Premium Essay

Music of the 60's -Protest Songs

In: Film and Music

Submitted By Merissabasens
Words 1203
Pages 5
The sixties are known as a generation fulfilled with experimenters, revolutionaries and freethinkers possessed by their own creative force to come together to tackle the political and social problems of their time. In a piece titled “The Times They Are A-Changin’: The Music of Protest,” Robert Rosenstone describes how the decade revolutionized music, not only “breaking down some of the old forms in which it was for along time straight-jacketed,” but inspiring new subject matter (Rosentone 291). Music was no longer just about love anymore. It dealt with the real world in which people live including civil rights demonstrations, drug experiences, war, interracial dating and explicit sexual encounters (Rosenstone 291). Rosenstone explains that the success of these songs in the early sixties prompted others to be written and from the second half of the decade on there was a full efflorescene of such topical songs written by young people for their peers.
Many of these songs are referred to as protest songs. During this time, many American citizens chose to clearly denounce the United State’s involvement in the Vietnam War. Artists such as Bob Dylan, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Buffalo Springfield addressed their views through their music as a surefire way to raise awareness and bring people together. It is argued that the so-called antiwar anthem of this time was a song titled, “Give Peace a Chance” by John Lennon and I couldn’t agree more. An ideal protest song that is still loved and shared today, Time Magazine even recognized the song in 2011 as one of the top ten protest songs of all-time
To me, the musical setting of “Give Peace A Chance” is the first and most influential aspect while interpreting the song. In an online Time Magazine Photos article, it explains the song’s celebrated story. On March 25, 1969, five days after the wedding of John Lennon and

Similar Documents

Free Essay

60's Essay

...Sixties Essay The 60’s began a period of innocence and hope. However, it soon began to behold like a time of anger and violence. Many protested to demand an end to the immoral treatment of blacks, protested to demand an end to the war in Vietnam, And protested to demand full equality for women. Many controversial issues came up rapidly. The rebellion and violence afflicted the youth of America. The effect was especially bad because of the time period in which they had developed. By the middle 1950s, most of the youth’s parents had jobs that paid well. And they were very satisfied with their lives. They educated their children with what were known as "middle class" ethics. These contained a knowledge in God, hard work, and service to their country. Eventually, much of the youth in America began to question these beliefs. They felt that their parents' values were not enough to help them with the social hardships of the 1960s. They rebelled by against their prior ways by letting their hair grow long, and wearing odd clothing. Their anger was strongly communicated through music. Rock-and-roll music had become very prominent in America in the 1960s. Many people did not approve of it because they thought it was too sexual and demeaning, and they found the words inappropriate and harmful. The beatles came out with a protest song called “Revolution”. A revolution defined is, a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system.” This song was mainly about revolting...

Words: 606 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

1968

...the Roaring’ Twenties, the GI Generation for the forties, and the 60’s may just have an endless list. One year in the 60’s though stood out from the rest; 1968 was quite possibly one of the most influential years in American History. A counter-culture tore through classic American Traditions, a controversial war segregated the population, protests, assassinations, and riots were front page news every couple of months. These were times of trouble yet growth in the American culture, and we are still feeling the effects of them today. 1968 With Tom Brokaw takes the viewer into the past by compiling footage and interviews with those who lived through the key events of 1968. Brokaw speaks with those who were first pioneers of the counter culture, those close friends and associates of both Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy (both assassinated), musicians such as Bruce Springsteen, Arlo Guthrie, Michelle Phillips who experienced how influential music was to the counter culture, police and protestors alike who prevented and participated in riots, and the list continues. Each of these interviews gives us, the viewer, a better understanding of chaotic of a decade the 60’s were, and how many up and downs there were within the single year of 1968. Focusing specifically on the music and events that shaped the music of the 60’s, it’s funny to actually see the various connections between the events and the music of the time era. In the opening clips of the documentary we are given...

Words: 631 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Nina Waymone's Accomplishments

...deeply involved in the service music of their Methodist church. “African-American spiritual and gospel music surrounded Eunice [Simone] from birth” and from a very early age Simone “displayed a natural ability for music.” (Freyermuth, pg.1) At just “two and a half [years old] her parents found Eunice sitting at their family...

