These two songs were chosen to highlight how values and expectations have changed over time. Blue Suede Shoes by Elvis Presley from the 1950s promoted materialism and the importance of possessions. In contrast, Royals by Lorde from 2013 sends the message that wealth and status are not everything, and one should not judge others based on superficial attributes. Both songs impacted society upon their release by influencing cultural views, though in different ways related to the eras in which they were released.
1. By: Melissa McMaster and Hannah Gullace
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2. Blue Suede Shoes by Elvis
Presley
Meaning- Material things are very important in society
History- Carl Perkins first wrote the original song, however
Johnny cash’s memory of German, military regulation air
shoes (blue suede shoes) worn by someone he met, was
his inspiration. At a dance he heard someone say “Uh-uh,
don’t step on my suede's” which also helped the song.
Later, Elvis preformed a cover of this song on national
television 3 times, and therefore he is famous for it.
3. History events- a war was going on and Johnny was enrolled
in the military, where he first laid eyes on blue suede
shoes.
Message- Material things are important
Types of people- (in its day) younger people like teens and
20’s, possibly 30’s, because it was a new kind of music,
most social classes listened to it with an exception of the
very wealthy/ traditional because they are “stuck” in their
ways
4. Royals by Lorde
Meaning- Being wealthy isn’t everything
History- her real name is Ella Maria Lani Yelich-O'Connor,
and is from New Zealand. She saw the word royals on a
baseball jersey in national geographic and penned the
song around that word. Ella, as a history/ past royalty
lover, factored into the song.
5. Historic events- Past royalty shaped the idea and lyrics in
this song, and obviously her personal opinion. Also, it was
released in march 2013, so it is somewhat going along
with the less-is-more movement
Message- You shouldn’t be ashamed of who you are
Types of people- this song is aimed more towards teens
and twenties, lower social class, both genders and all
ethnicities
Category- minimal and pop
6. Values of Yesterday and
Today
The expectations, values et cetera, have changed
from the 50’s to 2013. Back then, there was so much
more pressure to have a perfect family with children,
a house in a suburb and a white picket fence. If you
did not have that you were not good enough
however, todays society has embraced a new outlook
on life which accepts all sorts of people and traditions.
Overall,the changes in culture and expectations
shape the content put within the music.
7. Impact of Blue Suede
Shoes
The release of this song had altered the big swing music
era to pop and this alteration changed the course of
musical history and influenced todays music as well. In
addition,society, mostly younger people, became
accustomed to the values within the song and became to
value material things rather than looking at the content of
someones character.
8. Impact of Royals
In songs a couple years beforehand, all you would
hear is talk about money, and fame and parties. This
song changed everyones view about the values we
have; this song taught us that even though a person
may not have the best paying job in the world, or not
the most expensive house on their street, does not
mean anything. Character is what is most important
nothing else. This song influenced many other artists
to create songs that made a vision that showed that
people are people are people.