A Musical Life Style

For generations it has been surmised that music alters attitudes and lifestyles.

Lets See what was happening in the 40’s:

Swing was all the rage and so was Glenn Miller

All very nice, clean cut Gentleman.

Elvis Presley with his gyrating pelvis was going to be the ruin of American Youth; When in truth America and its changing lifestyle was what made Elvis so popular. Lets take a look back, shall we:

During the post-WWII economic boom of the 1950s, many parents were able to give their teenage children much higher weekly allowances, signaling a shift in the buying power and purchasing habits of American teens. During the 1940s bobby soxers had idolized Frank Sinatra, but the buyers of his records were mostly between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two. Presley triggered a juggernaut of demand for his records by near-teens and early teens aged ten and up. Along with Presley's "ducktail" haircut, the demand for black slacks and loose, open-necked shirts resulted in new lines of clothing for teenage boys whereas a girl might get a pink portable 45 rpm record player for her bedroom. Meanwhile American teenagers began buying newly available portable transistor radios^[2] and listened to rock 'n' roll on them (helping to propel that fledgling industry from an estimated 100,000 units sold in 1955 to 5,000,000 units by the end of 1958). Teens were asserting more independence and Presley became a national symbol of their parents' consternation.

After watching this Video , I think you will agree that it was not Elvis who changed America, But America who changed and Elvis Followed.

Although Elvis was named the King Of Rock and Roll and accused of single handedly destroying America’s youth, His pelvis was nothing compared to Rockers of the 60’s; so grab your beads and lets go:

The Beatles were harmless enough, although not in suits, they are clean and well dressed.  The Beatles and groups like them were the norm until the beginning of the Vietnam War. With the beginning of the war; America changed again and the music Followed with artist such as Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, and Jimi Hendrix just to name a few.

 

When the war started – America began to burn – Bra’s, Flags, Weed, Brain Cells.

In the 70’ , although long hair remained; men were more masculine, women were more masculine and the music was really masculine ; after all America was tough :

 

By the 80’s we had forgot about Vietnam and all its poor , destroyed veterans and moved into a softer way of life: we still had Rock and Roll and the men still had long hair , but now the hair was styled and the men wore makeup:

 

By the 90’s the hair was longer and the music was lounder and stranger ; but then so was America.  Selling drugs had become big business instead of recreational entertainment.

 

Here we are , the year is 2010; America is at war with everyone , including the American people; sex and drugs are the norm, the economy has crashed, marriage and family are a joke, religion is against the law, and the new world order is in full swing.  The most popular rock song Today is :

 

As you can see , the music didn’t change America; America changed the Music.