Words: 1926 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

The 60's

...The Sound of the 60’s The 1960’s was a time for both protest and peace. Many people were subject to war both foreign and domestic, and for many people music was the only way to escape. Some believe the 60’s to be the most diverse time in musical history with genres ranging from rock to psychedelic pop. With all of these choices 60’s music has earned its title. As the late 50’s came to an end, the rock stars of the time were still putting out hits. But the older pop stars were having trouble staying surfaced because they couldn’t find a way to make their music appealing to this new generation of kids. The pop scene was soon taken over by these new young artists like the Beach Boys and the Four Seasons. The most popular subgenres of the...

Words: 838 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Rock and Roll

...n Roll In the 1950’s rock n roll became a dividing and unifying force, the impact of rock music was felt by the masses. Rock and Roll pitted the government, parents and the mass media against teenagers. At the same time rock and roll helped erode some of the social and political issues in America. The emergence and growth of rock n roll could be attributed to the events that took place in the 1950’s and 60’s in America (Azzam, 2007). Study of the role of rock n roll by historians evidently shows that its role was to unite the blacks and the whites by creating a common culture as well addressing the political issues during this period of warfare. This paper addresses Bob Dylan’s song of 1962 bringing out its role on addressing political and social injustices of the 1960’s. In a New York café was first heard was Bob Dylan’s song, “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’ in 1962. At this time, there was a lot of anxiety in America following the events of the Cold War. A Cuba- Soviet Union alliance was getting cozy making the Pentagon and state department analysts nervous. At this summer period, there were reports that Russia had increased their military aide in Cuba. During the same time, Rob Dylan released a dozen of songs all which were politically influenced aiming at addressing the issues transpiring during this era. Historians and journalists have always treated Dylan as a quintessential protest singer. Historians and journalists have always treated Dylan’s songs as an emblematic of the...

Words: 759 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Krautrock

...Artists took bits and pieces from multiple styles of music from Germanys past. The name Krautrock originated as a joke against the music and Germany’s culture because people were not approving of it. The term went through phases of approval and dislike. At one point artists were ashamed to be labeled a Krautrock group. The styles that characterize the Krautrock movement are very eclectic; it is described as rock, and electronic, and psychedelic, the list goes on. The history of the movement is just as colorful as the music itself. The lyrics of the songs became so influenced by current happening in Europe and around the world, from the nuclear crisis to protests across the continent. Krautrock is a staple of German music history and will remain that for near foreseeable future. Germany is regarded as a nation with an extremely diverse music culture that spans centuries and all music types and styles. There are countless forms of German-Language music. This includes Neue Deutsche Welle, german for New German Wave, Hamburger Schule, or Hamburg School, Volksmusic, Classical, German Hip Hop, Neue Deutsche Harte, a form of German metal, and possibly one of the most influential, Krautrock. (“German…) Krautrock is the name for the very avant-garde wave of music that exploded through Germany in the late 1960’s. It gained popularity throughout the 70’s especially after it spread to Great Britain. The spread of this neuvo music style was credited to a disc jockey from the British...

Words: 1612 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Rock and Roll Final

...Final Mixtape Songs: 1. Bob Dylan- Like a Rolling Stone 2. The Beatles- Hey Jude 3. Bruce Springsteen- Born to Run 4. Rolling Stones- Gimme Shelter 5. John Lennon- Imagine 6. Bob Dylan/Jimmy Hendricks- All Along The Watchtower 7. Led Zeppelin- Stairway to Heaven 8. The Beastie Boys- Fight For Your Right 9. Radiohead- Paranoid Android 10. Nirvana- Where Did You Sleep Last Night? Bob Dylan – “Like A Rolling Stone” Written in 1965, Bob Dylan’s most popular song is often cited as one of the most influential songs of the twentieth century with its accusing lyrical content delivered through Dylan’s nasally warble. While the ‘60’s are often remembered as a decade of free love and liberation, Dylan’s question of “How does it feel/To be on your own/With no direction home/A complete unknown/Like a rolling stone,” seems more menacing and sneering, as if implying that these places that this generation has idealized might have been a little harsher than many people are willing to admit. The layered composition of the song was an important stepping-stone of Dylan’s transition of acoustic folkie to world famous bandleader. The Beatles – “Hey Jude” The most popular song by the most popular band to ever exist is a slow-burning ballad written by Paul McCartney that was released in 1968 and stayed at Number One for nine weeks. The verses, which were supposedly written by McCartney to comfort John Lennon’s son Julian during his parents’ divorce...

