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The Death O
f Rock 'n' Roll


Listen To 
The Rolling Stones
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By 1960, Rock n Roll as a radical new form of music that challenged the social status 

quo in the US was generally considered to be dead! So what had happened to the social

radicalism of Rock n Roll in the US by 1960?


Quite simply – it had been turned to ‘Schlock’ by the backlash of a conservative US 

political and social system combined with other major events.

 

What Is Schlock Rock?

OK – what was and is Schlock Rock? Quite simply it was mainstream white, middle

class Rock n Roll fabricated by the mainstream Popular Music industry. Schlock Rock 

was/is sanitised and devoid of political and racial content. Let’s demonstrate by seeing a

comparison of two quite 'cute' examples.

Rock - performed by Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley - Hound Dog

Schlock - performed by Bobby Vee

Bobby Vee - The Night Has A Thousand Eyes

Because of the emergence of Schlock Rock there was a significantly bland political 

period within music between the late 1950s and 1963, the result to a considerable 

extent of the calculated generation of sanitised and standardised Rock Music products 

which replaced the excitement of late 1950s Rock n Roll.. This was spearheaded by

such artists as Fabian, Bobby Ridell, and Pat Boone in the US, and Cliff Richard in the

UK, among others.

      Bobby Vee           Bobby Rydell       Cliff Richard                Fabian              Pat Boone


In other words, Rock n Roll died an early death in the US, only to be resurrected

later.

What Produced Schlock Rock? - A Conservative U.S. Backlash!


Why do we say Rock n Roll was dead, and what was the Schlock Rock that replaced

it?

 
Basically, the Rock n Roll of the Elvis era was dead by 1960. Why? Because of the

right wing backlash by the loose alliance of the majors of the Popular Music industry,

the US government, and right wing fundamentalist religious groups and others.


Why the backlash? It was because in Cold War conservative America, a superpower

on the brink of a possible new world war, any challenges to the conservative status quo,

racial, class, ideological or otherwise, was seen as politically 'left wing' inspired and 

therefore needing to be crushed.


And Rock n Roll was seen as just that - a dangerous social 'influence' that had to be 

combated . It was bringing race and class relations into the main stream political world 

and championing the cause of the downtrodden to some extent. And as such it became

a target of attack by those who feared the changes the music signaled. Behind every

attack – from cover records to government investigations – there was an attempt to

reclaim and absorb mainstream cultural space for white middle class values, themes and

images.

 

As one expert says, 'And this attack was successful for the characteristics of Rock n

Roll, its strong regional accents, hot instrumental solos, and suggestive lyrics – soon

disappeared.'


Prior to 1959, Rock n Roll had created immense overlap between the mainstream Pop 

charts and the R & B charts, in other words black American artists. Not only did black 

artists gain an unprecedented access to the popular market through RnR, but white 

artists had sold to the black record buying public in record numbers.

 
So whatever else may be said about Rock n Roll in the early 1950s, the appearance in

the mainstream market of African-American artists recording Rhythm and Blues for

independent labels had over turned all the rules of the music industry. Prior to this,

there had been strict divisions – insulating these sub cultures, with mainstream Popular

Music for the national market, Country and Western for the regional, and R & B for the

African American market.

Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode
Doris Day - Teacher's Pet

As a consequence, domestic conservative political forces during the Eisenhower years

saw RnR as spreading coloured and dangerous left-wing working class values into the

mainstream. Therefore Rock n Roll had to be stopped!


It was dangerous because it was sexual and black music, it encouraged a tilt to

Afro-American sensibilities and working class styles. It challenged the boredom of the

Post War years and its conservatism and Protestantism. Rock n Roll also represented

hedonist consumerism – thus both were at odds.

 

Many believe the US wartime generation in the late 1950s had needed relaxation and

escape in quiet conservatism, while the youth sought relief from school and

authoritarian parents and they found it in Rock n Roll – which provided a major point

of entry to an alternative world. Thus Rock n Roll became a target for repression and 

from this reaction came Schlock Rock!


