History 476

Devine

Fall 2013

Study Questions on the Rise of Rock’n’Roll

Susan K. Cahn, “Would Jesus Dance? – The Dangerous Rhythms of Rock’n’Roll”

1. Why did the “moral guardians” of the Southern way of life see the emergence of rock music and the desegregation of schools as interconnected threats to the South’s social order? What “threat” did these two social developments pose?

2. How did the new comprehensive high schools (and integrated dance floors) fuel Southern fears about “social mixing” and undermine the Southern tradition of “knowing one’s place”?

3. Why were white teenage girls at the center of southerners’ concerns? How did they appear to be challenging traditional racial and sexual norms?

4. Why did rock’n’roll so excite white adults’ racial and sexual fears? Why did black middle class parents also fear their daughters’ love of rock music (and rock musicians)?

5. How did population migration and cultural changes during World War II lead to the emergence of rhythm and blues (and, later, rock’n’roll) on the national stage? What role did developments in the music industry and technological changes play in this process?

6. How were moralists’ criticisms of rock music often linked to class and racial prejudices as well as sexual stereotypes?

7. How had attitudes toward female sexuality changed by the 1950s? How did the reactions to and criticisms of rock music reflect these changed attitudes?

8. How did explanations for male juvenile delinquency differ from explanations for female juvenile delinquency? What accounts for the difference?

9. How did Ruth Brown and Janis Martin challenge mainstream norms regarding female sexuality? Why were “hysterical” female fans ok, but Brown and Martin beyond the pale?

10. To what extent had white teenagers’ attitudes toward “social equality” changed during the 1950s? If they had not, why did rock music still pose a threat to the Southern social order?

Grace Palladino, “Great Balls of Fire: Rhythm and Blues, Rock’n’Roll, and the Devil’s Music”

1. What role did Alan Freed play in introducing rock’n’roll music to black and white teenagers?

2. How did 1950s rock’n’roll audiences differ from 1930s swing music audiences? How did this difference demonstrate the power of the new music as a part of a distinct youth culture?

3. How did economic forces shape the development and marketing of rock music?

4. Critics later claimed the “whitening” of rock’n’roll drained it of its spirit. What evidence does Palladino introduce to argue that this wasn’t necessarily so – that even “whitened” rock signaled the inception of a teenage rebel culture?

5. How did Dick Clark differ from Alan Freed? How did Clark’s show, Bandstand, try to “contain” some of rock’s rebellious power?