Rock and Roll: Boomer Babies
Gen X and Gen Y switch on their iPods and listen to their latest downloads. In the baby boomer period, transistor radios were the ‘iPods’ when almost everyone predictably listened to The Beatles and The Motown Sound. The music and entertainment landscape of the yesteryears are not only about these two singing sensations, as the boomer music industry culminated in the rise of Elvis Presley when ‘Rock and Roll’ was the beat boomers listened to.
It was in 1956 when Presley began to gather the attention of Americans, particularly teenagers. Presley never failed in attracting a crowd that would usually end up in a state of frenzy. When the icon moved into the top charts, over and over again, other performers saw him as an unmatched rival and many of them faded out of the spotlight. His performance often resulted in riots. For instance, it took one hundred National Guardsmen to prevent crowd trouble during his two concerts in 1956.
The cultural impact of Elvis Presley was not only limited to the teenagers of the boomer period. Many American adults regarded Presley as the “first rock symbol of teenage rebellion” and heavily criticized the icon, particularly in mainstream media. The New York Daily News, for instance, asserted that Presley made popular music reach “its lowest depths in the ‘grunt and groin antics’” that he uses. Even the Jesuits condemned Presley in the weekly magazine, America.
Equally popular to Presley in the entertainment world was Frank Sinatra but like many others, Sinatra did not have a positive review of Presley’s music when he said: “His kind of music is deplorable, a rancid smelling aphrodisiac. It fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people.”
Beyond show business, the FBI files revealed that they had the impression of Presley as a “definite danger to the security of the United States.” Psychologists joined in the debate over Presley’s music and antics and pressed on the possibility of having young Americans “aroused to sexual indulgence and perversion by certain types of motions and hysteria—the type that was exhibited at the Presley show.” Amid all the disconcerting accusations, Presley contested that there is nothing vulgar or immoral in the way he performs on stage.
Despite all of the allegations especially on a supposed racist remark that Presley made, the rock symbol continued to dominate America’s music industry throughout the late 1950s. The boomers of today may have listened to the new generation of performers but they cannot stop carrying the past that was Presley. Many of them still play Presley in the present times.
Have a personal Elvis memory? Continue your trip down memory lane at boomeryearbook.com
www.boomeryearbook.com is a social networking site connecting the Baby Boomer generation. Share your thoughts, rediscover old friends, or expand your mind with brain games provided by clinical psychologist Dr. Karen Turner. Join today to discover the many ways we are helping Boomers connect for fun and profit.
Tags: baby boomer generation, Elderly Problems, marketing to baby boomers, Online Optical Illusions, Psychological Articles