Several rock historians have claimed that rock and roll was one of the first music genres to define an age group.  It gave teenagers a sense of belonging, even when they were alone.  Rock and roll is often identified with the emergence of teen culture among the first baby boomer generation, who had greater relative affluence and leisure time and adopted rock and roll as part of a distinct subculture.

This involved not just music absorbed via radio, record buying, jukeboxes and TV programmes like American Bandstand, but also extended to film, clothes, hair, cars and motorcycles, and distinctive language.

The youth culture exemplified by rock and roll was a recurring source of concern for older generations, who worried about juvenile delinquency and social rebellion, particularly because, to a large extent, rock and roll culture was shared by different racial and social groups.

From its early 1950s beginnings through the early 1950s, rock and roll spawned new dance crazes, including the twist.  From the mid-1960s on, as “rock and roll” was rebranded as “rock”, later dance genres followed, leading to funk, disco, techno and hip hop.

If you want to learn more, come along to our museum on Saturday, 7th September at 2:00 pm when Paul Kearney will be presenting one of his “History of Rock and Roll” shows. 

As well as sharing the history he will be playing original video clips of the artists singing their popular songs.  People love hearing, seeing and singing along to the videos of these old songs as they bring back fond memories of their past.

 

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