Early Rock-and-Roll: Race, Class, and Cultural Change In the 1950s, rock-and-roll emerged as a major part of U.S. popular culture. Before then, mainstream “pop” music was aimed at white adults. Songs were written by professional composers, recorded by long-established record labels, and performed by well-known artists such as Perry Como, Eddie Fisher, Doris Day, and Patti Page. Just about every big-name performer of the 1950s was white. At that time, the country was rigidly segregated racially, which created differences in the cultures of white people and black people. In the subcultural world of African Americans, music had sounds and rhythms reflecting jazz, gospel singing, and rhythm and blues. These musical styles were created by African American composers and performers working with black-owned record companies broadcast on radio to an almost entirely black audience. Class, too, divided the musical world of the 1950s, even among whites. A second musical subculture was country and western, a musical style popular among poorer whites, especially people living in the South. Like rhythm and blues, country and western music had its own com- posers and performers, its own record labels, and its own radio stations. “Crossover” music was rare, meaning that very few performers or songs moved from one musical world to gain popularity in another. But this musical segregation began to break down about 1955 with the birth of rock-and-roll. Rock was a new mix of older musical patterns, blending mainstream pop with country and western and, especially, rhythm and blues. As rock-and-roll drew together musical traditions, it soon divided society in a new way—by age. Rock was the first music clearly linked to the emergence of a youth culture—rock was all the rage among teenagers but was little appreciated by their parents. Rockers took a rebellious stand against “adult” culture, looked like what parents might have called “juvenile delinquents,” and claimed to be “cool,” an idea that most parents did not even understand. Young people idolized performers sporting sideburns, turned-up collars, and black leather jackets. By 1956, the unquestioned star of rock-and-roll was a poor white southern boy from Tupelo, Mississippi, named Elvis Aron Presley. With rural roots, knew country and western music, after moving to Memphis, Tennessee, learned black gospel and rhythm and blues. Presley became the first superstar of rock-and-roll not just because he had talent but also because he had great crossover power. With early hits including “Hound Dog” (a rhythm and blues song originally recorded by Big Mama Thornton) and “Blue Suede Shoes” (written by country and western star Carl Perkins), Presley broke down many of the musical walls based on race and class. By the end of the 1950s, popular music developed in many new directions, creating soft rock (Ricky Nelson, Pat Boone), rockabilly (Johnny Cash), and dozens of doo-wop groups, both black and white. In the 1960s, rock expanded further, including folk music (the Kingston Trio; Peter, Paul, and Mary; Bob Dylan), surf music (the Beach Boys, Jan and Dean), and the “British invasion” led by the Beatles. Starting on the clean-cut, pop side of rock, the Beatles soon shared the spotlight with another British band proud of its “delinquent” clothing and street fighter looks—the Rolling Stones. By now, music was a huge business, including not just the hard rock of the Beatles and Stones but also softer “folk rock” performed by the Byrds, the Mamas and the Papas, Simon and Garfunkel, and Crosby, Stills, and Nash. In addition, “Motown” (named after the “motor city,” Detroit) and “soul” music launched the careers of dozens of African Ameri- can stars, including James Brown, Aretha Franklin, the Four Tops, the Temptations, and Diana Ross and the Supremes. On the West Coast, San Francisco developed political rock music performed by Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, and Janis Joplin. West Coast spin-off styles included “acid rock,” influenced by drug use, performed by the Doors and Jimi Hen- drix. The jazz influence returned as “jazz rock” and was played by groups such as Chicago and Blood, Sweat, and Tears. This brief look at the birth of rock-and-roll shows the power of race and class to shape subcultural patterns. It also shows that the production of culture became a megabusi- ness. Most of all, it shows us that culture does not stand still but is a living process, changing, adapting, and reinventing itself over time. What Do You Think? 1. Our way of life shaped rock-and-roll. In what ways did the emergence of rock-and-roll change U.S. culture? 2. Throughout this period of musical change, most musical performers were men. What does this tell us about our way of life? Is today’s popular music still dominated by men? 3. Can you carry on the story of musical change to the present? (Think of disco, heavy metal, punk rock, rap, and hip-hop.) Source: Based on Stuessy & Lipscomb (2008). Thinking
