The Beginning of Rock n' Roll

The Beginning of Rock n' Roll

During the 1950s many African Americans migrated into the urban cities for jobs, which caused for African Americans and whites to be in close proximity to each other. Because they were close to each other their music and other things over lapped. This over lap caused for the birth of Rock and Roll. Rock and Roll is the combination of the Rhythm and Blues. Some historic Rock and Roll artist like Elvis Presley, Fat Domino, Chuck Berry, and Little Riche had a huge impact on shaping the way Rock and Roll is viewed today. During the 1950’s many parents did not like Rock and Roll because they thought that it caused juvenile delinquency. At the time the music contained sexual connotation, this vulgarism and suggestive choice of words made the teens want to listen to it more because their parents did not approve and teens felt like they had something to belong to. Many parents at the time gave their children ultimatums to stop listening to the music but it was unsuccessful. Parents feared that their children would start to act and dress like these musicians. So, parents tried to ban Rock and Roll music from many radio stations at the time. Beginning around 1955, rock and roll, a music of outlandish performers, amplified guitars, and aggressive lyrics, replaced jazz and pop standards in commercial prominence. It is often discussed as the charged collision of two racially separate genres: African-American rhythm and blues (R&B) and white country music. Yet it is more accurately viewed as a different hybrid. These outsider musical styles, and the often working-class, Southern, and/or black performers who championed them, were embraced by TEENAGERS who were often middle class, Northern, and white and who had emerged in the affluence of that decade as an economic force to be reckoned with. As controversy raged about Elvis Presley's gyrating hips and the "lyrics" of hit songs, a music industry veteran argued that the music had only become controversial because "the [white] pop...

Similar Essays