...Rock n Roll In the 1950’s rock n roll became a dividing and unifying force, the impact of rock music was felt by the masses. Rock and Roll pitted the government, parents and the mass media against teenagers. At the same time rock and roll helped erode some of the social and political issues in America. The emergence and growth of rock n roll could be attributed to the events that took place in the 1950’s and 60’s in America (Azzam, 2007). Study of the role of rock n roll by historians evidently shows that its role was to unite the blacks and the whites by creating a common culture as well addressing the political issues during this period of warfare. This paper addresses Bob Dylan’s song of 1962 bringing out its role on addressing political and social injustices of the 1960’s. In a New York café was first heard was Bob Dylan’s song, “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’ in 1962. At this time, there was a lot of anxiety in America following the events of the Cold War. A Cuba- Soviet Union alliance was getting cozy making the Pentagon and state department analysts nervous. At this summer period, there were reports that Russia had increased their military aide in Cuba. During the same time, Rob Dylan released a dozen of songs all which were politically influenced aiming at addressing the issues transpiring during this era. Historians and journalists have always treated Dylan as a quintessential protest singer. Historians and journalists have always treated Dylan’s songs as an emblematic...
Words: 759 - Pages: 4
...Firstly, people who advocate of rock 'n' roll always admit that the most important in a band is its attitude and behaviour both on the stage and backstage, sometimes some music are not so pleasant but the posture of the band towards all aspects of life can strongly come into contact with the public. The Rolling Stones were the "bad guys" with subtle lavish apparel, it was not just the clothes but the provocative way to show themselves fomented a disruption in the music scene, more than that, inside the homes, which painted a disturbing picture for the 60's families. Mick Jagger, for instance, performed with sexualized movements in front of the audience and TV shows. Some sectors of society demonized those attitudes, nevertheless, The Stones...
Words: 277 - Pages: 2
...to the United States to get jobs. Because we lived so close we picked up their style of music and mashed ours with theirs. Rock and Roll was born in the 1950’s by the overlapping of blues and rhythm. During the 1950’s many parents did not allow their children to listen to Rock and Roll because they thought it was going to cause teen rebellion. But because their parents did not want their kids listening to it, it only made them want to listen to it more. Many parents in the 1950’s feared that their children would start acting and dressing as if they were rockstars such as Elvis Presley. So, parents actually tried to ban this genre of music because of the rational fear of their children rebelling against them. But the Rock and...
Words: 530 - Pages: 3
...History of Rock and Roll Who invented rock and roll? Well, the answer is nobody. Rock music is the innovation and evolution of many different types of music from a wide variety of groups of people. No one planned rock and roll, and it took over a great deal of American culture and revolutionized popular music. Rock and roll was influenced by African American music as well as white American styles. Since the introduction of minstrel shows in America in 1840, people have created and developed many other kinds of music. Mostly originated from African Americans, swing, blues, and jazz music was an early beginning to rock music. Many musical qualities were brought with African slaves into America. Some of the qualities include improvisation, “call and response” singing, and a dynamic rhythm. They created spiritual music and blues, which later evolved into what we know today as gospel music and “rhythm and blues.” White American music is based on of folk-style songs, mostly ballads in small bands of musical instruments. At the start of the 20th century, these folk style songs became referred to as hillbilly music. The transition to country-western music began with singers like Jimmie Rodgers and Gene Autry. After World War II, soldiers returning home wanted to feel at home again. This started the era of playing music on the radio, with programs such as Grand Ole Opry, which still runs today. This genre of music used guitars, Hawaiian guitar and drums on occasion to create a new...
Words: 1227 - Pages: 5
...the king of Rock and Roll? You are probably thinking its obviously Elvis Presley, well I think differently. Would we know Elvis as the king of Rock and Roll if he was black? probably not, which is why I think Chuck Berry should be known as the king of Rock and Roll. Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley were popular during the same era. Elvis Presley was still an important influence in Rock and Roll. He made it okay for white people to like music that was originally created by African Americans. He was also more popular to the mainstream listeners and was very well known for his popular songs such as “Hound Dog” and “Heartbreak Hotel”. Presley was also an actor, he starred in the movie “love me tender” which also gave him a lot of commercial success that Chuck Berry did not have, imagine Chuck Berry had that opportunity, we most likely would already know him as the king. Another person who could be thought as the king of Rock and Roll is Little Richard an African American musician, who is known as the self titled architect of Rock and Roll. Little Richard was popular during the early years of rock and roll in the 1950s just like Elvis and Berry. Little Richards crazy attire and stage antics made him a definite contender but he also wasn't as...
