African American Music In The 1950's

Music has been influential for centuries throughout the whole world. For America, we’ve had music during the revolutionary war, for example, the famous song Yankee Doodle, to protest against the British. Also, slaves had many songs to protest against their slave owners, such as “Stolen Souls from Africa”. These songs helped influence America and social values to change. America was able to gain its freedom after the Revolutionary War and slavery was abolished in 1865. The use of music from the 1950s to the present day is also very significant, music is still very powerful to promote societal changes. Music has been proven to be extremely influential during tough times, being able to cheer people up, as well as starting revolutions. The history

The 1950s was a joyous time because World War II had just ended and people were back with their families. However, music was starting to take a turn and impacting younger generations. To start, Rock’ n’ Roll became a huge hit. It was heavily influenced by R&B, a considerably common African American genre. Rock n’ Roll lyrics were mostly based around being a teenager and having fun, being in relationships, and dancing. This era of time also brought out a lot of rebellion toward parents as they continued to listen to African American music, films, and other forms of media. This caused the music being released to be highly influential to cultural change. Some favorite African artists that influenced this time and the younger generation include Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Fats Domino. Teenagers mostly accepted this change and would listen to them, despite their parents' protests. In fact, many parents went to the government and made rally groups to stop the spread of the music being created. They made posters and fliers, one even saying “Don't Let Your Children Buy, or Listen to These [redacted] Records.” Although this music was thought to be pushed over, it became one of the most

However, music was very prominent in the use of fighting for social change. The civil rights movement, Vietnam War, and many other huge events in American History were during this time. This age of music was mostly influenced by anti-war propaganda, as well as the civil rights movement. For starters, the Civil Rights Movement was heavily empowered by gospel music. They sang the word of God while marching the streets, protesting the Jim Crow laws. These laws were set in place after the abolishment of slavery with the 13th Amendment. However, the Jim Crow laws segregated African Americans and many were treated extremely poorly. These protests gave African Americans the ability to defend their basic human rights, including using music. One of the most common songs when referring to the Civil Rights Movement would be the song “We Shall Overcome” by Peete Seeger. As the title suggests, the song is about walking hand in hand, overcoming the problems that they were facing. Many people have made covers of this song, proving how significant this song was made to be. Another important event that music was made for was the Vietnam War. Although some songs were made to give hope and faith to the American civilization, there were many others that were against the wars. A famous song by The Doors called “The Unknown Soldier” was made to show that soldiers were dying as life in America stayed the