Rock 'n Roll

In All Shook Up, Glenn C. Altschuler assesses the rise of rock ‘n’ roll from a sociocultural view. He looks primarily at race, sexuality, and generational conflict.

Before the birth of rock ‘n’ roll, rhythm and blues music was formed out of the rich musical traditions of African Americans. It incorporated many elements of jazz and gospel, as well as swing and “boogie”. Rock and roll, in turn, was developed out of R&B. The advent of R&B and rock ‘n’ roll music was influenced by, beneficial for, and subversive to race relations. Many people refused music based on the performer’s race; after the music was already big, radios gave much more air time to covers by white performers than originals by black performers. It did provide new economic opportunities for African American performers, promote integration on radio, television, in movies, and in real life (especially among teenagers), and serve to empower African Americans. On the other hand, it reinforced the portrayal of African American culture as more primal and less civilized and weakened their attachment to their actual musical roots.

Rock ‘n’ roll and R&B was viewed by many as a negative influence because it’s stylings, lyrics, and social constructs were considered subversive of traditional morals and family values. Most important was its explicit expansion of teenage sexuality. As traditional morals were already declining, the new music was “demonstrating the power of the libido” (67). It was part of an overall trend that resulted in the reduction of sexual reticence. However, it mostly placed sexuality in the context of a relationship, rather than straight-out promiscuity. There were large movements to “clean up” the music, which put enough pressure on major music labels to produce large strains of rock ‘n’ roll that were cleaner and “more moral”, although “dirtier” strains still existed.

Rock ‘n’ roll also embodied (in music) the generational conflict of the times. The classification of teenagers did not exist before the twentieth century, and this relatively new group was still trying to create and identity for itself. Stuck between childhood and maturity, they used rock ‘n’ roll as a means of self-expression and definition. Of course, adolescents had always rebelled, but in the post-cold war era, the nuclear family was considered very important to the future of our society and culture. Parents found it difficult to enforce morality and decent behavior upon their children, and they blamed rock ‘n’ roll as a primary cause.


Altschuler does a good job of illuminating the interplay between the rock ‘n’ roll movement and the social and economic changes occurring at the time. He shows how race and sexual tensions created and were changed by the music, and how current conditions shaped the resistance to those changes. However, it is frustrating to me that Altschuler does not devote a section of his book to gender and rock ‘n’ roll. However, he does touch on the subject. He mentions that rock ‘n’ roll actually reinforced traditional gender roles and was dominated by “the needs and desires of the male” (87). Women were the subjects of songs and objects of emotions, and the genre showed women “invariably … as dependent on men, as their property” (87). I find this an incredibly disturbing effect, but Altschuler does not go into any real detail about the effects this music may have had on feminism and the treatment of women. Some of our contemporary music is incredibly misogynistic and offensive to women, and it would be interesting to explore the history from there to here.