The History of Music Genres: Part Two: The 1950s
Part Two: The 1950s: The “Golden” Years This is the second part of an ongoing series about the development and evolution of music genres which explores how they were affected by history. If you have not read Part One yet, it is here . Enjoy. America and 1950s Music The 1950s were an interesting time in the United States. The post-war prosperity was having a huge ripple effect on society as a whole as America quickly turned into a consumer-based culture. The post-war era was, as Denna Weinstein described in Rock’ n America: A Social and Cultural History , an awakening from conflict and deprivation into increasing prosperity (1). The general mood was upbeat and positive and this wastransposed into the music of the time. Technology such as radio was commonplace but slowly being replaced by a newer medium, television. ...
