The document summarizes the major musical and cultural trends in America during the 1950s. It describes the post-war economic boom and rise of American global power. Musically, it discusses the popularity of swing and big band jazz as well as solo singers. It also outlines the development of blues music in Chicago and the growing ethnic divide in the South. Rock and roll emerged from the blending of rhythm and blues, country, and other genres, with Elvis Presley popularizing the new style among white audiences in the latter half of the decade.

1. American 1950s
experience
! Context of economic boom of post-war America - the
real victor of the second world war. New confidence
in super power status.
! As British Empire fell apart American influence across
the world expanded.
! Huge military bases across the world – Japan,
Germany, pacific islands, etc.
! Cold War started by 1949 and with death of Stalin
(1953) Russia becomes the great evil.
! Era of McCarthyism – and political witch hunts.
Conformity in dress and behavior the norm.

2. Post War Pop
! Swing lecture.
! Mainstream Jazz of Big Band.
! Solo singers – Crooners – Bing Crosby
to Frank Sinatra, Patti Page, etc.
! Billboard Charts listings.
! Music Industry Problems – The war, the
musicians strike, low sales of records,
etc.

3. Ethnic Divide
! Southern states still segregated and Jim
Crow Acts in force.
! Ku klux Clan and lynching in place.
! Most blacks did not vote and had little
political clout.
! Big difference and separation between
Northern and Southern black
communities.

4. The New Blues -
Chicago Blues
! New forms of Urban Black Blues develops in
Northern Cities in the late 40s and 50s.
! In particular amplified `Chicago’ blues becomes a
phenomena in clubs.
! Chess Records (run by Chess family) make a number
of black singers big stars – Howlin Wolf (Dust my
broom), John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Chuck
Berry, Bo Diddley, etc.
! Increasing amplified and incorporation of more
instruments into bands – drum kit, bass, saxophones,
etc.

5. ! Delta Blues
! Black Country Blues
! White Country Blues
! Jazz Combo Blues
! Skiffle
Forerunners and
Influences

6. Robert Johnson
! Crossroads

7. Earlier Blues
! 50s Black blues used a musical language developed
from earlier forms. 12 bar blues, 8-bar blues, tonal
bends and blue notes, call and response, spoken
phrases, shouts and cries, language that is direct and
pithy with full of double meaning.
! 1. Delta Blues – individual and self accompanied
singers of 20s and 30s. E.g. Robert Johnson and
Mississippi John Hurt. (also Texas and Eastern
Seaboard styles). Recorded in the South for
dislocated black communities in the Northern
Industrial cities. Small sales and small independent
labels. Artists get next to nothing.
! Groups Blues – string bands, Jug bands and
traveling show blues.

8. Mississippi John Hurt
! Hot time in old town tonight

9. Spike driver

10. Post War Blues
! City Blues – either 1.piano accompanied with
male or female singers Lightnin’ Slim or 2.
With string bass, drums, electric guitar and
harmonica. John Lee Hooker.
! Urban Blues – big band sound with
saxophones, free vocal phrases and no
harmonica – often fully arranged e.g. Joe
Jordan. Kansas City, Texas and Memphis –
Atlantic Records – biggest and longest lasting
Black (or Race label)
! Soul Music – beginnings of blues, jazz,
gospel synthesis - Ray Charles.
! Folk Influence - Leadbelly - sad laments

11. Leadbelly
! Boll Weevil

12. White Country Blues
! As part of country music
! Yodeling and hiccuping style
! 12-bar blues form
! Jimmy Rodgers
! Hank Williams

13. Hank Williams

14. Chicago Blues – Muddy
Waters

15. Jazz
1. In pre-war ear Jazz was seen as urban black music – in
contrast to Blues which was seen as essentially a country black
genre.
2. During the war years Jazz becomes mainstream and is the
dominant force in the big band era. Commercialisation sets in.
Like Glen Miller, Louis Armstrong is a huge commercial star.
White and black big bands – did not mix.
3. In the post war period – jazz effectively becomes the art music of
the urban black (and some whites) while the strands of black
pop come together to form rhythm and blues.
4. Jazz turns away from popular audiences with Bebop and Harp
Bop etc, and fragments its styles and audiences. Charlie Parker
to Miles Davis, via Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane.
Occasional appearances in pop charts.

