Rock and Roll Influences 1950 - Present - Essay Example

Rock and Roll- Influences, 1950-Present of the Music of the Teacher December 24, Rock and Roll- Influences, 1950-Present It is almost impossible to think of modern music without considering the immense relevance of Rock and Roll. It would not be wrong to say that Rock and Roll indeed happens to be a very important music genre. Rock and Roll as a music genre has managed to survive and sustain itself through decades. Not only this, but it is a music that did register an immense influence and impact on the Western society and culture. It is a form of music that did evince a great capacity for integrating influences emanating from a range of social, cultural and political sources. It is a type of music that is marked by much variety, comprising of an array of subtypes like classic rock, grunge, heavy metal, etc. The amazing thing is that Rock and Roll over the years did have a huge impact on the fashion trends, dance forms and styles and social movements. It is a music genre that did give to the world a rich pool of musicians and artists, whose influence did span across generations. The origins of Rock and Roll could be traced back to 1950’s, in the United States of America. The peculiar thing about Rock and Roll is that to begin with it did not come out as a unique and distinct form of music. Rather than being a music genre associated with a specific and unique tradition, it rather happened to be the outcome of the merging of a range of already established music genres (Hall, 2014). It is quiet true that Rock and Roll did adopt much from the Country Music, Blues and Rhythms and Blues (Hall, 2014, p. 5). However, the one big factor that really encouraged the early development and popularity of Rock and Roll was the changes taking place in the technology related to music industry. The developments taking place in the records technology led to the availability of 45 rpm and 33 rpm records. This created a market of teenage music listeners who preferred more compact and affordable 45 rpm records (Hall, 2014, p. 36). Besides, the invention of transistor radio in the 50s allowed the white young people to tune into music that they had never experienced before like Rhythm and Blues (Hall, 2014, p. 5). Moreover, the availability of the electric guitar in the 50s did motivate the then pop and Rhythm and Blue musicians to experiment with this new type of instrument (Hall, 2014, p. 7). Thereby, Rock and Roll did turn out to be a positive music genre that did away with the barriers existing between the black music and white music. Hence, if the black artists like Big Joe Turner did bring in a cross current of styles to this emerging genre, white artists like Bill Haley and Elvis Presley brought in a potent country tradition and a cult like appeal. The one particular development that defined Rock and Roll in the 60s was that the songs started to include political mindsets and social messages, besides the traditional love songs. The Rock and Roll of the 60s became a medium of expression for a range of political issues and social frustrations (Friedlander, 2006, p. 138). Besides, the Rock and Roll scenario in the 60s did evince a strong British presence. In that context the British band Beatles accrued much mass following, primarily owing to their energetic rendering and unconventional and existing personalities. The success of Beatles did stimulate the emergence of many legendary Rock group in the US. Amongst them, Rolling Stones happened to be most noteworthy that relied on the black blue influences with a strong electric flavor. This decade saw the entry of louder and more electrified influences in the Rock and Roll genre, which indeed laid ground for the Heavy Metal music (Friedlander, 2006, p. 284). On the other side, Bob Dylan did initiate a folk tradition in the Rock and Roll, characterized by folk songs registering social protest, to the accompaniment of electrified Rock music (Friedlander, 2006, p. 131). It does need to be mentioned that all the important Rock and Roll bands of this era left a marked imprint on the fashion and teen trends of those days. The young people looked towards the Rock stars, not only as the artists voicing their real anxieties and fears, but also as potential style icons and fashion trendsetters. Many Rock performers of those times like Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and Alice Cooper did adopt an androgynous tinge and a tilt towards profanity in their performances to sync with the frustrations and rebelliousness of their young listeners (Friedlander, 2006, p. 290). The Vietnam War did have a strong influence on the Rock and Roll Music, with the songs of the era expressing social disenchantment, a predilection for hippie culture and psychedelic influences. The late 60s also witnessed the emergence of dedicated Rock festivals, which provided the Rock and Roll lovers an avenue for enjoying and experiencing live performances by their favorite Rock stars. In such a scenario, television did turn out to be a game changer in the domain of music, standing out as an effective media for attracting and influencing young music lovers. Besides, television was to initiate an era of mass consumption of music, in which Rock and Roll was to remain a key player (Friedlander, 2006, p. 292). Consequently, the 70s were to be noted for the emergence of the