Articles in Home | Arts and Entertainment | Music

Music: The Beginning of Rock and Roll For Me - (1955)

By: Jerry Aragon , Posted On: Friday, October 13, 2006

In the 1950's, television sets were only affordable for the privileged, so my family could not afford one, and so we listened to radio. My uncle had a television at his house, and when us kids first saw a television set for the first time, we were afraid of it! Hey, we were 10-12 years old, and there were few television sets anywhere in the country! We wondered, how they could get all those little figures in such a little box! (Hey, we were kids and television was new to all of us)

In the late 1950's, my father bought a television set, and we watched shows like Lucy; the Honeymooners; My Little Margie; Leave It To Beaver; Ozzie and Harriet; 77 Sunset Strip; Life of Riley; Flash Gordon; the Millionaire, Ed Sullivan; Gun Smoke, etc. Television was new to everyone all across the country. But, there was one television show, that was a MUST on our to-do list...and, that show was American Bandstand! The oldest American teen-ager, Dick Clark, hosted the show for many years, when it was broadcast (live) out of Philadelphia EVERYDAY! At that time, Dick Clark was probably in his mid-twenties.

Because of American Bandstand...it was television and rock and roll that teamed up, to spread the music of rock and roll throughout the country. As kids, we watched all the singers and groups that came out on American Bandstand to showcase their talents. What was amazing, is the fact, that many of these stars were only teen-agers or in their early twenties at the time...such as Smokey Robinson; Leslie Gore; Carol King; Buddy Holly; Paul Anka; Neal Sedaka; and many others. Many of the hits they sang...they wrote themselves! And, the hits they wrote back then, still thrive today! (2006) What a great time to grow up!

At the community center down the street, from where we lived, we attended dances (sock-hops) every week! Everyone showed up, including Long Tall Sally; Peggy Sue; Nadine and we would all "splish-splash the night away! There was only one "type" of dance that was popular going on at the time..."Band-standing," which was similar to jitter-bugging! Everyone on American Bandstand did it, so we learned from watching the dancers on the show!

It was exciting to get off from school about three in the afternoon...race home...so we could see all the new stars on American Bandstand! One after another...all the biggies of rock and roll came on the show! Little Richard; Jerry Lee Lewis; Buddy Holly; Connie Francis; the Platters; the Drifters; Chuck Berry; the Coasters; Fats Domino; somebody named Elvis-somebody-or-another...and, the list was endless! There were, of course, no oldies at that time...as these singers, songs, songwriters and performers were the main ingredients of the beginning of the rock and roll era!

But, rock and roll was not liked by everyone at the time! As a matter of fact, it was down-right hated! Parents; school officials; the government; churches; and the "establishment," frowned on rock and roll right from the beginning! "Rock and roll was corrupting our kids."..was the cry! Certain songs were banned from the church, and the "establishment frowned on rock and roll. It was later in the mid-1960's, when the drug culture came onto the scene, and it was then...when rock and roll was more accepted by the establishment!" After all, parents thought it was best for their kids to be having fun with music...than to get into the hazards of drugs!

If you were over 30 years old at that time, you were OLD...not trusted...and you were part of the "establishment!" You were...what Bill Cosby calls, "OLD PEOPLE!"

But, rock and roll was and IS here to stay! In the early 1960's, Mo-Town came onto the scene, which included greats like Smokey Robinson; Marvin Gaye; the Supremes; the King of Soul; the Queen of Soul and the Everybody of Soul. I remember Little Stevie Wonder, when he was only ten years old, singing Fingertips (1%262). Singer/songwriters had block-busters at that time, and they were so young! How could so much talent exist throughout the 1960's? The television shows "Shin Dig" and Solid Gold added to the popularity of rock and roll. Spreading the word about rock and roll as well, was the long time running...the Ed Sullivan Show, where many newcomers got their start, including Elvis and the Beatles!

It was 1964...and the British Invasion...I was a freshman at the University of New Mexico. Rock and roll continued to dominate the airwaves, but now, it was more accepted, and along with Elvis...it was the Beatles and the Rolling Stones who topped the charts. And, the Monkees, were one of the few groups that rivaled the Beatles in the late 1960's in popularity!

As kids, we couldn't afford (45 rpm records), but we had a friend down the street, whose parents bought their daughter records, and we went over there all the time to boogie to the latest hits! I learned to take wax off the dance floor at a young age! In the early 1960's, dance partners split apart, and danced on their own! At that time, the dance was called the "slop," and in 2006, the "slop" is still around, it's just called by a different name!

