The Cultural Significance of Rock n Roll - Essay Example

When Rock n roll came onto the scene and flourished between1945 and 1955, it posed a threat to mainstream Americas social values. This was a very conservative time and parents were very afraid for their teenagers moral development. They thought that Rock n roll was too damaging to their children and made them act wild. All of the country it was making people nervous. An example of how out of hand it got was in San José CA. They wouldnt allow permits for concerts in public halls because of the "frenzied fans" (Altschuler, 2003, 4). Time Magazine said that teenagers had a "deep seated need to belong" (Altschuler, 6) which is why Rock n roll was so popular. Rock n Roll was both a blessing to African Americans and a hindrance because on the one hand, it helped many African Americans move into mainstream American music, but on the other hand it created a space where white people could steal music without recourse for African Americans (Altschuler, 2003 35). The music was caught up in the milieu of the Civil Rights Movement and it had a large effect in the South. The segregationalists understood that the Jim Crow laws were being threatened and they began to speak out about the mixing of the races. They believed that their children, by being exposed to black culture, were being led into "juvenile delinquency [and] sexual immorality" and ultimately to possible marriage or cohabitation with blacks (Altschuler 37). Asa Carter, one of the major leaders in this movement and a KKK member said that any music by Negroes "appealed to the base in man; brings out animalism and vulgarity" (Altschuler 38). Carter opened up a lot of problems in the South and blacks had to be careful how they presented themselves. Whites dancing with blacks were banned. All over the country racial mixing was discouraged and there were attacks on black performers in some towns. Blacks saw Rock n roll as a possible "weapon in the struggle against Jim Crow, (Altschuler 42) and they saw it as a way to bring racial harmony. It was also a way that blacks could be more mobile socially. Although many rose to fame, blacks still had to deal with the separation between cultures. Their music was still seen as "vulgar and licentious" and their contributions were often ignored (Altschuler 45). On the other side of this dilemma, many blacks felt that black teens and others were too close to "whites" and by doing this, they would lose their own "creativity, their physical grace and their soft flowing voices" (Altschuler 47) by this association. Regardless of the controversy on either side, Rock n roll continued. Some whites in the music industry said that it brought the races together (Altschuler 48). Prior to 1954 blacks in the music industry were ignored but whites had access to black music. After 1954, and especially between 1954 and 1957, blacks had some doors open. During this time, blacks had 204 of the top hits on Billboard magazine, which was more than they had ever had before (Altschuler 50). The idea of covering or copying songs became a big deal. Whites like Elvis Presley and Pat Boone were beginning to copy rhythm and blues songs from black artists. Sometimes blacks received royalties, sometimes they did not. An example of this was the song "Hound Dog." Originally, this was a song written for a black singer and was first sung and recorded by "Big Mama" Thornton in 1953. Her version (according to the listening exercise) was bluesy or could be described as early Cajun type music. Her version was sexy and slow and referred to "hounds comin round my door". Her first lyrics began, "You aint nothing but a hound dog. Been snoopin round the door. (repeat) "You can wag your tail, but I aint gonna feed you no more." (listening exercise). Elvis Presley record the song in 1955, changed the tempo and a few lyrics and it became #1 on both the country and R&B charts (Altschuler 52). His first lyrics were "you aint nothing but a hound dog, cryin all the time". (repeat). "You aint never caught a rabbit and you aint no friend of mine." (Metrolyrics). Many black artists, in order to get into the mainstream or "crossover market" put up with this and did covers themselves. They also did arrangements of their lyrics that were easier for whites to hear. As an example, Chuck Berry recorded "Maybellene," a quick, danceable tune (listening exercise) and it was very popular with teens who liked "cars, speed and sexuality" but the lyrics were light: "As I was motorvatin over the hill/I saw Maybellene in a Coupe de Ville/Cadillac rollin on the open road/ Tryin to outrun my V-8 Ford" (Altschuler 63). Berry won both the Cashbox and Billboard awards for this tune, which was significant for an African American and showed his success as a crossover artist. Unfortunately, he only received a small amount of royalties because he didnt understand the original contract he signed so Allen Freed and Russ Fratto were listed as co-composers so they received a larger share of the money (Altschuler 55). This was a typical occurrence during that time because many blacks didnt understand the contracts and they were taken advantage of by whites who knew the business better. Another note here is that some black artists began to create a look that would help them in cross over so that white women wouldn’t be attracted to them, which would have caused problems for them as black men. For instance, Little Richard created his look because it made him less threatening as an attractive black man to the white men (Altschuler 60). Rock n roll was scaring parents in the 50s because from their perspective the music was so sexually charged because of the pulse of the music. Some parents said it "provoked erotic vandalism" (Altschuler 67). Ironically, the music talked about traditional values. Again, an example is "Maybellene" where hes asking "why cant you be true?" Through this time there was censorship on a large scale of many lyrics and Rock n roll, since it was "whiter" was easier to promote. Record companies created "canteens" for teenagers to give them a place to dance, with supervision, to keep them out of trouble (Altschuler 76). Pat Boone began to speak out about the music and said it was "wholesome entertainment". Because he was clean shaven, a Christian and a family man he appealed to white parents. One of the songs he covered was Little Richards "Tutti Frutti." This was the second time his lyrics were changed. The first time, they changed from "Tutti Frutti, good booty/ if it dont fit dont force it.." and so on (Altschuler 58) to "I got a gal named Sue/She knows just what to do/she rocks me to the east/she rocks me to the west/shes the gal I love the best" (Altschuler 60). One set of lyrics Boone changed was "Boys you dont know what she do to me" changed to "pretty little Susie is the girl for me" (Altschuler 78). Both songs were recorded in 1955, and Little Richard made it famous. Pat Boone is credited with making rock n roll "safe for tender ears, hearts and other organs" (Altschuler 81). Dick Clark was also instrumental in this movement because of his "Bandstand" TV show. He promoted that the rock n roll was a "universal form of music" and "sexually unthreatening." (Altschuler 82). In this, parents could see what the teens who were dancing to rock n roll looked like because he showed kids in a positive light. He also had a dress code so they looked like parents would want their children to look and it made things easier. Works Cited Altschuler, Glenn. All Shook Up: How Rock n Roll Changed America. NY: Oxford University Press. 2003. Miller, Jim ed. "Rock Begins". The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll, 3-16. NY: Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. 1992. You Aint Nuthin But a Hound dog" Lyrics. Elvis Version. Retrieved 4/8/08 from http://www.metrolyrics.com/hound-dog-lyrics-elvis-presley.html. Read More