Words: 479 - Pages: 2
...The rock and roll hall of fame is a place that honors the best bands in rock and roll. But in the past couple years it becoming known as a joke. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was established in 1983 by Atlantic Records. It is located off the shores of Lake Erie in Cleveland, Ohio. There are a total of 317 bands and performers that have been inducted, including: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Journey, Boston, and even N.W.A, to name a few. The problem that the Hall of Fame is facing today is that they are starting to induct artists that songs do not fall into the category of Rock and Roll or are not even artists at all. This Problem can be connected to a lot of smaller problems, like allowing being too strict on who gets into the hall of fame, and should...
Words: 852 - Pages: 4
...Peter Clark Professor James Smethurst AFROAM 151 December 5, 2012 The History Of Rock and Roll: Copyright Not Included The history of black America is one filled with exploitation and abuse. Time and time again we see the “cultural rape” of the black community. Whether it be style, lingo, or music white culture has been “borrowing” from black culture since the early history of the United States. It is so obvious it almost passes unnoticed. For example the handshake has largely been replaced in youth culture by a dap or a fist pound, both remnant of black culture in the 60’s. Even hello has been replaced with “yo” an interjection made popular in the black vernacular. One cultural phenomena that has been largely covered up as African-American in origin. The history of rock and roll is long and intricate drawing its roots from early American R&B, among other places. While most of the true innovators of rock music have been widely overlooked, white musicians have been profiting greatly off of the innovations made in music by black recording artists, specifically in the arena of rock and roll. It is widely accepted that rock music has its roots in the american blues. The history of the blues dates all the way back to slave plantations. This genre comes specifically from African-American folk music. Julio Finn the author of The Bluesman stated that: [White blues performers] can never be bluespeople...because the blues is not something they live but something they...
Words: 2800 - Pages: 12
...Overall the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was a fantastic experience. The most interesting exhibit in the museum was the clothing that the performers wore during shows or music videos. Michael Jackson’s costumes caught my eye first, all the way from the shiny designs to how skinny his waist was. His costumes didn't look the most comfortable because they had sequins or rhinestones on them, which would be scratchy on his skin. Michael Jackson’s sparkly silver glove spinning on a delicate platter covered with a glass case just topped the exhibit off. I did dislike one thing in the costume part of the exhibit, it smelled like old, dirty, rough clothing that had been sitting out to long. My least favorite part of the trip was the class....
Words: 295 - Pages: 2
...Rock and Roll Vs. Hip-Hop Influence Everyone knows that rock and roll and hip-hop are two completely different sounding genres, but why is that? Well, rock and roll uses heavy lead guitar to lead the band with while hip-hop uses vocals as their main point of interest. They sound drastically different, but they share many of the same roots. They share jazz, rhythm and blues, folk/gospel, and plain old blues. Where the music is different is when rock uses a little more blues influence while hip-hop uses soul influence. This leaves the question, “which is more influential?’’ and to get to that point, this paper will explain how both genres are influential in their own ways, and then he or she can compare the two so one can decide for his or herself. First, one should learn what rock and roll is, where it started, who influenced it, the controversies of it, and then all of that again but for hip-hop. So what exactly is “rock and roll”? Rock and roll (also known just as...
Words: 1402 - Pages: 6
...African American Impact on Rock'n'Roll Music has always been evolving with new ideas and techniques from the beginning of time, going from the earliest string instruments to all electronic disc jockeys that are very popular across the world today. Inside all of this, however, is the way this music has been passed between artists and through time. Clearly not all music was discovered in the same place it is popular today, although much of their roots are still visible in these places. People pass information between each other and are always looking and listening for the next big thing, and with the great rock ‘n’roll boom during the mid-20th century, the idea didn’t come to artists like Elvis out of nowhere. The musical origins of the genre started from other popular music at the time, and for rock’n’roll, much of this came from Southern African American musicians. Much credit is given to artists like Elvis for his outstanding musical talent, but it would be naïve to think that only white artists were popular for their music at the time. Despite his image as one of the best musical talents, Elvis was not the only great rocker of his time. Throughout the 1950’s, many different artists contributed to the top songs of the decade, many of which happened to be African American. Artists such as Ray Charles, Fats Domino and Nat King Cole played significant roles in bringing black musicians to the mainstream. Their contributions have stood the...
Words: 602 - Pages: 3
...The Course of Rock’N’Roll Elvis Presley paved the way for many rock n roll artists nowadays. His daring collision of country and Rhythm n Blues is now a precedent to all rock artists here now. He was a big part of getting more black singers out there with everyone else. Those who didn’t love elvis, thought of him as despicable for associating with african american artists. His dance moves were considered raunchy and risque as he was named “Elvis the Pelvis”. Elvis was powerful enough through his singing and dancing to break through those prudish 50’s and 60’s barriers. He forever changed the way of rock n roll and had the biggest effect on how it looks today. Elvis is probably one of the better people that this could have happened for. “Elvis Aaron Presley came from a small humble family who took the Christian messages of all kind being created equal” (Article 3). It’s that fact that makes it sure that he was the best person to give music a make over. He was sympathetic to african...
