ipl-logo

Popular Music In The 1950s

508 Words3 Pages

Today’s Music
Although sixty years has gone by and culture has changed tremendously, popular songs today can thread through some of the similar themes seen in the 1950s. Back then, most popular songs were upbeat and trying to get the crowd moving. Having fun, letting loose, and rebelling against strict rules were important messages the big artists would sing about in the fifties time period, when being a teen was revolutionized. Rock and roll was emerging and teens loved the new feel of music that allowed for freedom without conformity of adulthood. Of course, some music established today continues the trend of teenage rebellion, including early 2000 hits such as Good Charlotte’s, The Anthem and Eminem’s, The Way I Am (Marshall). The theme …show more content…

The recent and highlighted topic across multiple artists is self worth. Between hip-hop’s Feeling Myself sung by Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé, country (at the time)’s Stay Beautiful by Taylor Swift, and pop’s Who Says and Confident by Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato, respectively, self-respect for the individual listener is emphasized throughout (Davis). Christina Aguilera’s Beautiful features a chorus composed of lyrics intended for a self esteem boost, “I am beautiful, No matter what they say, Words can’t bring me down” (Metro Lyrics). Because of the new pressures of today’s societies that were non-existent in pop culture of the 1950s, empowerment, especially in females, is a new focal point in popular music. Beyoncé’s Run The World (Girls) and Flawless, Jordin Sparks’ I Am Woman, and Alicia Key’s Girl On Fire really emphasize female independence and success. Beyoncé sings the lyrics, “Disrespect us, no they won’t” in her 2011 hit, Run The World (Girls), while Jordin Sparks sings “I am woman, Ain’t nobody else can do it quite like, like we can” throughout I Am Woman (VEVO, YouTube). Both lines are repetitive during the songs and encourage women supremacy in present day’s

Show More
Related
826 Words | 4 Pages

It is commonly known as a derivative of mostly blues and gospel and expanded the pop and rock-n-roll music through its styles. Music from this time had several crossovers between country and pop which led to the country music in today’s society to be more hip-hop. Country music from back in the days were more personal and had more meaning to them unlike nowadays country music. Country music in the 1960’s were unique to its times. There were several artists who made this possible through their albums.

Read More
1015 Words | 5 Pages

When I first heard “We Should All Be Feminists” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, it was because Beyoncé samples Adichie’s speech. Though it was a small and heavily edited, it made me pressed “repeat” on my IPhone because her verse alone made me love the song. After the fifth or sixth time listening to the song, I had to google Adichie’s lyrics: “We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls, you can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful.

Read More
804 Words | 4 Pages

During the 1950s and 60s, many young teens started to rebel in various ways to break free from the ‘Ozzie and Harriet fantasy’ their parents and generations before them have experienced. This was displayed through the themes of various rock and roll songs. A specific theme described in many songs at that time was the defiance of stereotypical gender roles. Despite being common back then, this theme and many others at that time are still evident in modern music today. A prime example of the defiance of stereotypical gender roles in modern day music is Lady Gaga.

Read More
221 Words | 1 Pages

Rock and Roll in the 1950s was disruptive, bursting with high octane, with limitless possibilities, for many, this is the era where rock changed the world. Sam Phillips, the rock & roll patriarch whose Sun label first recorded Rock and Roll heavy hitters such as, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and other first-rate talents, has suggested that the true import of Fifties rock & roll had very little to do with musical content, let alone musical innovation. Once you strip the music down and examine it, riff by riff, lick by lick, you find a mixture of rhythm and blues, prewar big-band and Western swing, gospel and jazz, for Phillips, and many others, rock & roll's real significance was more than what their parents thought. This

Read More
1389 Words | 6 Pages

When we write we are often confronted with some sort of “rhetorical situation”. This term is best described as a combination of factors. There is a rhetor(s), an exigence, an audience, and specific constraints to consider when analyzing a text. Through an interview with Professor Funnell, who teaches a course that aims to explore the representation of women in various facets of popular culture, I identified how these elements contribute to Beyoncé’s song, Flawless, and consequently discovered how to better address future situations regarding other texts. Music is a way for people to send a message through the lyrics.

Read More
175 Words | 1 Pages

As decades go by different style of genres have been in demand, in this case the 1950’s through to the New Millennium will be outlines. The music of the 1950’s brought on new beginning of social changes around the world. Through the fifty’s Rock and Roll and R&B ruled the charts; other popular genres include Country, Jazz, Blues and Rhythm & Blues. Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Buddy Holly were known as the most popular artist through the fifty’s (The People History 2015).

