CULTURAL EFFECT OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL.

Brett Moore

ROCK ‘N’ ROLL…

• Rock ‘n’ roll first came about during the 1950’s with megastars such as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison, making their break through's into the world of music. Until the inception of such stars music globally was very safe and rarely pushed the boundaries, however the use of loud guitars and music that makes people want to dance and move envied many of the establishments including radio stations with songs such as ‘Devil in Disguise’ and ‘Hard Headed Woman’ by Elvis Presley being deemed inappropriate for the BBC’s listeners when released. A stark contrast in todays radio station censorship to which is seemingly “anything goes”

ELVIS PRESLEY

• Elvis is referred to as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll and indeed he was the pioneer, John Lennon was once quoted saying ‘Before Elvis there was nothing’ and indeed he was correct. Elvis was once banned from being filmed on the popular Ed Sullivan show as producers feared that his hip gyrations would have a lasting and negative effect on viewers. Elvis and indeed the entire rock ‘n’ roll genre was the first to oppose the samey, safe music to which had previously graced the sound waves. The genre forced a new society to be born in the eyes of many, with young teenage boys wanting to be Elvis and the young girls wanting to be with Elvis, and so indeed the ‘fan girl’ was born a notion that is to last forever in the history of music. You may therefore had Elvis and co not pushed the boundaries during the Rock ‘n’ Roll 50’s would we have ever heard modern acts such as Kanye West and Rihanna. Therefore in my opinion without Rock ‘n’ Roll there would be nothing and therefore the cultural impact of the genre is unquestionable.