To quote one expert – Garofolo’ – ‘Such

a musical development may have been

inevitable – meaning Schlock Rock – but

it still served the purposes of those who

were terrified by the cultural implications

of Rock n Roll. The energy of early Rock

n Roll had crossed lines of age, class, race

and culture in a country that seldom takes

kindly to social upheaval and certainly did

not during the conservative 1950s. As

soon as rock n Roll captured the hearts,

Bill Haley - Rock Around The Clock
minds and bodies of teenagers across all demographic categories, it was linked by some

with every perceived social ill from juvenile delinquency and miscegenation to atheism

and communism. As put by one conservative at the time  in 1956: ‘the obscenity and

vulgarity in the Rock n Roll music is obviously  means by which the white man and

his children can be driven to the level with a ‘nigra’ ... if we choose to call it the

Communist ideology, I think we hit it fairly on the head’. (sources)

While extreme – this view certainly panicked many white middle class parents

throughout the United States. Again to quote Garofolo: ‘If some variant of Rock n Roll

was 'here to stay’ as prophesied in 1958, nowhere was it written that social pressures 

could not alter its character. The Rock n Roll face-lift of the late 1950s was but the 

most visible manifestation of a much broader reaction to the music.'

 

The Answer

So the answer was to turn Rock n Roll into mainstream white, middle class music – and

that’s what they did with the advent of Schlock Rock and 'Covers'. And this saw from
 
1950 onwards – bland white artists like Fabian, Frankie Avalon and Bobby Rydell, 

mass marketed as Rock n Rollers.


And Schlock Meant The Death Of What Conservatives 

Argued Was Evil, Sexual, 'Commie' Rock Music!
Fabian - This Friendly World
Picture

But although such 'ersatz' rockers as those listed above did achieve considerable

success, their styles were inappropriate for Rhythm & Blues radio. As a result, the

penetration of white artists into the R&B market declined sharply and we saw racial 

lines and divisions coming back into music in America. For example black radio 

returned to a policy of programming more black artists than white.

 
Again Garafolo stated: 'Somewhat paradoxically, the separation of Rock n Roll and

R&B contributed to a resurgence of R&B as a separate style with cross over 

potential....The percentage of black artists crossing over into the popular market 

remained uncommonly high until the onslaught of British performers in 1964. Seen in 

this light, not even the Beatles – the very musicians who breathed new life into this 

music – can be considered apart from the racist attacks on Rock n Roll. It is in fact

impossible to understand the magnitude and immediacy of their acceptance in the US

without some reference to this theme.'


But Were The Beatles Schlock? Garafolo Asks?


At the same time, it would be a major

distortion of history to underestimate their

incredible talent and contribution to the

music and culture of the 1960s. The

Beatles were incredibly talented and

ushered in much broad cultural and

political change.

The Beatles - I Want to Hold Your Hand


But How Was The Conservative Attack Actually Carried Out?
  
How Was Rock n Roll Crushed?


It was carried out by what many would call 'The Establishment' which included the 

mainstream industry itself, by right wing fundamentalist groups and others, by the 

Catholic Church, and of course by the government through censorship and review 

boards, local councils and others. The mainstream industry included the music 

publishing houses, mainstream major record companies and even by established singers 

like Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby (both moulded by Tin Pan Alley) all of which 

jumped on the bandwagon to crush Rock n Roll, and especially its lyrics which were 

censored as much as possible.
  

And as Garofolo writes: ‘Beneath all the high-toned rhetoric lay a massive

accumulation of ignorance and racism and a fair amount of unabashed economic and

political self-interest.’

But Don't Overlook The Role Of The Radical Right In The U.S.

Picture
'Radical Right' burning Beatle Records
 
The role of the 'radical right' (RR), for want of a better term,  in

the US should also neither be overlooked nor underestimated.

We define the Radical Right here as a conservative and

reactionary political interests.


The politically active radical right in the U.S. has long affected

what the recording industry did and do. For example the radical 

right has long campaigned against specific artists and 

recordings, and at times protested to Congress, and boycotted

this and that (the Federal Communications Commission - FCC) and even waged rallies

against stations and had record-burning rallies.


And What Effect Did The FCC And The RR Have, And Have Had, On

The Recording Industry?  


Both influenced, depending on geography and political climate, the music environment

in America. Fear of these entities, for example, forced CBS to remove Dylan's 'Talking

John Birch Society Blues' from his second album and from the Ed Sullivan Show.


