Music as a Representation of a Generation: Elvis and the Beginnings of Rock N Roll

Changing gears a bit for these next few entries entering into the era which is more my expertise – The Cold War and the Vietnam Era.  We have already talked about literature, American ideals, and film, but these next few entries will focus on music.  Music is a big part of popular culture, especially since the jazz age when African Americans found a voice during the Harlem Renaissance.  Since that time, music has been a representation of its time, symbolizing the era in which it was created by conveying the atmosphere of the sociopolitical context.  The music of the 1960s exemplifies this as we see the younger generation of the early 1960s rebel through rock n roll and the counterculture voice their distaste for the traditional values through folk and psychedelic music.  Music, then, lends its voice to the sociopolitical atmosphere by giving the generation another venue in which to convey their mental state.

Elvis was considered the “King of Rock n Roll,” but his early music, though loved by the younger generation, was dubbed distasteful and inappropriate by the older folks.  Elvis incorporated the Blues in his compositions, borrowing the sound from the African American Jazz and Blues artists who came before him.  Because of this, his sound was different from the earlier big band sounds of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.  But it was his gyrating movements while he performed that caused the uproar.  Not everyone was impressed with his performances.   "In the New York Times, Jack Gould began his review indignantly: Elvis Presley had 'injected movements of his tongue and indulged in wordless singing that were singularly distasteful.'”[1]   Sullivan had no intentions of having Elvis after seeing him on the Milton Berle show on June 5, 1956, but Sullivan relented and had Elvis perform three times:  September 9, 1956, October 28, 1956, and January 6, 1957. 

 It was the last appearance that created the most hype due to the attempted censorship by only broadcasting Elvis from the waist up.  It is ironic, then, that the first two appearances included Elvis’ full body, gyrations and all, and the third is the one that was most talked about because of the censorship. 

          Elvis probably did not intend on rebelling through his music, but his appearances on the traditional family variety shows like Ed Sullivan broke barriers allowing Elvis to lay the foundation for the counterculture to defy tradition through music.

---

[1] Altschuler, Glenn C. (2003). All Shook Up: How Rock 'n' Roll Changed America. Oxford University Press. p. 91.

Pop Culture in American History

Pop culture encompasses that which everyday consumers buy, read, listen, watch, or wear.  Pop culture is thus defined by the consumer, but it also defines those consumers.  In this way, pop culture defines society at a given time.   By studying pop culture, one can understand a specific time period in history.  That is the purpose of this blog.  To look to the past through the lens of pop culture, and, thereby understand American history through the eyes of those who lived it.