Words: 1259 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

The Beatles

...| Emerged from Liverpool in the early 1960’s, The Beatles: George Harrison, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, together changed music, culture, lifestyles, clothing style, and political attitudes. They sadistically emerged into the American pop music scene and changed it forever. Their energetic lyrics and funky beats with their grazing controversial long hair had a the youth entranced and influenced for a lifetime. Yet those weren’t the only things that had influenced many people around the world. The Beatles involvement with the politics of peace, and experimentation with hallucinogenic drugs and Indian mysticism brought a new look into meditation and a different view of society in whole. John Lennon, the lead singer of The Beatles, was 17 when he formed his first band called The Black Jacks. The band was made up entirely of classmates from the Quarry Bank Grammar School in Liverpool, and almost immediately after they started, they changed their name to The Quarry Men, to represent their school. They played Skiffle music, which was a mixture of folk, jazz, and blues which was popular in England at the time. In the summer of 1957, The Quarry Men were setting up for a performance in a church hall when another member of the band introduced Lennon to Paul McCartney, He auditioned for the band, after they had finished their set, he was immediately invited to join in October, 1957. By February 1958 Lennon’s style in music started moving increasingly away from skiffle...

Words: 2521 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

1960's Influence On Popular Culture

...1960’s were the most influential decade when popular culture changed the world Of the many significant events in the 20th century, the two world wars, the cold war and Vietnam, space exploration and the dramatic impacts of automation and technology on everyday life, culminating with the popularity of personal computers and the birth of the internet towards the end of the millennium, arguably no other decade had as significant an impact on popular culture as did the 1960’s. What we witness is a transition from a conformist society at the start of the decade to a counter-culture of anti-war protests, pushes towards racial and sexual equality, free love and drug influences like never before. As...

Words: 1985 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Sociological Portrait: Milestone 1

...English 123 II – 2.2 Final Project Milestone One: Annotation Bibliography By Vincent Berry WHAT IS YOUR RESEARCH QUESTION? Are record labels racism and political in the music industry? What impact does racism and politics have on the artist and fan base? SUMMORIZE SOURCE INFORMATION FOR EACH ANNOTATION Suisman, David. "Co Workers in the Kingdom of Culture: Black Swan Records and the Political Economy of African American Music." Teaching the Journal of American History Vol. 90, No. 4.March 2004 (2004): 1295-1324. Web. 1 Mar. 2004. African American owned Record Company, which produced records for African American consumers, was faced with attempts by a large record corporation to force them into bankruptcy. Why would a large company do this for such a small African American owned company? How would it merit attention from African American people in this medium when you have more important subjects like voting rights and lynching? Moreover, why would it merit any attention at all, not to mention, selling records to black consumers. This article answers these questions and investigates the rise and fall of the small record company and explores the political economy in which it operated. Black Swan Records created by Henry H. Pace, who saw a way to respond to a hostile environment that African American people faced with, both in the entertainment industry and in American society. The protégé of W.E.B Du Bois, also saw that African Americans were not equally even when they...

Words: 1774 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Nujabes Passages Analysis

...this last verse to the first one by adding his own touch to the golden rule instead of "treat other as you would like to be treated," Nujabes states that people should treat others better than they would treat themselves. Such ideals have been upheld by men such as Martin Luther King Jr, who lead the most peaceful protest ever, even when police brutality was at its peak due to racial tensions. Instead,...

Words: 1041 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Bealtemania

...Beatlemania Beatlemania is a term that was used for fans of the band group Beatles. On August 23, 1963 marked the earnest start of 'Beatlemania' on home ground in England since the Beatles released the single 'She Loves You', which then took first place on the British charts for seven weeks. It was especially young girls, who waited outside the Beatles TV studio for days, to get one of the few tickets to their concerts. “Beatlemania: 'the screamers' and other tales of fandom” is an article about the Beatlemanias who was a fan group who choked the older generation. The sender is a music writer from “The Guardian” named Dorian Lynskey. The expression “Beatlemania” allegedly coined when a radio reporter saw the fans behavior and Went to the promoter who told him that the Beatles caused their reaction. “ A Radio Scotland reporter turned to Lothian and gasped, "For God's sake Andi, what's happening?" .."Don't worry, it's only… Beatlemania." A ticket to a Beatle concert was not easy to get, therefore young girls would go a little bit to fare, just to get a ticket. When Beatles was playing, the crowd was very noisy, the girls screamed a lot, and they were all happy to see their favorite bands. “"All the girls talked about marrying their favorite Beatle and I think that terrified our parents," says Linda Ihle, who was a 13-year-old”. “Throughout 1963 there had been reports of teenage girls screaming, crying, fainting and chasing the band down the street”. Teenage...

