The Impact of Music in the Society

             Rock music has affected society in the twentieth century in a large way. Rock music started in the 1950s with various small bands such as Bill Haley and Elvis Presley. These pioneers of modern music drew a larger crowd at each show, and soon, rock music would be in the ears of almost every American.

             Rock and roll contributes many things back to people when they listen to it. It gives people things like a change to let out anger or aggression. One thing that happened when people listened to this to get their anger out was that people would relive these angry moments or feelings and become aggressive once again. Rock and roll is a kind of music and music is a form of art, therefore there were many aspiring artists in this era of music. These people have also added a new category to artistic expression. One other idea that rock music contributed was the simple idea of having almost everything going on the beat. When dancing, the beat is a major factor in music and people who dance took kindly to this type of music in a big way. A problem that was upon these people was the faster tempos as in swing and older music, when paired up with parents and authority figures. The opposition of the elders caused many conflicts in families, and also public attractions. "What appealed to this new audience, accustomed to the relatively bland Tin Pan Alley brand of popular music, was rock 'n' roll's driving dance rhythms, its direct, adolescent-level message, and it's suggestion of youthful rebellion." (Pg. 14; The Mansion On the Hill: Dylan, Young, Geffen, Springsteen, and the Head-on Collision of Rock and Commerce).

             Alan Freed was a disc jockey in the mid 1950s, who supported and played much of this new "rock and roll" music. He was the one who gave the name "rock and roll" to this type of music. The term was derived from a sexual reference in one of the more popular songs at that time.

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