Vanness, 1

Marisa Vanness
CAS 137 H
Veena Raman
29 October 2015
The Shift from RockNRoll to Rock: a Force to Change Society
RockNRoll is fondly known as the first teenage rebellion- of music. It has
roots in African American culture. Some claim that this first influence was because of
slave orchestras that arose in the Southern Pre-Civil War Era (Baers 354). There
was a long tradition of black culture trending towards popularity, while still being
denied the recognition of the legitimacy of a group of traditionally repressed people.
The fact that Rock and Roll is considered a rebellion insinuates that there were things
that young adults did not accept about the world their parents generation had created
for them. From the Rhythm and Blues antecedent and the Country and Folk sounds of
the southern states, arose a combination of sounds that would later become rock. The
added benefits of the newly invented electric guitar (1950) and Record Companies
firmly added rock to one of the longest lasting forms of popular music. Music has
been used throughout time as a form of emotional and social expression. The shift
from Rock and Rolls 1950s devilish escapist entertainment to the 1960s Rock of
political and social expression of the youth exhibited the fear, suspicion, and feelings
of injustice in the youth of the time, both Rock and the people profiting from the
music acted as a vehicle for social commentary relating to the atmosphere around
them.
Record companies held a lot of power over the many artists in the limelight.
They pushed for more music, different kinds of music, and more or less appropriate
music- especially in the 1950 s- and would often make most of the profit from the

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sales themselves. Music led to consumption, which gave these artists more power, but
ironically many of the late 60s artists preached against these very issues in society.
The radio disseminated the music, while the music industry circulated the music
further, allowing western consumerist society to feed the companies.
The Red Fear of the 1950s was an example of the cramping suspicion of
contemporary society, and Rock and Roll was a way to rebel without damaging the
status quo. Rock later acted as a counterculture to this strict and often judgmental time
period by critiquing and calling out society and the governments standards as being
unreasonable to the citizenry of the time.
The 1950s are often seen as a time of rigid control and duty. The children of
the World War II era were older adolescents and desired a way to break out of the
social construct of the time. The Korean War, McCarthyism, the Cold War and racial
issues surrounded the youth of the 1950s and RockNRoll acted as an outlet, a form
of escapism. Rock and Roll had a bawdy, exciting, colorful aspect that the crooners of
the 1940s and early 1950s lacked. This made some religious leaders claim it was
devils music and parents longed for music that was more appropriate (Tetrault
186). There was a sense of loss of control of the adolescent by the adult, mentally and
physically. This included the fact that many parents did not want their children to be
associated with the blue collar or African American classes, who were often grouped
together, much to the displeasure of the white blue-collar class. Knowing teenagers,
this would only make them more excited about this new music. Rock was acting as
a uniting factor because it was approachable. People could learn guitar, learn to write
music and perform in this fun, contemporary musical format.
The first Rock and Roll song is considered to be Rocket 88 (it was recorded
first by Ike Turner but credited to Jackie Brenston) produced by Sam Phillips of Sun

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Records in March of 1951 (Rock Music Timeline). It is a shallow song about a car
and picking up girls. This same theme was echoed later with the Beach Boys and
other singers. The catchy tunes of the new Rock and Roll songs were what helped it to
gain popularity- repetitive chords and choruses that were easy to sing along to.
Phillips claimed that rock music would be more successful if it were to be sung by
white artists. He later had Elvis Presley record a version of Rocket 88 that quickly
gained him popularity. Elvis was a perfect example of the mixing of African American
influence and country; the music was sped up and sung with lurid dancing that was
banned by the executives of American Bandstand. Later they showed Elvis, but only
from the waist up. This music was perfect for dancing, and that was the main focus of
Rock and Roll- hence the word Roll in the name.
In 1949, RCA created the 45 Record- this record type is how the majority of
rock and roll music would be sold, becoming hugely profitable for record companies.
The radio, privately owned records, and shows such as American Bandstand all
broadcasted the tunes to the everyday consumer. Consumerism was often a driving
force in the proliferation of rock and roll, especially in the early years when the genre
was predicted to die out quickly. Jukeboxes came out in 1951 and became a way to
play hot singles, and they played the 45 Record. Alan Freed played the Moondog
Show in Cleveland, popularizing Black Rhythm and Blues singers to an integrated
audience. Teenagers bought the records, and record companies began realizing that
patterns of this new African-American- influenced music was becoming popular.
Singers like Fats Domino, Big Mama Thornton (known for Hound Dog), Bill Haley
and his Comets (known for Rock Around the Clock), The Chordettes (known for
Mr. Sandman) sang in the Doo Wop style. Many of these artists covered earlier
versions of songs. Singers like Elvis cover some of these musicians later, and older