Words: 1118 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

The 60's

...following essay is my own work and that I have not received any unauthorized assistance with it. Signed: Michael Raymond, November 30, 2013. “Write an essay interpreting how one rock group or singer's music reflected and/or influenced the 1960s.” Living Dead: The Cultural Impact of the Grateful Dead The decade of the 1960’s saw plenty of musicians become involved in the protest movement. Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell, among others, wrote of the injustices of American society. While the Beatles were singing “All You Need Is Love”, the Rolling Stones wrote about the “Street Fighting Man”. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young sang about the Kent State shootings in “Ohio”. Country Joe McDonald encouraged the burning of draft cards while leading the “Fish Cheer”. However, the degree of influence each had on not just the 1960’s, but ensuing decades waned as burnout, family life, and lifestyle choices took their toll. The act whose music reflected and influenced not just the 60’s, but decades to come, was the Grateful Dead. The music of the Dead reflected the counterculture of the 1960’s, fostered a self-sustaining, traveling multicultural community, and delivered a message of peace and love for thirty years. San Francisco was the center of the counterculture movement of the 1960’s. The Haight-Ashbury neighborhood attracted thousands of youths from across the country, looking to drop out of traditional society and build a new society. In the middle of this scene, living at 710 Ashbury...

Words: 725 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Rock and Roll on Drugs

...Abstract Throughout all of history people have been using and experimenting with drugs especially artists and musicians. Numerious musician have reluctantly admitted to or actually proclaimed their use of drugs. The general conscious of these “artists” is that their drug use has unlocked a higher level of creativity. As trendsetters and role models this use of drugs was emulated by audiences across the United States and Great Britain. To such a point as references to mind altering drugs were appearing in Beats poems and essays and even protest songs of the middle 1950s. As music progressed through the year’s drug use (by artists and fans) and references became more mainstream. This paper will look at two specific band, The Beatles and the Grateful Dead. Rock and Roll on Drugs Drug use and music have been intertwined for many years. This use whether illegal or legal has had both positive and negative impacts on the artists and their success. While the creative juices may be flowing while under the influence of drugs the final outcome (maybe years down the road) almost always ends on a negative note. Even dating back to 1830 when Hector Berlioz wrote his most famous work “Symphonie Fantastique” he detailed the effects of an opium induced dream, specifically in the fourth movement. In an interview on June 16, 1967, Paul McCartney was asked if he ever took drugs, he said “After I took it (LSD), it opened my eyes. We only use one-tenth of our brain. Just think what we could accomplish...

Words: 1507 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Places

...musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the folk-acoustic tradition. Singer-songwriters often provide the sole accompaniment to an entire composition or song, typically using a guitar or piano; both the compositions and the arrangements are written primarily as solo vehicles, with the material angled toward topical issues—sometimes political, sometimes introspective, sensitive, romantic, and confessional. Contents  [hide]  * 1 History * 2 North America, United Kingdom, and Ireland * 3 Cantautori, the Italian tradition * 4 Latin traditions * 5 Soviet Union and Russia * 6 Bulgaria * 7 Romania * 8 Netherlands * 9 Norway * 10 Periodicals that include coverage of singer-songwriters * 11 See also * 12 References * 13 Further reading | ------------------------------------------------- [edit]History Théodore Botrel The concept of a singer-songwriter can actually be traced to ancient bardic culture, which has existed in various forms throughout the world.[citation needed] Poems would be performed as chant or song, sometimes accompanied by a harp or other similar instrument. After the invention of printing, songs would be written and performed by ballad sellers. Usually these would be versions of existing tunes and lyrics, which were constantly...

Words: 3740 - Pages: 15