16. Deregulation of Radio
! Plethora of small radio stations across
America give rise to cross community
awareness of styles. White teenagers listing
to blues, blacks to country singers, etc.
! Many black artists with up-tempo dance
styles appeal to broad audiences – Big Joe
Turner, Louis Jordan, Influence of Swing
Jazz.

17. Big Joe Turner

18. Rhythm and Blues
! A commercial derivative of urbanised
country and blues.
! Blues band accompaniment, novelty
lyrics, some non-blues forms – Bo
Diddley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard.
! Attempts to reach a wide, predominantly
black audience using a relatively
unadorned sound.

19. Bo Diddley
! Hey Bo Diddley

20. 1955

21. Rock and Roll
! Honking saxes, heavy offbeat, echo
effects, gimmickry, teen lyrics.
! Bill Haley, Fats Domino, Elvis Presley
! Any singer black or white who reaches
a young, predominantly white audience
with something approximating a black
vocal style.

22. Bill Haley
! Rock around the clock

23. Commercialisation
! Charts listings – Billboard `race’ charts changed to
rhythm and blues in 1949. Separate charts listings
for country music and white pop.
! Radio air time
! TV appearances
! Magazines, fanzines etc
! Gathers pace after 1956 with Elvis
! Elvis becomes the first major pop star of the post war
era and galvanizes the industry.

24. Black to White
! Crossover of genre
! Cover versions
! Singing with a black blues style
! Creating Rock and Roll
! Elvis made it acceptable to white
America
! Commercial industry took off on the
back of his success

25. Elvis
! 1. Discovered by Sam Philips Sun Records in Memphis.
Started 1950 first releases 1952 recording black artists – and
country artists (also discovered Johnny Cash).
2. 19 year old truck driver Elvis had a session with Philips and
made it with That’s All Right Mama – the rest is history. Taken
on by RCA in 1956 and carried the label for 20 years.
3. During his career he made over 30 films, each worse than the
last, 146 Hot 100 hits and 75 chart albums- but few good
recordings after the first 19 months.
4. After 1962 no hits at all . Period of recluse and then attempt
to reinvent himself as Las Vegas singer – a sad caricature of
himself.

26. Hayley to Elvis

27. Elvis
! Heart Break Hotel

28. Black Artists of Late 50s
! 1. Chuck Berry
! 2. Fats Domino
! 3. Little Richard
! 4. Bo Diddley

29. White Artists
! Bill Haley
! Carl Perkins
! Jerry Lee Lewis

30. Buddy Holly
! Became the model for pop acts for much of the sixties.
! Guitar band (with the Crickets) with new innovations in studio
sound (particularly in recording drums).
! Signed with Decca in 1956 - first number one `Peggy Sue’ in
1957.
! Hiccupping vocal style a throw back to hillbilly country styles of
30s. Yet looked forward in many ways - wrote his own material,
recording innovations (double tracking, etc), line up (use of strat)
! Early death stopped a promising career but he showed what
was possible an electric guitar band.

31. White Artist of late 50s

32. Peggy Sue 1957

33. That’ll be the day –
The beginning of the
guitar band 1957

34. Bibliography
! Clarke, Donald (1995), The Rise and
Fall of Popular Music, Penguin, London
! Covach, J and Boone, G, (1997)
Understanding Rock, Oxford, OUP
! Laughey, Dan (2006) Music and Youth
Culture, Edinburgh, Edinburgh
University Press
! Frith, S and Goodwin, A (1990), On
Rock, Pop and the Written Word,
Routledge, London