American Music Awards: Throughout the 1960's and 70's, I loved to see the American Music Awards, because there were all the "biggies" who lead the way in rock and roll. Gladys Knight; Linda Ronstadt; John Denver; Barbara Strisand; Peter, Paul and Mary; The Jackson Five; Bobby Darin; the Carpenter's; Three Dog Night; the Moody Blues; Fleetwood Mac; the Bee-Gees; Neil Diamond; CCR; Herman's Hermits; the Dave Clark Five; and on and on and on! Even Bill Cosby had a hit song in the late 60's, with "The LIttle Old Man!"!

Woodstock? A big orgy...if you like orgies! A huge slumber party of love and drugs...over 500,000 people in New York! It was a time of free-love; dope and alcohol. Like the song says...everybody gets stoned... There was one famous band member who said, "If you remember the 60's...you wern't there!" Well...to this dope head I say...I remember the 60's because I WAS there!

And, the 1960's were violent and turbulent times...not only because of Viet Nam, but because the 60's were a time of CHANGE in America! The civil rights movement; women's lib; equal rights for all. Civil disobedience; rebellion; cities burned...during, what was called at the time, "the long hot summers? The Congress didn't get it...the United States of America was and is NOT a government of the Congress...or a government of the Republicans...or the government of the Democrats...it's the government of the PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES...AND CITIES BURNED TO GET THE MESSAGE ACROSS TO THE DOPE HEADS IN CONGRESS...CITIES BURNED EVERY YEAR UNTIL CONGRESS GOT THE MESSAGE! After Watergate, in the early 1970's, the DOPE HEADS in the Congress FINALLY got the MESSAGE...and now...OWNERSHIP OF AMERICA WAS RETURNED TO THE PEOPLE...WHERE IT WILL REMAIN FOREVER!

At that time, I don't think there was a major city in America, where the National Guard was not called out because of rebellion! Here, in Albuquerque, New Mexico the National Guard was called out in 1971, after the three students at Kent State were killed by the National Guard. Fires were set at the University of New Mexico in protest of Viet Nam and the Kent State killings!

And, the music of the time reflected the mood of the country! Hundreds of protest songs were written and recorded, and many of those songs are still popular today. (2006) It was a time of, "do your own thing," independent thinking...free and clear from the "establishment!" But, the music continued!

I would say that around 1970, rock and roll began to change. On the one side, was "heavy metal sound," which I did not listen to! And, going in a different direction was something called, "disco!" Over the years, people put labels on music, and to this day in 2006, I have no idea what "disco" means! The only thing I can say about disco, is that me and my wife saw the movie, "Grease" in the 1970's, and we loved the music! The movie itself was a dork...but the music was great!

Sadly...Rick Nelson; Bobby Darin; Eddy Rabbit; John Denver; Buddy Holly; Roy Orbison: Mama Cass Eliot; Jimi Hendrix; Van Morrison; Janice Joplin; Roger Miller and of course...the "KING"...all died so young!

One of the most ironic things that happened to me in the mid-1990's when the Rolling Stones appeared in Albuquerque, N.M. (where I live) You remember, back when rock and roll first began, parents and the "establishment' hated the music! It was 1995, and I was taking a computer course at a local community college, and the Stones were in town. The community college was located near the football stadium, where the Stones were to perform.

That night, I got out of class about 6:30 in the evening, before the Stones show, and, as I waited for a traffic light to change, I noticed 40 and 50 years old PARENTS taking their CHILDREN to a Stones concert! Can you imagine that? What a difference a generation makes! Back in the 1950's/60's parents hated rock and roll, and now those KIDS are taking their KIDS to a rock and roll concert...UNBELIEVABLE!

In the year 2006, the oldies dominate the music airwaves, at least where I live. And, the music will continue to dominate, because the music and lyrics are so great...they will never die! I never hear too much about new music much anymore! Oh...well...as the song says...rock and roll is here to stay...whether the songs be the oldies or the new songs coming along!

I've always admired musicians...those who can sing a song...write a song...and those who can play a musical instrument! As for me...the only instrument I can play...IS THE RADIO...and, I don't even do that well at all!

During the many years of this musical explosion for me, I cannot forget one of my favorite all-time groups...the Chipmunks...Theodore, Simon...and Alvin........A-L-V-I-N......... A---A---A---A-----L---L---L---L-------V---V---V---V------I---I---I---I-------N---N---N---N---!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Article Source: http://www.many-articles.com

 Loading ...

Syndicate Music Related Articles Via RSS!  

Boost your websites' ranking in the search engines, and attract more repeat visitors to your websites with automatic and continually updating content via Really Simple Syndication (RSS). To syndicate the above article "Music: The Beginning of Rock and Roll For Me - (1955)" and other "Music" related articles at your websites and/or blogs, simply click on the XML Icon above to grab the RSS feed -- It's FREE!

Category: Home | Arts and Entertainment | Music