Rocking the 50s: A Grandfathers Perspective on the Rise of Rock and Roll

Abstract

Rock and Roll Music in the 1950s by Student’s Name As part of the course requirement, I have to interview a person in the 50s and get to know about their view on Rock and Roll music when it emerged in America. This task was quite interesting since I come from a family where people love music. One person who struck my thoughts was my grandfather, Samuel Jakes. He likes it when we call him ‘Sam” and thinks it makes him feel young and digital. Samuel was born in 1934 and was 16 in 1950. He is a very charming, lovely and funny guy and a diehard lover of music and it was no question that he was the one I would interview. He was a dancer and frequently mentioned Fred Astaire during his conversations as the best dancer of all time. Last Tuesday, I got an opportunity to interview him face to face and he was very receptive and eager to listen and answer my questions. I invited him for lunch, and we had our interview in a hotel and since he loved music, I was direct. My first question was,” What do you understand about Rock and Roll music?” “What an interesting question!” He said. He said that was the popular music genre during his teenage years in the mid 1950’sthat contained the combination of various elements of jazz, country music, blues, and R&B making it different from other music. He praised the lyrics as insightful, sweet melodies and electric performances. “I love Rolling Stone,” he said. Rolling Stone is one of his favorite artists and through his work, he loved Rock and Roll more. He was conversant of famous artists of Rock and Roll at the time and he mentioned musicians such as; The Everly Brothers, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Bill Haley and His Comets, the Diamonds, the Drifters, and Chuck Berry. He had a long list which made me believe that he was the right person to seek closure on this type of music. My second question was, “What did the Community think about R&R? The emergence of this music in the 150s was overwhelming and the Americas were thrilled and excited about the music genre. According to him, music was accepted deeply in society and gelled in popular culture. It influenced the language, fashion, attitudes, and lifestyles of individuals. The music was radical and educative and its lyrics pointed out political issues, racism, women's discrimination, drug abuse, and civil rights. “As a teenager then, I understood what is meant by freedom and change in teenager behavior.” it was a hallmark for exploitation and creation of a generational gap. The music impacted society as a whole. It was exciting how my grandfather was conversant about Rock and Roll music. He was very convinced of Rock and Roll music on the issue of race. The blacks rose...