Rock And Roll Reflection

A Reflection of Rock and Roll There is no doubt that throughout the decades rock and roll music has changed and been influenced by cultural and social events. The only way to explain these changes is to start at the beginning. These changes started as early as, or even earlier than the 1920’s. That is where we will begin all the way until today’s music. In the 1920s music was dominated by blues and jazz. The blues primarily came from African American slaves mostly in the south. A lot of the songs would portray the troubles of prejudice and racism that African Americans endured during these times. One singer from the 1920’s that explain the troubles of African American’s during this time is Bessie Brown who sang songs like “Song from a …show more content…
Armstrong changed the music from collective improvisation to solo performance. His stage presence was also one of the reasons that Armstrong remains so be the vision that changed jazz music. The 1940s was a popular time for jazz, swing, and big band music. The 1940s were also popular for bringing the great Frank Sinatra to the music scene. Frank, also known as “The Sultan of Swoon” and “The Voice” was popular for his song like “Five Minutes More” and “Blue Skies.” Another singer popular in the forties is Bing Crosby. Some of Crosby’s well known songs from this decade are “White Christmas” and “Only Forever.” Crosby was also popular for his role in the recording industry, becoming the first performer to pre-record his radio shows and master his commercial recordings onto magnetic tape. Around the 1950’s rock and roll began to top the music charts. It is also the beginning of Elvis Presley’s career. Elvis Presley is known as the “King of Rock and Roll.” Presley is one of the most celebrated and influential musicians of the 20th century. Commercially successful in many genres, including pop, blues and gospel, he is the best-selling solo artist in the history of recorded music. Elvis was a sex symbol for this era of music. With his provocative dance moves and boyish good …show more content…
It has been said that he paved the road to integrated music. He challenged the social and moral values of the time and ended up creating a generation that was able to have the freedom of expression. Elvis Presley forever changed music and left a lasting legacy which positively influenced American society. Another prevalent artist of the fifties is Ray Charles. During this time Charles pioneered the musical genre of soul music which was a twist between rhythm, blues, and gospel. Despite the fact the Charles was blind he did not let that stop him from being able to play multiple instruments and became an idol for people with disabilities. In the sixties came a change in the way music used to be and became more of what we hear today. During this time music began to change with the changes of the U.S. For example there was The Vietnam was during this time, the assassination of Kennedy, and quite possibly the biggest influence; the beginning of the civil rights movement. Another big change of this time was the “British