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songs were converted into the new Rock and Roll format. Rock Around the Clock
was promoted by the movie Black Board Jungle and became the first Rock and Roll
song to be the number one pop hit (Rock Music Timeline.) Buddy Holly, Chuck
Berry, Little Richard, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, Jerry Lee Lewis, and the
Crew Cuts all sang songs in the top 100 Pop songs, some of which are well known
today. Pop culture movies used early Rock and Roll, like the Chuck Berry song
Johnny B. Goode in the movie Back to the Future. Johnny Cash gained popularity
with a country rock sound, with his popular hit Walk the Line. Few rock musicians
of the time period used their music to represent their justified outrage at the situation,
but other genre singers such as Billie Holiday sang about racial issues in Strange
Fruit. Rock musicians had not yet begun to use their influence to address social
issues.
Some of the biggest Rock and Roll names of the time were killed in a plane
crash, sometimes called The Day the Music Died. This was a phrase later coined by
the artist Don McLean. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper all died,
and Rock and Roll was often considered over. Teen Idols became popular afterwardsa more family friendly alternative to the kicking and racy dancing of the earlier years.
By 1957, teen idols such as Tommy Sands and Ricky Nelson began to take the place
of raucous performers like Jerry Lee Lewis. Other controversies came to light about
popular artists. When it was discovered that Lewis had married his thirteen-year-old
cousin, his career dwindled as a result. Elvis was drafted into the army, and it seemed
to many as though Rock and Roll itself had died.
Rock and Roll shifted after these major developments. These earlier rock
artists inspired later writers, and many recreated the genre with similar styles and
sounds, but added something completely new. Rock and Roll began to have a deeper

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meaning, darker tones, and political values in the form of Rock. Issues of civil rights
and liberties, the Vietnam War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Prague Spring, and the
building of the Berlin Wall show all the political turmoil in the world around these
artists. The Baby Boom generation was reaching their teenage adolescent years, and
they had many crucial events to consider in the world around them. Art often acts as a
way to project fears, hopes, and desires for the world, and this is the case in much of
the later 1960s music. Rock and Roll influenced many foreign artists, and in the mid
1960s, the so-called British Invasion occurred in the United States. These British
artists were influenced by the music brought over by American Servicemen during
and immediately following World War II. The appeal to the working and lower class
connected with many British adolescents, allowing them to produce rock that
resonated with audiences (Baers 356). Some of the first songs werent necessarily as
deep, for example the first song to give the Beatles recognition in the United States
was, I Want to Hold Your Hand, a simple love ballad. Beatlemania and the British
Invasion swept over America, and the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, and the Animals all
became wildly successful in the United States. Artists began to use their music to
point out the flaws or issues that they saw. The Rolling Stones critiqued the social
expectations of the housewife and the drug industry with their song Mothers Little
Helper.
Music Videos and television gave songs another platform to showcase the
artists, and their artistic influences or stories. Shows such as American Bandstand, and
the Ed Sullivan show helped showcase rising artists and the many talents of the
1960s (Rock Music Timeline). More female artists began to crop up, especially in the
later sixties- such as Janis Joplin, and the Supremes. 1967 was considered a huge year
for Rock, with Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band being the album with the most

