Social Criticism in The Fifties– Introduction
Derided for its conformity and consumerism, 1950s America paid a price in anxiety. Prosperity existed under the shadow of a mushroom cloud. Optimism wore a Bucky Beaver smile that masked worry over threats at home and abroad. Consumption became the reigning value and essential to individual’s identity and status. Satisfaction was achieved through the purchase […]
The Affluent Society Demanded Conformity
The period after World War II was a period of significant economic growth in America. (See section above on the growth of the suburbs.) For middle‐class Americans, the 1950s were a time of prosperity. Even with three recessions during the eight years of the Eisenhower administration, the country’s per capita income rose and inflation remained […]
Women’s Role in the 1950’s – How They Dressed and How They Were Expected to Act
During wartime, women had to fill the jobs of the men who were off to war. These jobs were important to the country and women were valued for their contribution. After the war, men had come home; the jobs that women had been holding during wartime were either given back to the men returning or […]
The Fifties’ Teenage Phenomenon – Preppies, Greasers and Juvenile Delinquency
In 1941, Popular Science magazine first coined the term “teenager,” and by the middle of the 1950s members of this age group viewed themselves not as prospective adults but as a distinct group with its own identity, patterns of behavior, and tastes in music and fashion- a separate youth culture. The phrase “teenager” came into […]
Hollywood – Heroes or Hoods
Actors Marlon Brando and James Dean were the quintessential rebels idolized by the teenagers of the Fifties. While the 1950s silver screen lit up mostly with the typical Hollywood fare of Westerns and romances, a handful of films shocked audiences by uncovering the dark side of America’s youth- in “JD ‘juvenile delinquent’ films.” Marlon Brando […]
West Side Story
The teenage rebel scene was not limited to the Hollywood screen. Street gang hoods were also in the spotlight on the Broadway stage. West Side Story was a play about ethnic urban gangs that “rumble” in a musical based on “Romeo and Juliet.” The music was by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics were by Stephen Sondheim. […]
The Rise and Development of Rock & Roll in The Fifties
(Unlike the rest of the Songbook, songs in this section will have audio links, but lyrics are not included. That is because the songs in other sections are topical, where the lyrics are meant to illustrate particular events being discussed. However, in this section, the songs are the focus; the songs are not topical comment […]
Transition from Pop to Rock & Roll
In the late Forties and early Fifties, big band swing and smooth crooners were still favored by the major record labels, which were Columbia, RCA Victor, Decca, Capitol and Mercury. In the late Forties, a large number of independent labels entered the record business. It is estimated that by 1949 over four hundred new labels […]
Rock & Roll Stars and Personalities
Three people more than any others were responsible for the growth of the Rock & Roll culture in the mid-Fifties – Alan Freed, Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley. Alan Freed, a radio disc jockey (“DJ”), who originated his radio show in many Eastern cities (Cleveland (WJW), New York City (WINS)) over the years, is credited […]
Criticism of “The Devil’s Music” (Rock & Roll)
David Halberstam, in his best-selling history of the times, The Fifties, referring to rock & roll observed, “A new young generation of Americans was breaking away from the habits of its parents and defining itself by its music. There was nothing the parents could do: This new generation was armed with both money and the […]