The Rock and Roll Music Era - Essay Example

? The Rock and Roll Music Era The Rock and Roll Music Era Music, the art of combining vocal chords and instrument to a harmonious blend of sound, can be regarded as a universal language of the world due to its unifying features that cut across cultural contexts. Music is as old as humanity itself because it has been around for as long as humanity has existed since antiquity through the dark ages, to renaissance and to modern times. A journey through the music history reveals that music has undergone through many transformations in the ancient times, from the traditional folk chants of antiquity to the highly refined and complex musical genres of the present century. A timeline of the music history indicates that music can be categorized into various eras that fall into specific historical periods; for instance, the 1960’s, 1970’s, 1980’s, and 1990’s are some of the historical periods that espoused highly differentiated phenomenal music cultures. Some of the most outstanding musical eras that have greatly influenced the development of music since antiquity include, the swing era, the rock and roll era, and the disco era, among others. This paper aims to discuss, among other things, the social / political and cultural characteristics of the rock and roll music period, the musical developments and characteristics of the rock and roll music era and the role/social status of the musician /composer in the society. Believed to have been a revolutionary period in the history of music, rock and roll began in the US became popularized in the late 1940’s to the early 1960s, though many critics have observed that this music era has its roots in the periods preceding the 1940’s such as the 1920’s (Fisher, n.d). Early rock and roll was a fusion of three leading music genres of the time, and these are pop music, western-country music and Rn’Bs; rock and roll grew to phenomenal heights as songs by rock and roll artists such as Little Richard Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley became instant chart hits throughout the world (Welch, n.d). Socially, the rock and roll era was characterized by widespread racial segregation and high racial intolerance between the blacks and the whites in the American society; race mixing was a huge problem due to the racial hostilities that characterized the American society at the time. Economically, America was still recovering from the pangs of both the civil war and the world wars that had caused massive havoc to its economy; even though the situation was slowly getting better and trade was picking up, the American society was still wary over the potential of an economic relapse. Politically, the rock and roll era was a period in the American history when there were high political anxieties and fears over the possibility and threat of foreign conspirators even though the world wars had just been concluded and calm had returned in the global society. Culturally, rock and roll was an era defined by a fusion of music cultures i.e. rock and roll is regarded as one of the most influential and phenomenal eras of music especially because it was a fusion of the three most popular forms of music. Rock and roll was also popular all over the world because it emerged along with the rise of television and the highly expressive popular youth culture. Until then, people had listened to music through the radio i.e. WLS 890, a radio station that played the most popular songs of the time, about young love and cars in particular; this station was common among the youth of the time. The youth of this era were very expressive and experimental and their teenage angst coupled with their free spiritedness lifestyle was a perennial source of worry to their parents who were wary of the potential ramifications of teenage rebellion in the hostile American society. These teenagers were fast at picking up the rock and roll mannerisms and influences especially fashion by watching TV and imitating the rock and roll superstars in their manner of dressing and their tastes in things like cars. In this regard, the rock and roll era had massive influences on culture, especially because it was a meeting point that united different parts of the world; for instance, the genre integrated audiences regardless of colour even amid the race tensions. With time, the rock and roll genre crossed over to other cultures of the world as well, and cultural influences emerged as well i.e. the British version of rock and roll came with influences such as the miniskirt and the twiggy look (“Rock & Roll”…, n.d). Development of music in the rock and roll era was at its peak, and this is why this era is regarded as one of the major revolutionary music eras in the history of music; the rock and roll era drew inspirations from many different music styles. For instance, rock and roll combined the boogie-woogie of the Rn’B music, the hilly billy twang of country music, in addition to taking up the fervour of the gospels and the moans typical of the blues music (McGovern, n.d). Rock and roll attracted especially the young listeners, but as the young audience matured, the genre became officially accepted in the American society and throughout the world. Initial reservations over the new genre of music was largely due to its perceived annoyance to the established socio-cultural authorities who criticized it for simplicity and crudity, but the music still anchored in Hollywood and Broadways amid criticism. Radio stations refused to play the songs due to their sexual innuendos and targeted most of the artists like Elvis Presley for censuring; however, the music continued to persist despite the opposition and soon it was a talk of the town due to its massive influences on cultures. By the 1950’s, Bill Haley, Little Richard and Elvis Presley had made debut albums that were making airwaves around the world and by the 1960’s a thunderous global response