never before commercial possibilities in the Rock and Roll Genre. Indeed, Rock and Roll was to become a big business in the 70s. The Rock and Roll of these days was to open up to the real impact of the corporatization of the creation, packaging and sale of Rock and Roll music. This was both good and bad. It did allow the established artists to cash in on their talent and creativity. But, it also increased the power of the external stakeholders like music companies and executives over the emerging artists. The psychedelic era in the Rock and Roll music was to evince a decline with the early death of Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison (Shirley, 1997, p. 125). At a social and political level, the uncertainty, rebelliousness and disenchantment of the 60s was being replaced by relatively more stable and promising times. The Hard Rock and Heavy Metal had carved out a distinct presence and following by now. On the one side many British and American bands did contrive a clanging and outrageously electrified music known as Punk Rock, which strived to disturb the stagnation emerging in the Rock and Roll genre (Shirley, 1997, p. 122). Yet, on the other side, many famous bands of the 60s like the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd were to assume their more commercial and corporatized avatar. The distribution of music became really variegated with the car stereos, FM radios and cassettes becoming popular and affordable (Dean, 2003, P. 241). This did pave way for a music market that was open to variety and diversity. The Rock groups opened up to experimenting with a range of new technologies like state of the art recording technology and synthesizers. Suddenly the world was becoming a small place, and the Rock and Roll was fast evolving to adapt to the requirements of these new times. At the same time the Rock and Roll groups like the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin were travelling around the globe, taking the Rock and Roll music to new markets and listeners (Dean, 2003, p.174). The launch of MTV in 1981 did initiate the era of exclusive music channels (Cooper-Chen, 2005, p. 28). These music channels not only offered new ways of promoting and selling music, but also commanded an immense following amongst the young people (Cooper-Chen, 2005). This led to the rise of a number of Rock and Roll bands, associated with an array of Rock and Roll subtypes like Heavy Metal, new wave and Punk. Music videos became a preferred format for promoting and consuming music. Thereby, many famous Rock and Roll artists emerged to be strong brands that exercised their mass appeal to commercially influence the world of fashion, entertainment and even politics and social causes. The established bands like The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd exploited the music video format to cash in on their appeal amongst the young and the somewhat middle aged listeners (Friedlander, 2006). Besides, many new bands like Nirvana relied on music channels to present their unique style comprising of punk rock influences and political disenchantment (Moore, 2010, p. 148). This also led to the reemergence of the psychedelic strain in the Rock and Roll, with strong techno and electronic influences. Rock and Roll also saw the influx of many new sub genres like rap metal, trance, industrial metal, etc, opening up to diverse social, ethnic and racial influences (Moore, 2010, p. 210). With the possibilities ushered in by the internet, digital technologies and compression software in the 90s, Rock and Roll opened up to any entire new approach towards accessing and selling music. This has to a great extent done away with the clout of big record companies. However, this has also made way for the piracy of music. With the onset of globalization and the free flow of ideas, goods and people, Rock and Roll at present faces the challenge of adapting itself to a more diversified and international audience. The good thing is that in the past Rock and Roll music had shown immense potential to adapt itself to the spirit and taste of changing times. Hence, there is no doubt that Rock and Roll will continue to play an important role in shaping and influencing the social and cultural trends in the times to come. It is the strong adaptability of the Rock and Roll genre that is sure to assure its sustenance and influence across cultures and nations. References Cooper-Chen, A. (2005). Global Entertainment Media. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Dean, M. (2003). Rock and Roll. New York: Algora. Friedlander, P. (2006). Rock and Roll. New York: Westview Press. Hall, M.K. (2014). The Emergence of Rock and Roll. New York: Routledge. Moore, R. (2010). Sells Like Teen Spirit. New York: New York University Press. Shirley, D. (1997). The History of Rock and Roll. New York: Franklin Watts. Outline I. Introduction A. A timeless genre B. Evinced social, cultural and political influence II. 50s- Origins A. Diverse influences- Blues, Country, Rhythms and Blues B. Record technology C. Bridged the divide between black and white music III. 60s A. Political influences B. British and American bands C. Television and Rock festivals IV. 70s A. Corporatization B. FM, Stereos, Cassettes C. Variety and diversity V. 80s to present A. MTV, music videos B. Experimentation C. Internet and digital technologies VI. Conclusion Read More