Devil's Music pt2Lets look at the cultural revolution known as Rock-n-Roll con't

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, listeners. I cannot thank you enough for stopping by.
It's time for another episode of the Greatest Cultural Moments podcast,
a show dedicated to people and the rich history that
we have. You should be aware that today's episode is

(00:21):
a continuation of last week's episode. We got into a
topic a bit too big for a single episode. We
started talking about the cultural revolution of a rock and roll.
We talked about its origins and historical context. We talked

(00:45):
about the musical roots and technological advancements. We got into
rock and rolls cultural and social impact. We've talked about
race relations and integration. We talked about controversy and moral panic.

(01:07):
It is the Devil's music, after all. Then we talked
about media and commercialization. We talked about rock and roll
and film and television and the music industry's shift. We
talked about long term influence and legacy. Today's episode, we're

(01:31):
going to start off with political and social movements behind
rock and roll. Songs like Sam Cooks A Change is
Gonna Come and Marvin Kay's What's Going On used rock
and soul as calls to action for civil rights support.

(01:54):
Rock and roll helped amplify Vietnam protest efforts. CCR Dylan
than the Doors voiced the disillusionment of generation, and Janis
Joblin and Gray Slick and later artists challenged gender norms
threw aggressive and expressive performance. Bowie t Rex and others

(02:20):
used fashion and music to break gender binaries. With Freddie
Mercury and Little Richard, the heteroonormative culture was challenged subtly
or overtly, and the nineteen seventies punk returned to the

(02:40):
wrongness of early rock, but affused it with anti corporate
anger and anarchic politics, founding icons like Elvis Presley. The
King crossed racial musical lines. He blended gospel with blues
and embodied the sexual energy of the new era. Chuck Berry,

(03:05):
the architect of guitar driven rock with lyrics about Carr's
school teenaged life. Little Richard, with his outrageous, flamboyant and
electrifying tooty fruity, shattered the norms. Jerry Lee Lewis was wild,

(03:26):
dangerous and full of piano slimming fury. Buddy hollymerged country
and pop, pioneering the singer songwriter model. Wanda Jackson and
Janis Martin were women in rockabilly who defied gender roles
and added grit to the genre. The Ed Sullivan Show

(03:49):
provided national exposure for many first time rockers, including the Beatles,
who debuted in nineteen sixty four, which changed everything. There
were often during tensions. Segregation laws caused Boycott's cancelations and
tense moments for integrated line ups. The idea of rock

(04:12):
show as a spectacle begins here with live energy, mania, fainting,
and hysteria. Weren't just about the music. Next, let's take
a look at some tragedies that shaped the music's mythology.
The Day the Music died in nineteen fifty nine, a

(04:32):
plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchy Allens, and the
Big Bopper. This marked the end of innocence for early rock,
and Chuck Berry was jailed for transporting a minor, while
Jerry Lee Lewis was blacklisted for marrying his thirteen year
old cousin. Little Richard temporarily left music for religion. Some

(04:56):
experienced the modernum effect. A tragedy became mythos, enhancing the rebellious,
fragile beauty of early rock icons. Gender nonconformity in early
rock and rolls, such as Little Richard a black, openly
flamboyant artist, challenged gender norms in nineteen fifties with his

(05:21):
wild style, vocal flamboyance, and suggestive lyrics. Many LGBTQ plus
performers were forced to remain closeted due to social norms,
but rock coded expressions of identity. Songs with ambiguous pronouns, performance, style,
and fashion became subtle rebellion the glam rock movement. Acts

(05:46):
like David Boid, Lou Reid, and Jabreath cited early rockers
as foundational influences. Rock gave LGBTQ plus youth a rebellious
template of self assertion. How about rock and roll and
Latino culture. Richie Vallens was a Mexican American pioneer whose

(06:07):
nineteen fifty eight hit La Bamba fused traditional Mexican Falcon
rock rhythm. He proved rock could reflect Latino identity. The
East La scene, where bands like The Midnighters and Cannibal
and the Headhunters brought Chicano flavor to rock during the
nineteen sixties, setting the stage for Latin rock of the

(06:31):
seventies such as Santana and Rock and espanel the rock
and roll blueprint influenced the rise of a Spanish language
rock across Latin America, birthing major scenes in Argentina, Mexico,
and Spain. Some women in early rock and roll include

(06:53):
trailblazers like Wanda Jackson Let's Have a Party and Brenda Lee.
Sweet Nothings and Connie France's were among the few women
to break into the male dominated genre. Female rockers faced
criticism for being too sexual, too loud, or too aggressive,
while male peers were celebrated for the same traits. Early

(07:17):
fan magazines often trivialized or infantilized female rock artists, promoting
them as cute rather than musically skilled. They paved the
way for future female rockers like Janis Joplin, Joan Jet,
and Chrissy Hind to embrace rougher, more assertive styles. In

(07:39):
the nineteen fifties, US teens controlled over ten billion dollars
in spending annually. Much of it was spent on records, clothes,
and concerts. Record companies realized rock was not just a trend,
it was a permanent, youth driven money machine. Marketing shifted

(08:01):
to youth. First. Brands began pairing with rock culture. Soda
shops and jukeboxes were key gathering spots, and products like
Coca cola became synonymous with youth rebellion. Rock concerts birthed
the modern tour model, with revenue from tickets, merge, and

(08:22):
appearances forming an artist's income ecosystem. Rock songs were initially
controversial in ads. Over time, their use in car, soda,
and clothing commercials helped solidify their emotional and aspirational power.
Marketers began co opting edginess to sell rebellion in a safe,

(08:45):
sanitized way think Levi genes ads using rock backing tracks.
Radio DJs sponsored teen dances and record hops, often blending
business with culture building. Pay for play parties were as
much business as entertainment. Cities like Boston and Memphis banned

(09:10):
rock songs for obscene lyrics. Some Southern states passed local
ordinances restricting suggestive music. In the nineteen fifties and sixties,
government bodies examined the links between rock and juvenile delinquency.
These laid the groundwork for later battles over media content.

(09:31):
The Federal Communications Commission began monitoring DJs and state owners
more closely, especially after the Payola scandal and several early
artists such as Barry Lewis Richard were prosecuted or investigated,
partially due to raise fame and moral panic intersecting. Many

(09:54):
high schools banned rock from proms or school functions for
being immoral. These moves sometimes resulted in student protests. Educators
often saw rock music as a threat to discipline and
social order, blaming it for the declining academic performance and
rebellious behavior. By the nineteen seventies, schools began using rock

(10:17):
to teach poetry, history and social studies. The cultural shift
was complete. What was once dangerous became educational, and now
it's practically on the Golden Oldies channel, False Unfortunate. That's
all the time that we've got for today's episode of
the Greatest Cultural Moments podcast. I can't thank you enough.

(10:38):
We're listening to another episode in until next time.