Key People/Events: Rosa Parks, Civil Rights, baby boom, William Levitt, Suburban living, Feminism, Brown vs. Board of Education, the Cold War, the Red Scare, Joseph McCarthy, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Harry S Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Korean War, Nikita Khrushchev, Sputnik
AHHH! okay the 1950’s is probably one of my favorite decades in American history because it’s the beginning of our climb to the title of becoming a world super power. Don’t get me wrong, before the 1940’s America was well-respected and had support from European nations and was a legitimate military force, yet our society lacked something the Europeans had to offer. Once Americans are in full stride at the close of World War II we cannot be stopped, the economy is booming, Civil Rights activists begin to fill the streets, the ideal of a housewife, suspected communists were being persecuted, suburbs begin filling with families promising better lives for their children, and ELVIS GODDAM PRESLEY IS QUITE LITERALLY TAKING OVER THE NATION. For me this is when America becomes the soul of what the founding fathers wanted in a society: the freedom to exercise your right to free speech, reform, changing with the times and growing as a society paired with national pride, transforming America into the ever-changing nation and breeding-grounds for world renowned talent as we know it today.
(I don’t think the top 10 hits will do this decade justice so I felt the need to include) Top artists: Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Nat King Cole, Perry Como, Patti Page, Frank Sinatra, Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Doris Day, Ray Charles, Tony Bennett, Johnny Cash (!!), Dean Martin, Fats Domino
This being said, I’m only including the artist’s highest ranked song so the decade is most accurately represented by a wider range of artists, not just Elvis and Chuck Berry (sigh).
Top 10 Hits (modified)
- Johnny B. Goode (Chuck Berry) (if you’ve never heard this song please take 2 minutes and 14 seconds out of your day to love yourself)
- Heartbreak Hotel (Elvis Presley) (seriously listen to this one too)
- What’d I Say (Ray Charles)
- Tutti Frutti (Little Richard) (almost too lit)
- That’ll Be the Day (The Crickets)
- Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On (Jerry Lee Lewis)
- Blue Suede Shoes (Carl Perkins)
- Summertime Blues (Eddie Cochran)
- I Walk the Line (Johnny Cash) (an American treasure)
- Blueberry Hill (Fats Domino)
Arguably the beginning of the greatness of the American music industry, this decade of music is the epitome of youth culture: past, present and future. These artists sing of wanting to make it big in middle-class America, love, heartbreak, dancing, and commitment. This decade is exciting for me because, possibly like many of you, my parents were both born in the 1950’s so these tunes filled my home growing up and it’s interesting to think how different the world was when they were young.
Instead of my usual dissection of the lyrics of each song as these lyrics don’t carry as much political significance as they had in prior decades, this will lean more towards a musical analysis.
This era dove into R&B, Soul, Doo Wop and rockabilly. These themes such as repetitive choruses encouraged dancing and easily spread catchy lyrics producing some of top selling hits of all time. What was unique about this decade was up to this point, top hits were typically dominated by one style of music but this generation gave birth to a wide range of listeners varying from hits with country roots to music produced specifically dancing. Producers did this by taking normally slow songs and speeding them up, forcing singers to shorten phrases and add repetitive lines. In this way, the cultural scope of the American people widened from just their region to their neighboring listeners.
Singers such as Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Chuck Berry pushed the music industry into the age of Rock and Roll through the use of intense rhythms, requiring the singer to change pitch 2 or 3 times per song as well as their topics. Elvis brought sexuality to America, once seen as vulgar is now seen as a pop icon who warmed the prude listeners ears for the explosion of Rock and Roll.
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