Rock N Roll Changed Music

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.

To which they did not approve. They felt it had a rebellious nature. And lead to teens not being more defiant, and less conforming. But most of all they hated who played the music. Most of the musicians and music writers were African American. Even though they had earned the respect of many people while fighting in WWII, their culture was still shunned by most of the public. But Rock was all about being insobordinate. The fact that the parents hated it made it even more popular among the teens. The parents might have had their own little pet names about it calling it as blues legend B.B. King said in an interview with The Guardian, the “Black Chittlin' circuit.” But to the youth it was just music. The acceptance of this generation was going to bring a new opportunity for Black America in the fight for civil rights.

Music has continued to change throughout each decade, but the 1960s was the most influential decade in the history of music. Starting in the early 1950s, rock music was first introduced. Major record labels were releasing new “cover songs” which were originally made by black artist, but now by white artist (Rock and Roll). These cover songs changed a few lyrics from the original songs to avoid copyright issues and to also make the song more appropriate for the white listeners. The biggest star of the 1950s was Elvis Presley, who was known as the “King of rock n’ roll”.

However the arguments put forward on the notion that the social and political context of the 1950’s was the reason behind the emergence of rock n roll is undermined by Peterson who states that the birth of Rock n roll can not be purely based and credited to the individuals mentioned above. That is not to say he is undermining their talent but instead such talent can be found on a wider scale, however only a few make the forefront.

​ Rock n roll came from the mix of country and rhythm and blues. The origins of rock n roll can be traced back to when the great migration brought African Americans to the U.S. with them they brought a different sound for music. After the great migration, new genres of music began to become very popular in the late 1920’s and 1930’s. These genres of music influenced the development of rock n roll such as blues, boogie-woogie, jump blues, jazz, and gospel music “Rock n Roll developed from blues and country so no one invented rock n roll” ( Tim Janis) Rock n roll was definitely influenced by African American roots. The African music tradition of storytelling using music of African origins was a big influence on the creation of blues and other genres. These genres of music soon developed into rhythm and blues. Later

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 was built on the foundation of jazz, blues, country, and folk music. The Les Paul electric guitar was also a big contributor in music not just rock. One of the

Rock and roll helped break many people out of the pre-war mindset and into a new, fresh one. Although many adults detested rock, the younger generation felt that it symbolized a break from the war and the “age of anxiety” that the previous World War had caused. In addition, it promoted a promiscuous lifestyle that celebrated sex and drugs. Rock and roll seemed to be associated with this because many of the “rock stars” endorsed in a loose and laidback standard of living. Because many of the performers practiced recreational drug use, followers felt compelled to do so as well, feeling that that way of life was acceptable. Rock and roll was thought to be outlandish, primarily because of the performers’ gyrating and grinding of their hips, their suggestive lyrics, and rebellious undertones that provoked erotic senses in teenagers and upset parents. Rock and roll was said to establish a sense of identity and power in teenagers, mostly because of the new energy that came from the new style of music. Rock music was seen as satanic by the older generation because it seemed to lead to the

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.

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

In 1951, Alan Freed, a European American disc jockey for a Cleveland radio station, first coined the term rock’n roll. Fifty years later, if you were to poll the general public on which race would dominate that genre of music, the response would be overwhelmingly whites. But rock’n roll is not a white mans music. African American’s were and still are an essential cornerstone of the genre known as rock’n roll. But rock’n roll simply would not exist if it weren't for African Americans. Their presence is felt in almost every genre of music known to the United States. Early twentieth century black musicians helped shape, influence and create my favorite genre of music today.

It was no coincidence that rock ‘n’ roll and the civil rights movement started at the same time. The genre originated from African American music and was greatly discriminated against. Traditional white Americans would target anything bad about it. But as the teenager demographic of the 1950s started increasing the sales of the music, the genre started gaining more popularity. It was the style of Elvis Presley and his new voice that made girls weak in the knees and boys want to be him. Artists such as Presley had enough influence to change the view of their devoted fans on civil rights issues. Soon as protest songs and rock ‘n’ roll became more popular and influential, it began a gap between the young adult generation and their parents

“Rock and roll is a type of popular dance music originating in the 1950s, characterized by a heavy beat and simple melodies. Rock and roll was an amalgam of black rhythm and blues and white country music, usually based on a twelve-bar structure and an instrumentation of guitar, bass, and drums.” (Kamien, 2015, p.378) The popular music was first called rock and then rock and roll then back to simply rock. Rock and roll music contains many diverse styles. Genres that influenced rock and roll music included jazz, gospel, blues, country and western, classical music, and folk music. Rock and roll music has a raw sound that gets the crowd hyped in a special way. The most important instrument used in rock and roll music is the electric guitar. The electric guitar is the reason for the amplified sound in rock and roll music. “Rock-and-roll guitarist Chuck Berry established a style of

Alan Freed had been playing rock and roll types of music on his radio program but it was Leo Mintz that changed history. During this current time period the new music was called race records and Leo was having trouble getting white customers to buy them. So Leo, being a sponsor of Alan’s show, encouraged him to use the term rock and roll to describe this type of music. Once the brand of rock and roll caught on, the records shot to popularity within all ethnicities.