The Birth of Rock, and of course Elvis!

Culture. This 7 letter word has various connotations, In my case it represents musical cultures. Since the early 50s, the genre Jazz has demised in popularity, the youth culture of the time, was desperate for something to shake up the system, they found Classical music tedious, Blues music was hard to find, due to the integrity Blues musicians have & denying the mainstream access to their illustrious genre. But then in 1951 a pre-Tina, Ike Turner and his saxophonist friend created the song 'Rocket 88' that would curve a new musical genre, by the name of Rock 'N' Roll. At the beginning of this genre, there was no stand-out musician, but then The King arrived, known to all as Elvis Presley. This was the time Rock 'N' Roll raised it's teddy boy shoulders high and proud, now with it's pioneer it could create a massive wave in the culture, and show it's societies predecessors that the youth can change the way society controls the public.

Elvis Presley, the man who whipped the world into a frenzy, the jumpsuit-clad King of Rock 'N' Roll has set the standard for musicians everywhere. The genius spanned 21 years, bursting on the scene as a 13 year old boy and taken from this world at a devastatingly young 42, had the world been too much for Presley? We always wanted more and more from him, but if you watch the documentaries, or simply look at photos through his career, you could tell it was taking it's toll on the king, and who was there for him? We know for certain Colonel Tom Parker wasn't. It's well publicised that his manager the Colonel stunted his career because he was a crook but did he really care for Elvis? I believe the crooked beast was a trickmaster, he was fully aware of the luck he had caught and would do anything to stop the King from getting out of his firm grip.

The culture of the 50s also had control of some of the most instantly recognisable faces in history, a ms. Marilyn Monroe, a certain Frank Sinatra, and the western film actor John Wayne. These cult heroes and heroins have remained prominent in history, reminding each culture that followed of the standard they had set.

Next week I will be looking at the 1960s.

Thomas R. Johnson