Early Rock-and-Roll: Race, Class, and Cultural Change In the 1950s, rock-and-roll emerged as a major part of U.S. popular culture. Before then, mainstream “pop” music was aimed at white adults. Songs were written by professional composers, recorded by long-established record labels, and performed by well-known artists such as Perry Como, Eddie Fisher, Doris Day, and Patti Page. Just about every big-name performer of the 1950s was white. At that time, the country was rigidly segregated racially, which created differences in the cultures of white people and black people. In the subcultural world of African Americans, music had sounds and rhythms reflecting jazz, gospel singing, and rhythm and blues. These musical styles were created by African American composers and performers working with black-owned record companies broadcast on radio to an almost entirely black audience. Class, too, divided the musical world of the 1950s, even among whites. A second musical subculture was country and western, a musical style popular among poorer whites, especially people living in the South. Like rhythm and blues, country and western music had its own com- posers and performers, its own record labels, and its own radio stations. “Crossover” music was rare, meaning that very few performers or songs moved from one musical world to gain popularity in another. But this musical segregation began to break down about 1955 with the birth of rock-and-roll. Rock was a new mix of older musical patterns, blending mainstream pop with country and western and, especially, rhythm and blues. As rock-and-roll drew together musical traditions, it soon divided society in a new way—by age. Rock was the first music clearly linked to the emergence of a youth culture—rock was all the rage among teenagers but was little appreciated by their parents. Rockers took a rebellious stand against “adult” culture, looked like what parents might have called “juvenile delinquents,” and claimed to be “cool,” an idea that most parents did not even understand. Young people idolized performers sporting sideburns, turned-up collars, and black leather jackets. By 1956, the unquestioned star of rock-and-roll was a poor white southern boy from Tupelo, Mississippi, named Elvis Aron Presley. With rural roots, knew country and western music, after moving to Memphis, Tennessee, learned black gospel and rhythm and blues. Presley became the first superstar of rock-and-roll not just because he had talent but also because he had great crossover power. With early hits including “Hound Dog” (a rhythm and blues song originally recorded by Big Mama Thornton) and “Blue Suede Shoes” (written by country and western star Carl Perkins), Presley broke down many of the musical walls based on race and class. By the end of the 1950s, popular music developed in many new directions, creating soft rock (Ricky Nelson, Pat Boone), rockabilly (Johnny Cash), and dozens of doo-wop groups, both black and white. In the 1960s, rock expanded further, including folk music (the Kingston Trio; Peter, Paul, and Mary; Bob Dylan), surf music (the Beach Boys, Jan and Dean), and the “British invasion” led by the Beatles. Starting on the clean-cut, pop side of rock, the Beatles soon shared the spotlight with another British band proud of its “delinquent” clothing and street fighter looks—the Rolling Stones. By now, music was a huge business, including not just the hard rock of the Beatles and Stones but also softer “folk rock” performed by the Byrds, the Mamas and the Papas, Simon and Garfunkel, and Crosby, Stills, and Nash. In addition, “Motown” (named after the “motor city,” Detroit) and “soul” music launched the careers of dozens of African Ameri- can stars, including James Brown, Aretha Franklin, the Four Tops, the Temptations, and Diana Ross and the Supremes. On the West Coast, San Francisco developed political rock music performed by Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, and Janis Joplin. West Coast spin-off styles included “acid rock,” influenced by drug use, performed by the Doors and Jimi Hen- drix. The jazz influence returned as “jazz rock” and was played by groups such as Chicago and Blood, Sweat, and Tears. This brief look at the birth of rock-and-roll shows the power of race and class to shape subcultural patterns. It also shows that the production of culture became a megabusi- ness. Most of all, it shows us that culture does not stand still but is a living process, changing, adapting, and reinventing itself over time. What Do You Think? 1. Our way of life shaped rock-and-roll. In what ways did the emergence of rock-and-roll change U.S. culture? 2. Throughout this period of musical change, most musical performers were men. What does this tell us about our way of life? Is today’s popular music still dominated by men? 3. Can you carry on the story of musical change to the present? (Think of disco, heavy metal, punk rock, rap, and hip-hop.) Source: Based on Stuessy & Lipscomb (2008). Thinking
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