Pete Seeger, the American left-wing folk singer, was also blacklisted from commercial

radio and TV for nearly 17 years. Again, Ed Sullivan changed the title of the Rolling

Stones, 'Let's Spend The Night Together', to 'Let's Spend Some Time Together'. Barry

McGuir's 'Eve of Destruction' and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's 'Ohio' were also

blacklisted in many parts of the U.S.


Led Zepplin's 'Stairway to Heaven', also

copped it as well, as it was thought to

refer to drugs and sex.


Moralists have long objected to some

lyrics and pressured record makers to

change. Together they have constituted a

powerful force outside the music industry

and play a role in influencing just what

becomes popular and what doesn't, mind

you with mixed results, as not all music is

censored.
Led Zeppelin - Stairway To Heaven

There Has Also Been The Role Of Governments And Censorship


Governments have long influenced the whole Popular Music industry and its market. 

Campaigns to ban records are nothing new. In the roaring 20s, some people saw Jazz 

as morally loose. White racists in the 1950s called Bill Haley's Rock n Roll  'nigger 

music'. War protest songs of the Vietnam period also made many Americans angry.


While attempts to censor records in the US have been rare, the FCC nevertheless 

sometimes keeps recordings off the market  for all sorts of reasons, that is before the 

rise of the internet and websites like You Tube now allows almost anything to reach 

the public. For example,  the FCC can take a dim view of stations that air objectionable 

music, ie - obscene language, drugs, etc., which guides broadcasters toward caution. 

Stations do not want to risk their licenses. And because the recording industry is so 

dependent on airplay, music that might offend found it difficult to make it to the market,

at least in the past, that was the case and certainly in the days of Rock n Roll, but in 

these days of the world-web - it seems open slather.


Take an example during the Falklands War. During this conflict, the British Government

banned and censored a number of songs which might have made its soldiers home sick. 

The US Government did the same during the Gulf War. Such government censorship 

was thus a widespread practice - even in our Western democracies.



So Rock n Roll Was Up Against All These Forces And Influences
!

But The Demise Of The High Profile Rock n Rollers Made The Backlash Easy


First it must be said – that making such a backlash easier of course, was the demise of 

so many of Rock n Roll’s 'gods' in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

By The Early 1960s

Picture




By the early 60s, Elvis Presley was in the army in Europe, 

and because of his ridiculous involvement in 'B' grade movies 

most of his music became watered down family entertainment. 

Some experts have also said he had been co-opted by RCA 

and conservatively channeled.





Of The Others:


Eddie Cochrane was dead via a car crash 

in London, Chuck Berry was up on sex 

charges, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little 

Richard had found God and the Church, 

and Buddy Holly, Big Boppa and Frankie 

Valenz all died in a plane crash on the

‘Day The Music Died’ in 1959.
Don McClean - The Day The Music Died





So How Was It Done? What Saw The Rise Of The 'Schlock' Or 'Ersatz 

Rockers' In The Place Of The Originals?

 
The US Government and the established powers of the industry (the major record

companies and publishing houses) joined forces to suppress Rock n Roll music. This

was done in a number of ways.


Some of the majors tried to ignore it, while some tried to co-opt the singers.  Others

however followed the widespread and what proved more effective practice of 

‘covering’ records.

 
Covers   (Covers = Ersatz Rock n Rollers)

Covering was the process of blunting the impact of what was known as ‘cross overs’ 

by making cover versions with sanitised stars – the most infamous of whom were Pat 

Boone and others. Boone had the infamous reputation for most covers, which 

it is argued prevented him from being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Boone routinely 

sanitised Rock songs and built a career out of it.


Pat Boone - Tutti Frutti
Little Richard - Tutti Frutti

As on expert noted: 'While many teenagers eventually became better at distinguishing 

covers from the originals and covers became less valuable to the majors as a strategy
 
for dealing with RnR,  such a strategy, nevertheless was very successful for the time.'

    
By the late 1950s- early 1960s, Rock n Roll had become significantly commercialised

and sanitised with the majors promoting ersatz artists who occupied the mainstream and

stole the market. These artists included Connie Francis, Fabian, Frankie Avalon, 

Tommy Sands, Tab Hunter, Bobby Rydell and Neil Sedaka. Rock n Roll was also up

against conservative forces in the industry, the government and within general US 

society. Moreover, most of its 'champions' were either, dead, imprisoned or otherwise

distracted.


As Such: Rock n Roll Was Effectively 


Dead By 1963!



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