Rebel with a Cause
‘And there we were all in one place – a generation lost in space; with no time left to start again.’
– American Pie, Don Mclean
‘Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.’
– Bobby McGee, Janis Joplin
Rock and Roll initiated and caused a drastic change in the North American identity from the late 50’s to the early 70’s. It was this music that brought out the angst of a generation, born into an affluent race, gradually refusing to trust the administrative body blindly; a race which had placed its trust in the governmental system and a generation which was finding many of the system’s activities unsatisfactory. Rock and Roll questioned the system and commented on various important issues such as racial desegregation, government policies and decisions, cultural barriers and blind conformity to societal norms. RocknRollers influenced an entire generation of Americans and mobilised them against the perceived — on a humanitarian basis — erroneous decisions made by the system. They also inspired an older generation of Americans to despise the changing culture and the loose morals being inculcated in youngsters by the hooligans who were producing crass music and an even crasser popular style. I can say, confidently, that Rock and Roll music changed the identity of a generation of North Americans, in the 1950’s and 60’s, by enabling racial desegregation, tackling various cultural barriers and questioning political decisions and motives. I would like to stress, however, that it was not merely the music, but the persona of the musicians and bands themselves which acted as a vehicle for this change in identity – from dance moves, fashion and lyrics to stage presence and casual statements filled with swagger. Before I delve into this deep but delightful subject, though, I would like to thrash out how Rock and Roll came to be. How was it born – this illegitimate child of many mothers?
At the end of WWII, thousands of American soldiers returned to their victorious homeland to become civilians once again – civilians who could claim freedom, peace and prosperity as fundamental rights from the system, for the preservation of which they had willingly pledged their lives. Utopia, of a certain sort, was being constructed in the minds of the Caucasian Americans who had had to endure the perils and mental trauma of war – directly and indirectly. A suburban home, as seen when ‘[in] 1947, William J. Levitt developed single-family, tract housing using federal funds. Built as affordable housing for World War II veterans and their families, the first Levittown was built in suburban Long Island, New York.’ where moderate luxury, institutional propaganda and societal conditioning were accepted norms.[1] Similar settlements were created in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. These veterans of the war decided to trust the system to give them the long promised ‘domestic tranquility’ and ‘Blessings of Liberty’. This being the prevalent zeitgeist among the growing White middle class, popular music was heavily influenced by the lifestyle developed, amongst the middle class, by the post war prosperity and progress. The world of popular American music was dominated by wholesome white performers who sang songs which were designed to be as innocent and inoffensive as possible. Artists like Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Gayle Storm and others were making music which focussed on emoting ideal, well formed emotions in a Classic Pop style; Sinatra ‘ perfected the heartbeat rhythm – [meaning] just what it implies, a tempo neither swing fast nor ballad slow — of a persona which made every song a story.’[2] This positive, dignified presence in the sphere of popular music reflected the community’s state of mind. Another sphere of music, which was popular in many parts, was folk music – drawing on old folk songs, which had been written years before, artists reinvented the songs and performed at different festivals across the Southern quadrant of North America. The beauty of this music was its ability to root itself in native culture and history while providing the entertainment offered by fresh compositions. It evoked contextual emotions as it told a story of yore. American citizens, of the Caucasian line, were well settled in their suburbs — tuned in to work, entertainment and the comfort of their modest luxuries.
However, the Caucasians in America were not its only citizens. For over a century before WWII, people of different races, from faraway lands, had migrated to arrive on the shores of the promised land – the land of hopes and dreams. These migrants had left their native shores based on the tidings they had received of equality of opportunity and prosperity in the United States of America — betting their last shirt to land on American soils. By the end of WWII, there were immigrants from Africa, Mexico, China and various parts of Europe. While they had been in America for, at least, over fifty years, many of them were not legally American citizens. Hence, a majority of them were relegated to the lower echelons, as ‘in the U.S., Blacks, Mexicans, Chinese and Japanese immigrants were targets of discrimination in employment and property ownership.’[3] Among these immigrants, there existed a large number of African-Americans who felt the angst created by prolonged oppression and deprivation of opportunity. Among these African- Americans, there were many ‘Black GIs’ for whom ‘The experience of fighting for freedom in Europe and then returning to a country where discrimination [was aplenty] and opportunities were limited fostered discontent.’[4] Just as the Caucasian Americans did, they expressed their mental state of angst and a feeling of suppression by the system through their distinct musical styles, packed with energy and vitality.
