A Reflection of Rock N' Roll 1955-75
A Reflection of Rock N’ Roll, 1955-75
Rock N’ Roll, has been the sexy music sugar fix for many a teenager over the years and has been the embodiment of cool ever since its inception in the late 1950s. With a striking chord from the fingers of a smooth guitarist, and with a menacing maniac backbeat, complimented by a thunderous bass line, topped over with a screaming singer-rock n’ roll defined a generation. A musical movement that paved the way for popular culture, for the free love generation of the ‘60’s, fueled the protests over the Vietnam War in the 70s and everything in between, along with everything that fallowed. Rock n’ roll has been a global force for many of the world’s youth to vent frustration or simply let loose and dance. Legend has it that the term “Rock N’ Roll” was used by black youth as slang for sexual intercourse and the term was then added to describe the genre of music that we now know. Of course the genre itself has its origins in rhythm and blues and was popular amongst teenagers because it used its amplified sound to detail the lives of the youth with its complimentary oriented lyrics. “Without exploring the history of black popular music, country and western music, race relations, technical developments, and the music business one can be led easily to the conclusion that rock and roll was some new and different music which appeared suddenly.” (Townsend, nd) “Rock-and-Roll first so used (1951) by Alan Freed, Cleveland disc jockey, taken from the song ‘My Baby Rocks Me with a Steady Roll’.” (Peneny, 1998) The ushering in of this new medium of music needed a program to be seen and with the new avenue of television on the horizon it ultimately provided the perfect blend of marriage for both. Television gave rock n’ rollers the chance to see their hero’s perform and launched countless variety shows in the process and best of all a chance to cut lose. The ideal show that would become part of Americana and synonymous with rock n’
Rock N’ Roll, has been the sexy music sugar fix for many a teenager over the years and has been the embodiment of cool ever since its inception in the late 1950s. With a striking chord from the fingers of a smooth guitarist, and with a menacing maniac backbeat, complimented by a thunderous bass line, topped over with a screaming singer-rock n’ roll defined a generation. A musical movement that paved the way for popular culture, for the free love generation of the ‘60’s, fueled the protests over the Vietnam War in the 70s and everything in between, along with everything that fallowed. Rock n’ roll has been a global force for many of the world’s youth to vent frustration or simply let loose and dance. Legend has it that the term “Rock N’ Roll” was used by black youth as slang for sexual intercourse and the term was then added to describe the genre of music that we now know. Of course the genre itself has its origins in rhythm and blues and was popular amongst teenagers because it used its amplified sound to detail the lives of the youth with its complimentary oriented lyrics. “Without exploring the history of black popular music, country and western music, race relations, technical developments, and the music business one can be led easily to the conclusion that rock and roll was some new and different music which appeared suddenly.” (Townsend, nd) “Rock-and-Roll first so used (1951) by Alan Freed, Cleveland disc jockey, taken from the song ‘My Baby Rocks Me with a Steady Roll’.” (Peneny, 1998) The ushering in of this new medium of music needed a program to be seen and with the new avenue of television on the horizon it ultimately provided the perfect blend of marriage for both. Television gave rock n’ rollers the chance to see their hero’s perform and launched countless variety shows in the process and best of all a chance to cut lose. The ideal show that would become part of Americana and synonymous with rock n’
Cited: Peneny, DK (1998) The History of Rock N’ Roll, The Golden Decade - 1955 to 1964 Retrieved from http://www.history-of-rock.com/ (na) (nd) History.com American Bandstand goes national Perrya. (2008) The Impact of The Beatles. Retrieved from http://www.zimbio.com/The+Beatles%27+influence+on+popular+culture/articles/5/The+Impact+of+The+Beatles Schifferes, S Steel, Ronald. The New York Times,” The World: New Chapter, Old Debate; Would Kennedy Have Quit Vietnam?” May 25, 2003 Pirnia,G