Read More
1689 Words | 7 Pages

Songs like “Sweet Little Sixteen” and “School Days” by Chuck Berry exemplified the rebellious attitude of the sixties. The lyrics were about girls going against the dress code and how school was a drag. Young people wanted to rebel simply because they could. An outstanding example of the youth culture was the beat movement. Beatniks were a group of artistic social activists who stressed to young people that they should practice spiritual action and reject materialism.

Read More
666 Words | 3 Pages

Rock and roll in the 1950’s was a time in music that changed the world. Nobody had ever heard anything like rock and roll before because it was so upbeat and full of energy. After many people heard rock and roll they fell in love with the music. Some however didn’t like the thought of this new style of music called rock and roll. Many people didn’t like that it was from African American musical styles some of those include gospel, jazz, boogie woogie, and rhythm.

Read More
1656 Words | 7 Pages

The 1950’s was a time of invention, hard fought war by men and women of our country and some of the most medical step forwards that we have ever had in our history. Not only was it a time for invention and war but also a time were rock and roll hit the ground running. Most people protested that rock and roll was the music of the devil poisoning the minds of our children. With even these people trying to bring that genera down the great legends prospered. Every kid remembers growing up and hearing the words “thank you, thank you very much” at least once in their life, it was words of the great king Elvis Presley.

Read More
999 Words | 4 Pages

In a time of economic prosperity, a rise in the standard of living and rock and roll, also known as the “happy days”, the 1950s were a time looked back on with nostalgia. On the other hand, the 1950s were also met with many problems involving civil rights, the Cold War and McCarthyism. After the end of World War II, Americans came home to jobs available and a period of consensus. Consensus meaning there wasn’t much debate in politics. However tensions quickly rose throughout the nation when Joseph McCarthy made serious accusations about the State Department.

Read More
778 Words | 4 Pages

In this essay, I will talk about how J. Cole goes about empowering women through exceptional lyrics, broad metaphors, and positive tone. Incorporated throughout the entire song are exceptional lyrics. The song is about flaws, a “Crooked smile” for example, and how those flaws do not limit any

Read More
1132 Words | 5 Pages

Without Rock and Roll, many genres of music would never have emerged, such as: garage rock, pop rock, blues rock, and psychedelic rock. Although rock no longer rules popular music, the styles of the 1960’s still appeal to the ears of those born long after. The utopian frenzy of rock defined the music of that era, and to this day continues to structure the music we call Rock and Roll

Read More
991 Words | 4 Pages

The Music Revolution The Sixties were an exciting period with the beginning of a social, economic and Cultural Revolution, influenced by the music industry that was deeply involved into causes. This propensity took place in a turbulent period where some folks called it the "decade of discontent" because of the race riots and the demonstrations against the Vietnam War. However, other individuals called it the decade of "peace, love, and harmony", because of the peace movements and the emergence of Hippies, called “flower children.” This decade was about assassinations, unforgettable fashion, new styles of music, civil rights, gay and women 's liberation, Vietnam, peace marches, sexual freedom, drug usage, Summer of Love and Woodstock Festival. All of these factors caused a revolutionary transformation in the world of well-liked music, establishing melodies as a form of raise voices and express feelings.

Read More
894 Words | 4 Pages

Sexism is a prevalent issue that society struggles with due to all to of the negative stereotypes that are created. Today numerous musicians bring awareness to sexism through there songs, one being Beyonce. The popular musician Beyonce fights for women’s empowerment in her music in order to unite women and go against sexism and stereotypes in her popular songs “Flawless”, “If I were a boy”,“Lemonade”, and several more. Beyonce says, "I try to write songs and sing songs that we as women need to hear". "I know sometimes it 's hard to realize how amazing we are.

Read More
416 Words | 2 Pages

Rock music in the 1960s was egalitarian, eclectic, and real based on a number of reasons. To explain the 'real' piece of rock music in the 1960s, one would have to know that there was war going on overseas that didn't make sense to Americans as to why it was going on (the Vietnam war). There was also still severe inequality between blacks and whites causing protests to occur via the Civil Rights movement, led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There was inequality between women and mens rights. These issues caused dissatisfaction to occur in the American people.

Read More

More about Popular Music In The 1950s

Related Topics

Open Document