As African-American music, R&B in particular, was gaining commercial advent, a new generation of white Americans were being born – teenagers, who had more leisure time and money to spend than any prior generation. While these youngsters enjoyed popular White music, they were captivated by music which was more exciting – like Rhythm & Blues. This genre of music took inspiration from various African-American musical genres — Jazz, Gospel, Big Band music and Blues. With this demand for raw upbeat music, a lot of radio jockeys began playing R&B on the airwaves. The most important of these radio jockeys was Alan Freed, who ‘began a rhythm-and-blues show on a Cleveland radio station. Soon the audience grew and grew, and Freed coined the term “rock and roll”.’[5] The term was gradually catching steam – from the flame being ignited by Black R&B artists. Soon, however, producers began to attempt the replication of the Black R&B sound by popular White bands, instead of promoting the black bands — as this would not be accepted by a large section of the consumer market — middle class Americans. These ‘covers’ of Black music by white bands had marginally better sales than the original albums by black artists, only due to racial acceptance – even though the vitality of emotion, in the music, was lost. It was a new sound, but it wasn’t R&B and it wasn’t Rock & Roll. Producers, now, began looking for a white performer who could perform R&B without losing its spirit and vitality; a Caucasian replica of the African-American voice and style.
A suitable solution to this puzzle presented itself in the form of Bill Haley and The Comets, who in 1952 recorded their version of “Rock Around The Clock”. The song was a huge success, seeing excellent sales and unbeknownst to him Haley ‘had opened a musical Pandora’s Box and the virus would spread until the breeze became a cultural hurricane.’[6] A few years after Bill Haley’s success began; fresh faces were seen in the music sphere, playing vital White Rhythm & Blues – essentially Rock & Roll. Haley’s descendants, so to speak, were a truck driver from Memphis, a barber from St. Louis, a boogie-woogie pianist and a wayward youngster in Georgia – Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, ‘Fats’ Domino and Little Richard. By the end of 1956, Rock & Roll had created a revolution that could not be stopped. A powerful new sound had emerged and a hungry generation was waiting to devour every scrap of expression that it had to offer. A generation which loved the sound of Rock & Roll, irrespective of race and sex. A generation which viewed the ideals of the generation past as outdated and prejudiced; a generation which was fed up with the sedentary life they afforded – who wanted more excitement, action and space for analytical understanding and acceptance. With the arrival of this newfangled version of Rhythm & Blues, the producers had found the sound which would change the course of their lives, that of their country and the world. Rock & Roll had arrived; and it planned to stay.
Thus, Rock & Roll was born in the 1950’s. However, there was tremendous opposition to this genre of music from large sections of America. ‘It is difficult today to understand the bitter criticism the new music generated……. spokesmen [against Rock&Roll] dismissed the music for its supposed simplicity and crudity……. Radio stations refused to play the new music, claiming that its lyrics promoted sex and delinquency.’[7] Yet another fear, that was stemming from the rise of Rock & Roll being played by performers from different races, was that there was ‘overt racial mixing of not only the music, but its audiences. At a time when American race relations were severely tested……. rock and roll remade integration in a cultural form. Sexual, working class and multi-racial, rock and roll transgressed the most fiercely guarded social boundaries of the time.’[8] By the end of the 1950’s, the artists who had undergone a mercurial rise to fame were gradually fading away to obscurity, with the exception of a few artists who were consistently making good music. The teenagers, who were the genre’s primary consumers, were becoming tired of constant ‘one-hit wonders’ and wanted stimulating, compelling music. There was a minor revival of Folk music — which had roots in tradition and expounded idealistic principles through analogies and metaphors.
