Pop Music In The 1950's

Music as a whole blends together. One style leads to another, the music becomes more progressive. It evolves to fit the new generation, leaving the old generation behind. From the spritual songs of the late 1800s to the gospel of the early 1900s. Then it changed into rhythm and blues, and when the 1950s rolled around it became Rock’ n’ Roll. With the invention of new iconic instruments like the Fender Precision Bass and then the Fender Stratocaster, the sound of the music changed. The sound that was soft and low was now crunchy and loud. While it did not sit well with the adults, it was a hit among the new generation. Even the African American roots of the music didn’t deter the youth listening

The Jazz Age was a cultural movement that took place in America during the 1920 's (also known as "the Roaring Twenties") from which both jazz music and dance emerged. This movement matched with both the equally phenomenal introduction of mainstream radio and the conclusion of World War I. The 1920s was the decade that marked the beginning of the modern music era. Some of the popular music genres were Jazz, Dance Bands, Blues, and Broadway. The decade marked the beginning of independent record companies, smaller operations that weren’t afraid to take a chance on music and artists that the bigger companies shied away from.

Teenage Rebellion is a major influence on the popularity of rock and roll in the 60’s. Society as a whole was well reserved and private about their personal and sexual lives. A struggling economy left most families spending the majority of income on basic living needs. Few households had disposable income.

The 1930’s was a decade of extremely hard times, following the stock market crash and an extreme depression. In spite of the tremendous hardships in America during this decade, it also became a time of great music that is still remembered today. Jazz music was highly popular in this time, and Billie Holiday was a famous jazz performer. She stood out from many other musicians because of her intense and passionate performances. Jazz arose from “unacceptable” segments of society, but quickly grew like wildfire. We often think of the 1930’s as the decade that jazz became civilized, and famous throughout popular culture through the work of pioneering artists like Billie Holiday. People did not own televisions or cable, so radio was their main source of entertainment, and music during this decade was both up beat and a source of relaxation. “Strange Fruit” defied musical category because it was considered too artsy to be folk, and too explicitly political to fit into jazz. This is why “Strange Fruit” became such a powerful phenomenon. Many other artists later took on this song, changing the genre but still portraying the same message. Nina Simone dramatized “Strange Fruit” in the context of the Civil Rights Movement. More important artists like Jeff Buckley, Rene Marie, Labor Camp Orchestra, and many others made their own rendition on the song, still leaving all of their audiences moved by the powerful imagery of the lyrics.

This paper will be an updated version of my last paper which talked about a portion of Barry Gordy's background, Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Four Tops, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Temptations and their start at Motown. How Motown was the first American music label owned by an African-American, the first music label to successfully market black artists to white mainstream audiences. How Motown was responsible for discovering, mentoring, and perfecting a lot of American popular music's most influential and successful artists and the best albums and artists and what new artists have entered Motown.

The genre of rock and roll has been and will continue to be a genre fueled by rebellion. Even the King, as hometown sweet and charming as he was, had a flare for the raucous. Elvis Presley’s gyrating hips and drug addiction had set the standard; the old saying is, in fact, sex, drugs and rock and roll. From then on, this genre was all about pushing the boundaries of what could be done. For some, it meant being shirtless on stage; for others, it meant they had to eat a bat on stage. Regardless of the stunts pulled, rock and roll was their drive. What began as a mesmerizing combination of R&B and country, became a catalyst for change and the heart and soul of generations.

Sex, drugs and Rock and Roll, this saying goes along with the music industry like peas in a pod, but never has it had more of a literal meaning than it did in the free loving 1960s. Many of the greatest rock bands and rock artists in history were forged out of the 60s, which culminated in 1969 with a festival of peace, love and happiness in a time of war.

The music of the 1940’s was the Big Band sound like Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman. Popular singers were the Andrews Sisters, Kay Kaiser and many other famous ones. There were crooner style singers, including Bing Crosby, whose smooth voice made him one of the most popular singers. There was Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore, Tony Bennett, Pat Boone, Nat King Cole, Kate Smith and Perry Como. All of these very popular singers led the hit parade. They sang the songs that went with the mood of the country in the early 50s. Many of these crooners became the idols of the decade’s later rock and roll stars, who used their influence to create a unique sound.

Pop culture during the 1920’s The 1920’s were an exciting and fascinating time in American History. Pop culture transformed america into a more vibrant and a modernized country. Pop culture includes Flappers, jazz music, and marathon dancers. The 1920’s was considered the aftermath for the world war 1 because many found comfort knowing that the war was done and it was time to celebrate.

When World War II ended most countries began to progress and prosper. Of these many countries, the United States was ready to take on new challenges that lied ahead and eventually become one of the most powerful countries on Earth. Popular Culture and Mass Media had a tremendous impact on people’s lives during the 1950’s which shaped the way that the United States is today. Popular culture and mass media affected the television, the average American family, teenagers, and people involved in the red scare.

During the 1950s African Americans migrated into the urban cities for jobs, which caused for African Americans and whites to be in close proximity to each other. This closeness created overlap in various fields including music. With the arrival of rock and roll a revolution started brewing in the world of popular music. Rock and Roll, a combination of rhythm, blues and country music took the younger generation by storm. Bill Haley and His Comets became the first group to be labelled rock and rollers. Their “Rock Around the Clock” (1955) was a smash hit. Chuck Berry was another noted black performer who blended country with rhythm and blues in “Maybellene”. Other musicians were Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P Richardson and Fats

With the daring and radical cultural up rise within the last few decades coming from icons we grew to love, to what was happening right there in our very own home, the 1950’s was the “golden age” of change, and change only. Rock n’ roll began the decade, so called “perfect family” living carried on throughout the decade, the television took over minds, new fashion, and many things this country was not used to could be heard or seen right in their living room. Many look at this decade as more of a state of mind rather than categorizing it as just another decade in history. Our nation just emerged victoriously from the second World War so families began to feel more at ease with the moral purity that spread throughout homes and the economy progressing

Introduction The 1950s rock ‘n’ roll movement was rooted from a style of music created by black people and their descendants (Scaruffi, 2005). The lives of Americans were changed, as the older generation looked down upon this genre and life style, while the young generation fell in love with it (“America,” 2008). Artist of the 1950s played a huge roll in the ideas that influenced every aspect of it such as legends Buddy Holly and Little Richard. From moral changes to political changes rock ‘n’ roll arrived to America ready to make an everlasting impact (Stewart, 2008).

During the 1930s, major improvements were made in microphone technology. In 1923, the moving-coil, or "dynamic" microphone was developed by Captain H. J. Round in London for the BBC. This was improved in 1930’s by Alan Blumlein and Herbert Holman who released the HB1A. W. C. Wente and A. C. Thuras at Bell Labs continued to improve on the design in the late 1920's, and applied for a patent in 1931. The ribbon, or "velocity" microphone was introduced by RCA in 1931, believed to have been developed by Harry F. Olson, who essentially reverse-engineered a ribbon speaker. It became one of the most widely used microphones in vocal recording.

Pop art is a 20th century art movement. Pop Art got its name because of its deiversary imagery taken from popular culture. It first started to move away from Abstract Expressionism, which was a really popular style in the 50’s because of its color, shape, forms, emotion, ideas etc. But many young artists of that generation didn’t like abstract expressionism. So It first began in the 1950’s in Europe when the European avant garde started getting to approach diverse art after the world War II. According to Metropolitan Museum “The term Pop Art was first used around 1954 to describe a group of British artists”. Later pop art was embraced by Americans. In 1960 first exhibition was shown in New York galleries called Pop Art.