The 1950s And The Civil Rights Movement In The 1950s

Register to read the introduction… Parents however, were weary about this new style of music. For them, it drew too heavily from the influence of blues music, a style created by Afircan-Americans expressing their struggles as a minority in America. Viewing blacks as less than whites was nearly the social norm of the 1950’s, where segregation was in abundance and parents didn’t want the “colored music” seeping into their homes. Record companies however, saw the interest and potential in this blues/pop hybrid and set out to sell. First, though, they would need to “clean up” the music and this resulted in clean, shaven, and well-dressed white artists performing covers of blues songs. These covers genuinely lacked the soul and emotion of the original performers. This stripped-down version of rock ‘n’ roll left many in want and it took a few more years for the desire to be filled when Elvis Presley had entered the building, causing one of the biggest musical impacts of modern music. …show more content…
Parents did everything they could to stop what they thought was an atrocious fad, but Elvis “The Pelvis” Presley proved to be a bigger influence than anyone at the time could expect. His signature on-stage hip-shaking was despised by adults as much as adored by their children. The slicked-back pompadour became a trend still in place today, and the songs still play on classic rock and oldies radio stations across the United States. Elvis Presley changed not only the direction of rock and roll, but they way Americans interacted and dressed but an equal force loomed around the next