With the slow but imminent decline in popularity of Rock & Roll in sight, the beginning of the 1960’s saw the entry of two revivalist movements. These two movements came about, almost, simultaneously. First, from overseas came the British Invasion – the Beatles took the United States by storm with their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. The four charming young men from England innovated with sounds anew and gave fresh life to Rock & Roll. Second, an already popular Folk ‘composer as well as troubadour, but also an acolyte of rock and roll, appeared at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival sporting an electric guitar and a loud back-up band.’[9] Bob Dylan was the perfect mix of Folk and Rock, bringing about an amalgamation of the two rivalling popular styles of music. As Don Mclean sings in his song American Pie ‘While the King was looking down, the Jester stole his thorny crown’, Bob Dylan stole the cherished spot Elvis Presley held, by making songs which commented on society, politics, philosophy and a whole host of other subjects. With the arrival of these two movements, there began a strong inclination to address restricted societal issues through the music of the young masses.
‘Inspired by both Dylan and the Beatles…….. thousands of musical groups plugged in and began writing their own songs…. writing their own material enabled groups to address a range of subjects that had largely been taboo, including politics, social inequality, alienation from American life, personal identity, and the Viet Nam war. In the 1950s, rock and roll sound and style had challenged cultural authority. The rock music of the 1960s often challenged political authority directly and unambiguously.’[10]
Thus, there began a burgeoning rise in the number of teenagers who took up instruments as arms, plugged in and propagated the counter-culture movement, which identified and tackled the ‘the deep fissures that were becoming clear in American life.’[11] It wasn’t merely the music that these youngsters were inspired by – it was the stage act and the rebellious attitude of the performers, which can be rightly classified with the word ‘Chutzpah’. Artists like Jim Morisson, John Lennon, Joe Cocker, Syd Barrett and Mick Jagger defined daring by defying rules laid down by the administration. They lit up stages and set afire the stacks of dormant acceptance, which had accumulated over the years. John Lennon, in particular, held a very nihilist pacifist ideology which manifested in his lyrics, such as ‘you tell me it’s the institution, well, you know – you better free your mind instead’ in Revolution and ‘Imagine there are no countries, it isn’t hard to do; nothing to die or kill for, no religion too’, with which he disturbed the status quo. During one particular interview – for the Evening Standard – in 1966, he made a tenacious statement with regard to religion, stating that ‘Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that; I’m right and I will be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now. I don’t know which will go first, rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity.’[12] Jim Morisson, on the other hand, was a far more apt example of the quintessential ‘Rockstar’ — nihilist bordering on anarchist. He refused to accept any rules laid down by anyone – he decided to live on his own terms for as long as he naturally did. Morisson was the first Rock musician to be arrested on stage for recounting an encounter with the New Haven police, to the audience, with a generous infusion of obscenities and belittling comments.
With performers of such an incendiary nature stirring up a storm of indignant defiance of the country’s continuous wars, domestic policy and social conditions, the young minds of the country took up pacifism as a means to subdue the violent ventures being entered into by the nation. The Counter-Culture movement steadily built up, with a rapid growth in ‘Hippies’ and an immense propensity to consume a variety of pyschotropic drugs. In order to further rebel against various traditional morals and accepted practices, the idea of ‘Free Love’ gained popularity among the younger generation – especially the Hippies. By the mid-1960’s sex and drugs had been intrinsically associated with Rock & Roll music, which led to its further vilification. The pinnacle of the Rock & Roll movement was reached at Woodstock. It was ‘a three-day antiwar festival that drew hundreds of thousands to upstate New York in 1969, [which] epitomized how sixties rock offered a mass cultural vision of authenticity and community.’[13] The festival featured various prominent artistes from around the world, such as Joe Cocker, Santana, Jefferson Airplane and Pandit Ravi Shankar. The festival was a roaring success taking the Rock & Roll movement forward by leaps and bounds. An entire generation was being told to forget the conventional orthodoxies of the past, strive to achieve and revel in the spectacular now; to enjoy the beauty of it’s life, materialistically or altruistically. Rock & Roll was out to create a community of free thinkers who would live life on their own terms, without extraneous laws being imposed upon them. It was a rebellion against the institution and all the modicums of decency and acceptability the institution proposed. A battle was being fought and the underdogs were not faring too badly. They hadn’t subdued the system, but they were being heard above the din of the machinery’s cogs.
