Rock and Roll and Society, Annotated Bibliography Example

1. Altschuler, Glenn C. All Shook Up: How Rock and Roll Changed America.New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Print.

In this book published in 2003, author Glenn C. Altschuler discusses the connections between popular music and American culture between 1945 and 1955 when rock and roll as a musical genre was in its infancy and was symbolized by such luminaries as Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, and Buddy Holly; the links between rock and roll and race, such as not allowing African-American musicians to play alongside white musicians in dance halls and nightclubs that usually catered to all-black audiences; the connections between rock and roll and sexuality, such as the image of Elvis Presley as “old swivel hips”; how rock and roll became a part of mainstream American musical tastes in the 1960’s and 1970’s because of the so-called British Invasion and the rise of the Counterculture Movement; the so-called “death of rock and roll” in the 1980’s and 1990’s as a result of the rise of disco and dance music; and the “Persistent Power of Rock and Roll” as a genre that has faded over the years but continues to keep roaring back. Overall, Altschuler provides a comprehensive and interesting look at rock and roll and its huge impact on American society and culture in relation to how it changed the face of American music and the tastes of American listeners.

2. Rock and Roll: A Genre that Unifies. Web. 2008. Mar. 26, 2013. <http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Fall08/StewartA>.

This Internet site contains some fascinating material on rock and roll as an American phenomenon. For example, along with a brief introduction to the social importance of rock and roll, this site provides text on rock and roll’s impact on American society; the history of rock and roll, beginning in the mid 1950’s with how rock and roll as a musical genre started with figures like Alan Freed who coined the term “rock and roll”; the various music companies like Sun Records and Motown that made rock and roll possible; the various musical artists like Jimi Hendrix and the Doors that inspired America’s teenagers to rebel in protest; the links between rock and roll and race; and of course, Woodstock, “the greatest rock concert of all time” (Rock and Roll: A Genre that Unifies). Although this website is rather simply put together, it nonetheless provides a great starting point for additional research on rock and roll and society.

3. Welsh, Richard. “Rock and Roll and Social Change.” History Today 40.2 (1990): 134-Print. < http://www.historytoday.com/richard-welch/rock-n-roll-and-social- change>.

In this journal article, Richard Welsh explores the growth and impact of rock and roll on American society and popular music. The main theme presented by Welsh is that rock and roll was not merely a social and cultural event but was indeed a “rock and roll revolution” that brought about “profound cultural changes” and helped to sweep aside “prevailing notions of American popular music” with rock and roll blending African-American and white musical traditions (“Rock and Roll and Social Change”) through artists like Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, and Buddy Holly in the mid 1950’s. Welsh also declares that rock and roll “encouraged the desegregation movement of the 1956-64 period,” especially in large cities like New York, Chicago, St. Louis, and Detroit. Welsh’s basic premise is that rock and roll “became the common property not only of two generations of Americans, but millions throughout the world,” thus helping to create “the most ubiquitous and influential form of American popular culture” during the latter half of the 20th century (“Rock and Roll and Social Change”).