Why was rock n roll music controversial in the 1950's?

Answer 1

Rock Music was controversial because it represented social change. The "big band" era of large orchestras and ballroom dancing, popular in the 1930s and 1940s, had ended. Now, in the early 1950s, a new music for young people emerged. Rock and roll sounded very different from the smooth, pleasant songs of the big band era. Many rock songs had a very insistent and loud beat, and lyrics that could be taken to mean something sexual. In fact, kids who danced to this music moved their bodies in a way their elders found shocking.

Further, rock originally came from black music-- America was still segregated at the time when rock began to gain popularity, yet suddenly, here were integrated groups singing the hits; and worse yet for opponents of rock, white kids were buying songs by black artists, and white disc jockeys were playing these songs. In some cities, white kids were even going to integrated dances. Southern politicians called rock music a tool of "race-mixing," and they were horrified that rock and roll was growing in popularity.

Answer 2

Actually, it wasn't quite 1950 when rock became controversial-- it was a little later: beginning in about 1954, and continuing through much of the 1950s. The issue, sad to say, was integration. Many conservatives (from both parties) objected to rock because, as they saw it, this music encouraged "race mixing." America was still segregated at that time, and many of the early rock groups were integrated. Further, rock came from rhythm & blues, which was black music, and white kids loved it. So, certain people, inclduing members of congress, were very worried at how rock music might contribute to ending segregation, since white kids were dancing with black kids, or attending concerts that featured black performers.

Further, a number of cultural conservatives believed rock was obscene because to dance to it required shaking various parts of the body. They longed for a return to the Big Band Era and did their best to ban rock concerts and dances. Ultimately, their efforts failed, but for a while, rock music was indeed perceived as controversial... except by most of the kids who listened to it on radio and bought millions of records; they thought it was the best music ever.

Answer 3

It was considered to make the teenagers of this era more "rebellious and aggressive".