Words: 807 - Pages: 4
...Compound Exercise 31.7 Circle the simple subjects and verbs in the following passages. Place one line under each independent and two lines under each dependent clause. Many argue that the blues and jazz are the first truly American musical forms. With its origins in slave narratives, the blues took root during the 1920s and 1930s as African-American composers, musicians, and singers performed in the cabarets and clubs of Harlem. Jazz, however, has its origins in New Orleans. Today, we can still appreciate the music of Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, and B. B. King. Rock and roll is also a distinctively American form of music. Our country’s first “rock star” was without a doubt Elvis Presley, who emerged on the nation’s airwaves in the mid-1950s with such hits as Heartbreak Hotel, Don’t Be Cruel, and All Shook Up. A decade later, Americans were expressing themselves musically through rhythm and blues pop, folk rock, and protest music. Today, thanks to recording technology, we have easy access to our country’s rich musical history. Exercise 32.1 & 32.4 Underline the fragments in the following passage, and identify each as either a phrase (without a subject or verb) or a dependent clause. Pool hustlers deceive their opponents in many ways. Sometimes appearing unfamiliar with the rules of the game, (Dependent Clause) they may try acting as if they are drunk or pretend to be inept. (Dependent clause) For example, they will put so much spin on the ball that it jumps out of...
Words: 544 - Pages: 3
...Rock-n-Roll Negotiator – Part 1 There are many variables that occur within a negotiation. Some of these variables include the influence of agents, constituencies, coalitions, and audiences. In this scenario, a popular and successful rock band, The Negotiators, is looking to negotiate a salary increase. Each of the three team members is asking for a difference percentage increase and must negotiate with their publisher through the use of the firm Agent-town. All members of the negotiation must agree on an increase. Team A will summarize this negotiation below. The Negotiators What the band has to consider is the amount of parties involved in the negotiation and what will be the best negotiation process to come to the conclusion of the right salary for the performance and the skills that the band has produced. The band decided to go with Agent-Town to represent the band. The negotiation style that the band decided to go with is the dyad. This is a very effective for a group that does not have negotiation skills and allows the agent to negotiate one on one with R-n-R. The agent will express the desire for each of the band members to receive a raise for their efforts, but even though each band member wants a different percentage for a raise it will be the agents’ responsibility to have alternative goals to come up with an agreement. The band has given the agent the power to decide what will be an acceptable offer and after negotiating arrived at an agreement that...
Words: 1375 - Pages: 6
...The Rock and Roll Blues In B.B King’s song “Every Day I have the blues” the song is introduced with the twelve-bar blues chord progression. The song uses a guitar as its main solo instrument, and in some of the live versions that are out there a drum accompanies the song as a steady rhythm in the background. This is known as a backbeat that generally occurs on the first and third beats of a four-beat measure. B.B King uses guitar improvisation in between each of the vocal verses to lead him into his next verse. Another twelve-bar improvisation is located between the verses. “Every day I Have the Blues” features bent notes that are achieved by literally bending the string on the guitar with excess finger pressure. “Good Golly Miss Molly” by Little Richard starts off with the same twelve-bar chord progression that was developed for the Blues. Instead of a guitar as the main solo instrument Little Richard uses a piano as his primary instrument. The guitars serve in accompaniment to the piano and a stead backbeat made by a drum is featured. The tempo of “Good Golly Miss Molly” is much faster than that of “Every Day I have the Blues”. The volume of the voices and instruments are much louder and the piano is played throughout all the singing instead of being used as an improvisation to lead into the next verse. The blues was primarily a vocal genre that developed with in the African American slave culture in the southern United States. The singers of the blues often focused...
Words: 931 - Pages: 4
...all of history people have been using and experimenting with drugs especially artists and musicians. Numerious musician have reluctantly admitted to or actually proclaimed their use of drugs. The general conscious of these “artists” is that their drug use has unlocked a higher level of creativity. As trendsetters and role models this use of drugs was emulated by audiences across the United States and Great Britain. To such a point as references to mind altering drugs were appearing in Beats poems and essays and even protest songs of the middle 1950s. As music progressed through the year’s drug use (by artists and fans) and references became more mainstream. This paper will look at two specific band, The Beatles and the Grateful Dead. Rock and Roll on Drugs Drug use and music have been intertwined for many years. This use whether illegal or legal has had both positive and negative impacts on the artists and their success. While the creative juices may be flowing while under the influence of drugs the final outcome (maybe years down the road) almost always ends on a negative note. Even dating back to 1830 when Hector Berlioz wrote his most famous work “Symphonie Fantastique” he detailed the effects of an opium induced dream, specifically in the fourth movement. In an interview on June 16, 1967, Paul McCartney was asked if he ever took drugs, he said “After I took it (LSD), it opened my eyes. We only use one-tenth of our brain. Just think what we could accomplish if we could only...
Words: 1507 - Pages: 7