Alas, all which is good must come to an end.
In the spirit of that statement, Rock & Roll began its spiralling descent into the redundant flamboyancy and faux rebellious nature, with the central focus being on debauchery, delinquency and playful daredevilry. The fall began with an incident, where ‘as the Stones played [at] a festival in Altamont, California, a young black attendee was murdered by…….. [bikers who had been hired to] protect the stage. Rock had lost its innocence, and as the music’s popularity grew in the 1970s and 1980s it became a far more standardized industry.’[14] The sanctity of Rock & Roll was stained with this one incident and as if the devil himself had planned the entire scenario the mass commercialization of Rock & Roll began. Various artists began to sell out to recording companies and create more streamlined, crowd pleasing Rock music. However, the spirit of Rock & Roll could not be squished that easily. The performers who had heralded the coming and dominance of Rock & Roll gradually began to dabble in different genres of music, as they grew bigger and more complacent about critical and popular success. Also, the young musicians who had plugged in an electric guitar in their garages and played day and night began to come up with various hybrid strains of Rock & Roll, such as hard rock, metal, punk rock, grunge, etc. Gradually, the intense craze for Rock & Roll was diluted as various new sounds began to be born. It was still loved and respected, but it had lost a large portion of its potential for mass mobilisation and rebellion against the system. Through the 1970’s and 80’s, there were a many song which commented on politics, religion, pop culture, racial inequality and culture. These songs did not have the impact of the earlier works, primarily, because the teenagers of the 50’s were adults now and Rock & Roll had been accepted as a way of life for one generation, no matter how detested it was by various factions. The teenagers of the 70’s had the perfect mixture of burgeoning prosperity and liberal morals – they afforded enough luxury to meander through life till they reached adulthood and had to claim responsibility for their sustenance. The revolutionary nature of this illegitimate child of many mothers had been subdued by the charismatic nature of the entertainment it was providing.
And thus, the music died. It will always be revered and looked up to, but never again will it be able to do for any part of the world what it did for America in the 1960’s – cause a paradigm shift in morals, values, practices, societal conditions; in short, a paradigm shift in personal and community identity. A simple manner in which this paradigm shift can be illustrated is by the comparison of two maxims, set twenty years apart – ‘Women, Wine and Song’ and ‘Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll.’ The ideas and modicums of acceptable societal interaction were, to an extent greater than this, altered by the music an entire generation grew to love and adore – Rock & Roll. It managed to make statements about anything and everything it felt was wrong about institutions, social and administrative. It did not request a change, but influenced the issue through tunes which turned ideologies around. Hence, I have run through the life and death of Rock & Roll, but through the length of jotting all of this down a single question has been repeatedly assaulting me and exciting me as much as it has been befuddling me. Was Rock & Roll a subconscious re-identification of the Nihilist identity, with culture and art used to temper the radical nature of Nihilism — allowing people to embrace rebelliousness without inciting too much doubt and illogical, subconscious guilt fostered by earlier conditioning? The similarities are striking and warrant a separate study to be instituted.
References:
[1] http://www.understandingrace.org/history/society/post_war_economic_boom.html
[2] http://www.nj.com/sinatra/ledger/index.ssf?/sinatra/stories/voice.html
[3] http://www.understandingrace.org/history/society/post_war_economic_boom.html
[4] http://www.understandingrace.org/history/society/post_war_economic_boom.html
[5] http://www.ushistory.org/us/53d.asp
[6] http://www.rockabillyhall.com/billhaley.html
[7] http://americasmusic.tribecafilminstitute.org/session/view/rock
[8] http://americasmusic.tribecafilminstitute.org/session/view/rock
[9] http://americasmusic.tribecafilminstitute.org/session/view/rock
[10] http://americasmusic.tribecafilminstitute.org/session/view/rock
[11] http://americasmusic.tribecafilminstitute.org/session/view/rock
[12] http://www.beatlesinterviews.org/db1966.0304-beatles-john-lennon-were-more-popular-than-jesus-now-maureen-cleave.html