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sales of the decade, and other forms of rock beginning to branch off. John Lennon
was credited for making high art accessible to those who didnt study at a classical
school because of his profound lyrics that could connect with audience members, and
was still affordable to the common man (Baers 357). It is hard to imagine the way the
world changed by being able to play music with the readily available record in the
current internet-friendly digital age, but it was huge that people in Soviet Russia
wanted to listen to a British band called the Beatles, and that Paul McCartney met
someone in Russia who told him they learned English because of these records.
Rock branched off into several directions, while still crossing over into
multiple rock genres in the late sixties. Psychedelic Rock, or rock that was often
influenced by drugs, alcohol, and partying gained popularity with outdoor music
festivals. Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, and Jefferson
Airplane all managed to create intense guitar solos, and lyrics with political or social
messages relating to the goals of respecting others and the world around them. This
tied into the Anti-War culture very well, and many Hippies were often connected with
this form of rock. Woodstock was one of the largest festivals in Rock history, both
because of its historical significance and because of the sheer number of people that
fit onto a small farm in upstate New York. Rock had always been recognized as an
accessible form of music, where someone could teach himself or herself to play and
pick up a band. That Rock could be formed in a garage was especially relatable to
the lower classes. They could see people becoming successful from almost nothingjust as the members of the Beatles rose up from lower class families. Folk musicians
like Bob Dylan, Joan Bayez, and Peter, Paul & Mary were all especially influential
with social and political issues in their music. They had a more subdued sound, and
were precursors to the soft rock that was popular in the early 2000s. However, Bayez

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addressed environmental issues, and Dylan even went so far as to write music about
political events such as killings, law cases, and racial issues. Some artists performed
at the march on Washington, D.C. in 1963. Rock singers held a power. They became
the heroes of the working class, speaking out against injustices and gaining support
for causes that otherwise would never have been acknowledged. Many of these artists
had Southern Backgrounds, where racial issues were especially prominent, and the
recognition these artists received worked directly in favor of the movements they
represented.
Separately, Surf Music such as the Beach Boys, and Motown such as The
Jackson Five, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, and the Supremes acted as a
counterstatement to the politically profound rock. They remained mostly dance
oriented, and were still a form of escapist art. They were still representative of the
early Rock and Roll in this aspect, although they had a different sound and different
themes in their music. Motown was often sung by African American artists, and as a
result addressed racism. Marvin Gaye and Kim Whestons song It Takes Two had
undercurrents of the effects of racism, which was a problem that could only be solved
with every players cooperation (Tetrault 186).
Elvis and the Beatles were by far the most popular artists of the 1960s,
proving their versatility and strength as musicians. They could grow and change with
the world around them. Something that Rock as a genre was proving it could do,
despite early critics claims that rock would never last. Rosemary Clooney is quoted
as saying, I remember Mitch Miller saying every week, This rock and roll stuff will
never last. But one doesn't like to bring that up to Mitch (Rosemary Clooney 2015).
Record companies continued to sell records after The Day the Music Died.
The early rock and roll influenced later artists to create their own rock music, spurring

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movements like the British Invasion. In this attempt to sell more records, companies
used teen idols that did not represent what many believed was the true spirit of Rock
and Roll. Rock developed as a way to represent the social critiques of the era, and
perhaps as a vehicle for acceptance of the talent of black, Latin American, European,
and American artists alike. The social change insinuated by the Rock music in the
1960s could be cynical or hopeful depending on the artist. The fact that rock was in
the pop culture of the time means that these issues were recognized, and that people
admitted they needed to change.
This branching off of the Rock genre only continued further in the next
decades with Punk Rock, Heavy Metal, Riot Grrrls, grunge, light rock, and eventually
alternative and indie rock. With each of these forms came new styles and pop culture
icons that defined the era.
Pop music today is often focused more on escapism and partying than social
change and what youth can do to make the world better. Does this mean that musical
views will once again shift to be more meaningful, or is this no longer a generation
willing to care about such issues in their music and art forms? The initial craze of
Rock and Roll existed because the social conditions were correct; many people had
just lived through a war and wanted to have a different world. The music industry
sped up and pushed artists to project certain aspects of the music without including
negative influences. Music soon had a resounding shift, rebelling against this label
and representing those who were not in the top percentage of society. Rock was meant
to symbolize a stand against the man yet it often proliferated these ideas of
consumerism and did not utilize the artists success for the greater good. It is
impossible not to recognize the unification music was able to create. Artists could
now be popular worldwide. People could be connected through pop culture whether

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or not they spoke English or were part of the western world. Rock is still
approachable, even if it is not the same as when it was first created from a
compilation of different types of music. The original famous artists did not act on the
ability to inspire, shape, and influence their listeners and fans, but the sixties Rock
artists realized they could, and influenced popular culture on a worldwide level
unknown to the music industry before this period.

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