this.

“Censorship, like charity should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there,” is a quote by Clare Boothe Luce (Fitzhenry, 84). Some parents are against the censorship of music. They believe that they should raise their kids, not some politicians who believe one nasty word will change a whole child’s future.

“You say you want a revolution/ Well, you know/ We all want to change the world/ You tell me that it's evolution/ Well, you know/ We all want to change the world,” The Beatles’ Revolution, 1968. In their call-to-arms lyrics above, Lennon and McCartney are instructing their listeners to revolt and rebel against harmful social norms in a peaceful, yet powerful, manner. Ironically, while telling their listeners to resist the societal norms created by “Minds that hate,” The Beatles were inadvertently caught up in gender stereotypes and social norms upheld by the music industry in order to sell records, tickets, and merchandise. The music industry has long been criticized for their often blatant display of gender inequality and the promotion and exploitation of unhealthy gender stereotypes put into practice in order to profit off audiences. In the rock and roll and pop genres in particular gender inequalities are simultaneously seen and heard manifested in lyrics, music videos, performances, personas, and its audience. Music, as an artistic medium, has traditionally provided an outlet for artists to express their opinions on society which then ultimately has an effect on the society they are commenting on. Music can empower it’s fans to think and act a way they might otherwise have not, posing the question should a social institution be held accountable for the ripple effects they cause?

(Merriam-Webster Dictionary).Therefore, music censorship can be insinuated as the attempt to suppress or change any part of music that seems harmful, offensive or immoral for the society. Throughout the growth of music within the industry, most of it is met with a dispute. Elvis Presley’s dance moves, Bach's complex harmonies and counterpoints, Jazz, and Rock ˜n' Roll have all been met with opposition that it has had to face and arise from. Similarly, today's adaptation to music has been both misinterpreted and misunderstood especially rap and

Throughout the years, music has evolved and transformed in many ways. However, there are restrictions in today’s music, otherwise known as, censorships. A crisis has emerged concerning the issue of censorship. This argument consists of two possible stances: one, supporting the continuation of censorship, and two, eliminating the status quo of censorships in the music industry. There have been countless debates and arguments regarding the issues of censorship ever since the U.S. Congress passed the Radio Act in 1927 (The History). The time has arrived for censorship to be brought to an end. The government should release their grip on the censorship of music for the following reasons: it obstructs the public’s freedom of choice, it

More seasoned eras utilize their energy to attempt to edit the music of more youthful eras in light of the fact that the new music doesn't mirror the estimations of the old. The R&B and rock "n" roll of the 1950s and mid 1960s stood out extraordinarily from the estimations of "the best era," which grew up amid the Great Depression, battled in World War II, and began the creation that prompted America's worldwide monetary predominance. Subsequently, dutifulness, regard for power, and request were vital qualities for this era. Alternately, the music being made amid the mid-1950s and mid 1960s reflected states of mind wanting singularity, addressing power, and investigating opportunity, medications, and sex. Truth be told, commonly the music displayed these things to society's senior citizens. For example, in 1965, the Rolling Stones and the Who were banned from radio stations nationwide because of sexual references in their songs (Sparrow).` In 1968, The Doors’ song “Unknown Soldier” was banned from many stations because of its anti-war theme (Sparrow). In 1971, the FCC threatened to take away broadcast licenses from stations playing songs that glorified drugs. The generational value gap continued in the 1970s and 1980s, when heavy metal rock and rap music were particular targets of moral authorities. A Prince album caused controversy at a 1984 PTA meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio (Sparrow).The incident helped spark the debate for government censorship of music. The National Coalition on Television, which monitored the level of violence in music videos, asked for the federal government to regulate rock music on television (Nuzum). Despite the fact that the solicitation at last wasn't followed up on, the interest shows the push from a few fragments of the populace, for the most part preservationist, for elected administrative activity. The following year, the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), pushed the