Rock and Roll History - Research Paper Example

?The term Rock and Roll was first used by a disc jockey from Cleveland, Ohio d Alan Freed. He took it from the song "My Baby Rocks Me with a Steady Roll". In traditional blues, the words rock, roll, and combining the word rock and roll among many others were commonly used as a slang pertaining to sexual intercourse, now, this genre of music is better known as “rock ‘n’ roll”. Traditional blues was quite popular during the 1950's. Different forms of blues evolved from the original rhythm and blues, distinguishable from other genres by the use of electric guitars, which was a form of popular music that evolved in the 1950's from rhythm and blues, characterize by the use of electric guitars, a strong tempo with a curious accent and lyrics that are slanted towards the youth. 1 Rock ‘n’ Roll is a combination of different genres of music, particularly blues, country, jazz and gospel. An earlier form, popularizing rock and roll is rockabilly, and in today’s age, the evolution of this genre brought us what we know as “rock” music that encompasses a broader crowd. Rockabilly is a category of rock and roll that surfaced during the 1950’s, popularized by Caucasian singers like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. Technically speaking, pianos and saxophones used to be the main instruments used in this type of music, but the evolution soon used guitar to either supplement or take the lead. Basically, the backbeat usually provided by a snare drum provides the beat for this music. The classic or traditional rock and roll however utilizes two guitars for the lead and the rhythm, a string bass, an electric bass guitar, and of course, the drums. Rock and Roll was, quite definitely popular by 1960’s becoming popular all over the world and the popularity soon became wide enough to have a social impact. This genre was a definite innovation that brought the music industry into liberation, like breaking from a cage of the old culture. The impact it had on society not only affected the taste in music of a lot of societies, but it also affected the movie industry, but also the attitudes adapted by the supporters, expectedly becoming a norm, but also the language, the fashion styles followed, which could probably account for the hairstyles in that generation. In one instance, a seven million dollar lawsuit was even filed against Motley Crue due to the loss of hearing suffered by fans that went to one of their concerts. The judge however said that the fans were well aware that the music will be loud before they went into it. 2 It was more than music. Somehow, there are also beliefs that the cause of civil right movements was accelerated with the continued patronage of both white and black American youth. It surfaced on the scene during the time that tensions pertaining to race was evolving into a different phase altogether. Desegregation issues were being pushed by the civil rights movements, which moved the Supreme Court to rule the abolishment of the policy “separate but equal” in 1954. Abolishing a policy however was easier said than done. The enforcement of the abolishment proved to be extremely hard in certain parts of the country. Incorporating elements that are from black Americans and white Americans, as you might expect, goaded strong reactions within the country, and was blamed for the racial barriers’ based on skin tone’s breakdown. The other side of the argument however, is white musicians performing African American music, and black performers being watched and liked by white audiences. It heralded the way in creating a new music that encourages the audience to cooperate as a race through the use of mutual experiences, motivating the desegregation process. As mentioned earlier, rock and roll used lyrics that are youth oriented, talking about things that they can relate to. One of the more common topics started with car issues, dating and clothes. The lyrics were very simple and indeed, usually about something that any regular Joe would be able to relate to, may it be past experiences or in any point of their lives. Soon, the lyrics delved into topics that were usually known as unmentionable, particularly of sex. The music broke a lot of boundaries giving expression to the real feelings of the people but didn’t really talk about, therefore resulted to liberation. The emergence of the youth culture usually identified with rock and roll was one of the sub-cultures adopted. The music typified the contrast between parental cultures and youth cultures which was the source of recurring concern felt by the older generation. They were worrying about potential youth delinquencies being encouraged, resulting to social rebellion. However, one of the concerns that was particularly worrying them was the effect it has on racial issues. 3 One of the proofs of these contrasting views of youth and the older generation is the publication of anti-rock and roll materials in the form of comic books. The publication “True Life Romance”, in particular, published a comic in 1956 entitled “There’s No Love in Rock and Roll”, pertaining to a rebellious teenager who dated a rock and roll fan eventually leaving him for a dude who likes traditional, adult music, much to the relief of her parents. Despite the ill-fillings it arose, rock and roll definitely changed the American perspective, introducing new facets to the society. The popularity of rock and roll eventually declined, due probably to the popular singers getting out of the scene. A tragic plane crash in 1959 killed big names of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens. Elvis Presley on the other hand also chose to leave the scene and join the army, Little Richard decided on an early retirement from the music industry to a quieter life as a preacher, Jerry Lewis and Chuck Berry were prosecuted and the payola scandal broke out which also included Alan Freed. The scandal laid claims to using bribery and corruption in their transactions in promotions of individual acts and songs. The series of unfortunate events was sensibly foreseen as the death of the era of rock and roll. The eventual take-over of love ballads, as the more feminine version of rock and roll, targeting mostly female audiences was quite expected. Though the era of rock and roll was short-lived, the innovation not only in the type of music but also the technical aspects of producing music made rock and roll a great contribution to the music industry.4 Great Britain was quite receptive of rock and roll and the culture that came along with it. Though they initially attempted to produce copies of the American records, their own talents soon emerged on the scene as well, popular names would be Wee Willie Harris and Tommy Steele. The American version, however, continued to be the more dominant version until Cliff Richard took second on the hit charts with his song “Move It”, along with the launching and promotions of more talents. Though in the U.S., the death of Rock and Roll was beginning, popular groups like Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and London were taking over, along with the household name, The Beatles. The social of this genre of music was also apparent in the British society. Popular singer Paul McCartney released the song entitled “Give Ireland Back to the Irish. “ His statements pertaining to the Britain-Ireland conflict was not well received and was immediately banned by the BBC. The unsavory reputation the song received from being banned only increased its popularity in England, where it made to the Top Twenty of the hits chart. Though today, rock and roll is no longer the same craze that it used to be, the effects it has caused still lives. Despite the vast contrast and probably, even disruption, that it has caused in the society, the traits of liberation in the form of music, among many others, is a legacy of the era we call “rock ‘n’ roll. References: M. Gilmore. “Night beat: A shadow history of rock & roll”. 1998. Doubleday (New York) [book] J Burchill, T Parsons. “The boy looked at Johnny": The obituary of rock and roll”. 1978. [book] S. Reynolds . “The sex revolts: gender, rebellion, and rock'n'roll”. 1995. [book] S Frith. “Sound effects; youth, leisure, and the politics of rock'n'roll.” 1981. [book] G Palladino. “Teenagers: an American history”. 1996. [book] Read More