Rock And Roll In The 50's

Superior Essays
Since rock and roll did not begin till the mid 1950s the youth was still being held to strict tidy polices by parents and educators. Social cultural wise the teens were to dress in an specific manner where the males must be dressed in tight jeans, button up shirts and letterman cardigans. As for the girls they had to wear ballet flats with long poodle skirts. The youth of the 50s was also given the same social norms that their parents acquired when they were young. Many of the recreational activities included sports such as golf, badminton, baseball and of course dance. The most popular dance in the very early 50’s was swing. The young people were being captivated to hold on to life before the war begun. Parental figures figured that once …show more content…
Sinatra was the typical singer that American parents and teen 's heard during the 40s and 50s. His music contained variations of swing and jazz. In the early 50s, it would all change with the birth of rock and roll and its teen idols. As for the older generations and religious figures they felt a demise towards the disruptive music known as to parents “satan music.” When the teen idol and heartthrob Elvis Presley was first introduced parents felt his dancing was very vulgar and extremely inappropriate. Many television shows broadcast refused to ask Elvis perform because of the attention from the teenagers. The United States felt that Elvis’s controversy would danger the safety of the children. By 1956 the magazine America had its headlines shouting “Beware Elvis Presley”. This lead to the anti-rock forces in the U.S to ban live shows and attack performers on stage. On June 5, 1956 Presley sang his hit “Hound Dog” on The Milton Berle show. The Mississippi native had become a phenomenon overnight. Using his microphone as a prop and dancing in a vulgar way young Americans viewed him in awe while critics disregarded the performance. At first people did not know what or who he was. America could not distinguish what type of music he was singing between blues or country. Soon thousands of adolescents around America would come together to view and be mesmerized by his performances. This became a worry to the American society, many were afraid that Presley would destroy the traditional

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