Music Through the Ages: The 1950s
Photo Credit: Christopher Krohn / Shutterstock
By Alekhya Maram and Anna Ravid
After the end of WWII, the United States faced the challenge of returning back to normalcy after six years of destruction and damage. With a booming Post-war economy, the 1950s ushered in a number of ideals, the most prominent of which was the prosperous nuclear family. Though women had occupied traditional male roles during the war, as soldiers came home, women’s roles reverted to housewives and homemakers.
Fueled by the mistrust bred during the Cold War, both governmental and vigilante patriotism were on the rise; hundreds of government officials were ousted for their alleged socialist or communist values and homosexuality during the reign of McCarthyism.
Though the decade started conservatively, the roots of the radical change that would manifest itself in coming decades began in the late 50’s. Notably, the Civil Rights Movement, beginning with the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955, developed throughout the 50’s and 60’s. The development of American music mirrored this social transition: the popularity of more traditional genres of Big Band Swing and Easy listening began to subside, while blues and country music converged to create rock and roll.
The self-proclaimed “King of Rock and Roll,” Elvis Presley, signed onto Sun Records in the 1950s, and became an instant phenomenon. Presley’s upbeat rock music and risqué dance moves appealed to teens while older generations generally disapproved of him. His overwhelming popularity made him one of the first teen icons. With hits such as “Hound Dog” and “Jailhouse Rock,” Presley brought the rhythms, sounds, and vocals of blues and swing into mainstream culture in the form of Rock and Roll.
Another popular Sun Records star of the decade was country singer Johnny Cash. Cash’s 1955 hit, “Folsom Prison Blues,” helped him skyrocket to fame. Though Cash’s voice is deep and sonorous, many of his songs on his 1957 album, “With His Hot and Blue Guitar,” have similar basslines and tunes, making them hard to distinguish from one another.
Though Elvis Presley is credited with popularizing rock, Chuck Berry and Fats Domino were crucial in its invention.
Berry’s 1959 album, “Berry Is On Top,” was one of the pioneers of the electric blues style that would come to be known as rock ‘n roll. Though the album contains some stunning pieces like “Johnny B. Goode,” many of the songs contain the same opening riff and lack in variety.
Fats Domino took a different approach to blues music, infusing it with swing style joviality. His hits on the 1958 album “Fats Domino Swings” such as “Blueberry Hill” and “Ain’t That a Shame” gave rise to his fame. Domino’s album has it all; though most of the songs are upbeat, they display a variety of rhythms and tunes.
The 1950s was a defining decade in American music history, as it formed the foundation of popular music for the rest of the century.
“Deep down in Louisiana close to New Orleans
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood
Where lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode
Who never ever learned to read or write so well
But he could play a guitar just like a-ringin' a bell
Go go
Go Johnny go go
Go Johnny go go
Go Johnny go go
Go Johnny go go
Johnny B. Goode”
- Chuck Berry, “Johnny B. Goode”
