How Did Rock And Roll Changed America During The 1960's

America during the 1950s was introduced to a new type of genre of music, rock and roll, which infiltrated society in either negative or positive way - an issue which is debated by scholars Altschuler and Oakley in Taking Sides. Their positions are controversial, Oakley states and affirms that while rock and roll brought juvenile delinquency up in the American society, it in fact was not a major enough movement to dismantle America’s traditional family. Although on the other hand, Altschuler disagrees with the author, taking on the position that rock and roll ruined morals, and was completely responsible for the dismantling of the American traditional family, sexual and racial customs in the 1950s and 1960s. Rock and roll created a counter movement in USA during the 1960s led by rebellious youth, completely changing American traditional values and ideas for the generations to come. Rock and roll could be seen …show more content…
The first attempt to segregate concerts did not go as planned, whites were made to sit on top balconies, and blacks down below stage. The normal expectation of behavior in a concert, before rock music, was to sit and enjoy the music being played in a calm manner. The suggestive risque lyrics, upbeat rhythm, and gyrations showed on stage could not stop the white youth from dancing, and many would jump off from the balcony of their designated area, to join the black youth in dance. Officers were even brought in to police these concerts, but no one could stop these delinquent-like actions. Multiple times rock concerts would break out in riots, simply between police aggression and free-spirited youth, encouraging negative newspaper headlines to run throughout the nation, advising parents to keep their children away from the ills of rock and roll, blaming African Americans for their disgusting