Music, Culture And Ideology Of The Sixties ' Post War Generation

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.

In the early 60s, Britain was known in America for essentially the Queen and tea. However, that all changed in February of 1964 when the Beatles touched down on American soil for the first time. Their first hop across the pond was no ordinary endeavor, as most British boy bands or performers had a hard time making it in the states. However, their venture to visit The Ed Sullivan Show ultimately changed America’s future. From that point forward, Americans began on their journey to find hope and expression through the Beatles’ music and their influence. In present day America, it is hard to imagine a day that passes by without the media mentioning the British Royal Family, the famous British supermodel, Cara Delavigne, or the British pop band, One Direction. However, most of these British obsessions wouldn’t be as prevalent in America today if it weren’t for the Beatles appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show or the pop culture phenomenon that ensued thereafter. If one thing is for certain, the Beatles invasion into the U.S. masked ambivalent socioeconomic affairs in the early ‘60s and accelerated the change in American pop culture.

The music of the sixties went through tremendous change. It shaped mush of the music we hear today. From New Orleans came Jazz, from the East Coast came rock, from the West Coast came Psychedelic rock, and from England came the Invasion.

“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.

The day is June 14, 1964 and outside the Southern Cross Hotel in Melbourne are three hundred policeman and one hundred soldiers trying to hold back some ten thousand screaming, hysterical fans in what can only be called Beatlemania. The Beatles were a pop music group who gained such popularity that they caused mass hysteria wherever they went. John Lennon, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, and Paul McCartney were the four members of the Beatles who worked together between the years of 1962 and 1970. Within those eight years, the Beatles produced many albums, each evolving from the last due to changes and experimentation with recording technology. The albums Please, Please Me and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band are the two albums that

The 1960’s were a time of great turmoil and change; people had many different ways to express themselves. Some did this through drugs, others through assassination, while some chose music. While there were many American musicians who were influential during the 1960s such as Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, and The Eagles, arguably none were as influential as The Beatles. Consisting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, helped change the face of popular culture of the 1960’s through their music, image, and influence on the counterculture of the time.

The Beatles were more than their music. They influenced the lives of millions of people unlike any musicians before them. They were the first and most popular band in one of the most important music movements in American history, the British Invasion. The year 1964 was the year both the British Invasion and “Beatlemania” came to America and forever changed the landscape of music in the United States by introducing the genre of pop, as it is today. The Beatles changed the rules of music. Many things that are considered normal now were pioneered by the Beatles such as: creating compilation albums, expressing their views on world happenings through the media, musicians in movies, and even mass media advertising. The beatles

From that point on, the Beatles were the North Star for me and my generation" (McGarvey, 2014). The early 60s belonged to The Beatles, there is no denying that, everything from social subjects you would talk about with your friends, all the way to fashion and merchandise. Their arrival opened the doors for more British bands to make it big in America, and steal the attention of every boy and girl who listened to the radio.

The music was opening eyes of the youth and showing them the cruelties of America. Elvis Presley began to rise on the music scene, his music was showing “rebellion as an eye-opening style”(Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and The Rock of the Sixties). It wasn’t until 1962 that the generation had found a music to truly fit their desire for music. Originating in Liverpool, England, The Beatles, a band that captured the essence of being a cultural outsider. The Beatles gave a sense of hope, “young people were free to redefine themselves in completely new terms”(Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and The Rock of the Sixties).

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.

Gaining some popularity with a few hit singles, the Beatles slowly started their climb to the top. It wasn 't until they

The Beatles were one of the most influential music groups of the rock era. They were able to conquer and influence pop culture with their music. Initially they affected the post-war baby boom generation of Britain and the W.S. during the 1960s, and later the request of the world. Certainly they were the most successful group, with global sales exceeding 1.3 billion albums. During the sixties, The Beatles using revolutionary ideas in their music inspired a generation of young adults across the globe to look at life from their perspective.

It was 1967 when the Beatles became huge. Everyone, mostly the elders, were confused on how a band can become so big in such little time (Aronowitz 1). The six band members, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best were constantly on a plane going to perform somewhere. They were the most known band at the time and their fans, “Beatlemania” showed nothing but love and support for them. These six talented men were completely run out of energy by the end of each week but they could not let their fans down. There was no time to take breaks. It was the beginning of 1963 when the Beatles got announced to be the first American recording industry to sell over millions of albums (Gilmore 4). Many years passed on and the Beatles were still performing and making the world a happier place for their fans. America always said the Beatles were gonna engulf new generations, and they figured out it was true when it was the end of 2012 and they sold $71 million on music (Brown 1). It was not just regular music, it was meaningful music that the Beatles wrote to share the message that there is so much good in life you just need to live to find it. Shortly after the Beatles sold millions of their albums it was said that the president just got murdered. After the band and the rest of America heard about the devastating death of John F Kennedy, the Beatles came to the conclusion it was time to make a change even though no one knew if it was a rumor or not (Gilmore 4).

America in the 50’s and early 60’s was a conservative country having recently been involved in World War II and the Korean war, and now facing the rising tide of communism. Americans were missing that little bit of excitement in their lives and people were very inhibited. They needed an outlet to let their suppressed feelings out. Then came four lads from England that would soon shock the world, who called themselves the Beatles. The Beatles in the 1960’s positively impacted America by changing the music industry and American youth culture, so that young people became more politically involved, freethinking, and independent. The Beatles legacy continues to affect society today by giving the young people a voice to be heard and influencing the way they live and view society today.

Believe it or not, on January 1st of 1962, the group known as The Beatles flunked their audition at Decca Records in London, England. The label’s executive, Dick Rowe, brushed them off like they were nothing. He simply stated that “guitar groups are on the way out.” Little did Rowe know, The Beatles would soon conquer modern society and alter the course of pop and rock music. There have been no other entertainers in the history of music that has been so popular, influential, or as groundbreaking as The Beatles. In the early 1960’s, their popularity was often called “Beatlemania,” as thousands of screaming fans would crowd their concerts and sing-along with the Fab Four. They sold over 600 million albums internationally and had 20 Number One hit singles – a Billboard record that has yet to be broken. The band took over the entertainment media with music videos and films, but also influenced sociocultural, political, and fashion movements throughout the sixties and seventies. From experimenting with several different genres to incorporating classical elements into their melodies, The Beatles still reigns as one of the most creative and successful bands several decades later. Today, fifty years later, The Beatles and their music are still engraved in the hearts of many.