AMS 335 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Daniel J. Boorstin, Eldridge Cleaver, Florence Greenberg
20 Mar 2018
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Document Summary
Civil rights focus shifting to young with sit ins, folk music. Pop music not yet ideological but increasingly divers. The radio system that replaced syndicated network programs --- lost to tv in 1950s. Disco jockeys (djs) like wolfman jack played hit records every hour, with room for call-ins, commercials, and sound effects. Eclectic: a mix of many genres, not one sound. Appealed most to youth, but advertisers wanted a general audience, so adult pop, too. The blatant commercialism of top 40 is not in opposition to the music. Standard litany: elvis in the army, chuck berry in jail, jerry lee lewis disgraced, little. Richard a christian, buddy holly dead in a plane crash. Manufactured teen idols like fabian on american bandstand. Rock and roll is in a coma waiting for the beatles to arrive. Chubby checker hits number one twice: 1960 and 1961 inspiring a dance craze that was first for kids, then for grownups too.