to the rock and roll genre had been received in America. For instance, bands like the Beatles, a working class Britons who had been reared on American soil infused new liveliness into rock and roll and rejuvenated the genre in America (Pat, 2006). Many people began to appreciate rock and roll including the conservative folk singers who had shunned the pop genre in favour of traditional folk songs that espoused the authentic American experiences. By the 1960’s, rock and roll was an accepted genre of music and the loud guitar sounds were exciting large young audiences all over the world regardless of colour or region. Other music developments included the symphonic orchestras along with electric guitars and tambourines that became a common feature in rock and roll; also, recording and live performances became separate styles of rock music and multi-track recording feature enabled artists to develop performances that were so densely layered to be duplicated live (McGovern, n.d). Rock and roll has undergone through many transformations since then giving rise to the famous rockers such as pyrotechnic guitarist Jimi Hendrix and numerous styles and subgenres such as punk, metal, new wave, and grunge. A wide range of talent, artists’ experimental exuberance and the utopian excitement of fans characterized the rock and roll music; this can be seen in the extended songs, high decibel alteration and outstanding connections between entertainers and huge crowds at the time. The artists/musicians and composers of the rock and roll era were highly regarded in the society due to their huge impact on cultures especially lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language (Boundless, n.d); for instance, Elvis Presley was a great admiration to the crowds, especially the female fans who would do anything to meet him (Aranda, n.d). The role of the artist was to speak and to raise awareness of the social ills that were a plague in the American society at the time, through music, the artists gained a voice that was very vocal on social issues. For instance, racism, politics, and inequality were serious social issues that were hardly talked about in the highly fragile American society, but the artists were able to tackle these themes through the rock and roll genre thus invoking peoples’ attention to them. Rock and roll artists played a major role in integrating the races of America and ending the age-old standoff of races because they became popular with audiences, both white and black; in this regard, rock and roll artists mediated the bridge of indifference between the races by bringing them together in rock and roll festivals. Rock and roll artists also played a great role in enlightening societies of the time especially because their Music acted as a vehicle for social movements (Boundless, n.d), the rock and roll artists whose revolutionary music style was fast ruffling feathers in the established social systems of the time. The music inspired many young people to build identities and to express themselves freely without fears of repression, and to face the hostile race sensitive American society that was also ridden with social inequalities. In this regard, rock and roll music gave many teenagers a voice through which to express themselves because it was connecting with their situation and realities in their lives (Aranda, n.d). Many teenagers became highly expressive, vocal and began to imitate their favourite rock and roll artists. Their fashion sense greatly influenced what teenagers wore in the society and Chuck Berry, Presley’s equal rival inspired so many black children to great heights of success through his compositions. Overall, musicians in the rock and roll era were very influential because they united people of opposing races, influenced cultures, and created awareness of the social themes that were almost a taboo in the American society. In addition to that, they were a source of inspiration to the young people, especially teenagers who viewed the artists as role models and, therefore, emulated them. Ultimately, the rock and roll music era was indeed one of the most incredible and memorable music eras in the history of music; this era was not only revolutionary but also phenomenal especially due to its massive impact on the global music cultures of the time. Rock and roll has persisted to the contemporary sub-genres that are known today such as punk, grunge, metal and many others and they continue to enjoy huge following in the world today. The rock and roll music era completely transformed the music of the world by bringing into harmony different music styles that eventually united people from across different divides. Rock and roll music era led to many developments in music such as performance and recording that continue to influence music trends up to date, and the rock and roll artists such as Elvis Presley are remembered up to date. References Aranda, C., n.d, The Rock and Roll Era and Its Effect on Teens. Retrieved from www.illinoishistory.gov/Illinois%20History/Jan05-7Aranda.pdf McGovern, C. F., n.d, Rock: Moving between past and present to explore the birth of the blues out of the Mississippi Delta. Tribeca. Retrieved from http://americasmusic.tribecafilminstitute.org/session/view/rock Pat, J. 2006, Dawn of a Remarkable Music Era: 1960s Rock and Roll. Yahoo! Inc. Retrieved from: http://voices.yahoo.com/dawn-remarkable-music-era-1960s-rock-roll-36300.html?cat=33 Boundless. n.d. Rock and Roll. Retrieved from https://www.boundless.com/u-s-history/sixties-1960-1969/counterculture/rock-and-roll/ Fisher, R. n.d. The History of Rock and Roll until 1960. Retrieved from http://www.unc.edu/~refisher/rockandroll.html Rock & Roll and its effect on Pop Culture. n.d. Retrieved from http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Fall08/StewartA/influence.html Welch, C. Rock and Roll. Retrieved from http://www.earthlyissues.com/rock.htm Read More