Music Throughout History

Everthing we have done is class this week has taught be about how music has not only influenced our culture, but changed alot throughut history. The main example that I can think of is Elvis. He was a teenager whose theme was teenage rebellion, and probably is one of the biggest artists of all time. Elvis brought black and white music together, and even demonstrated this by covering a black song. This brought alot of controversy because many people were still really hung up with Jim Crow laws and segregation. He also crossed a line that nobody seemed to have crossed before by dancin with his gyrating hips, duck walk, and using his guitar as a phallic symbol. His rock and roll blurs the boundary between masculinity and femininity. Elvis started anew generation of rebellion and because of this teenage girls all over were obsessed with him. He was definitely a reason for the rise in rock and roll popularity, even though he was criticized by many for his provocative ways, however, I believe that is half the reason Elvis's popularity was so soaring. Overall, rock and roll plays a bigger role in the growth of our country than I ever could have imagined.