Rock and Roll and Society

Submit a 2000 words paper on the topic Rock and Roll and Society. Served to spawn other sub-genres of music and also influenced people’s attitudes, lifestyles, fashion – sense and even the language to a certain extent. According to Bogdanov the music evolved and appeared on the scene, during a time of great technological advancement in the electric guitars, microphones, amplifiers, and the 45 rpm record. The culmination of different cultures and the incorporation of various styles of music is what gave birth to a new style termedRock ‘n’ Roll. Besides the impact of other cultures on the music scene, there were a number of significant social and political causes that impacted the Rock ‘n’ Roll scene and this impact is clearly evident in the style of music and lyrics of these songs. In this essay, an attempt is being made to investigate the various social and political issues that impacted the music of Rock ‘n’ Roll, between the years 1969 to 1995.One of the major social evils of society during the ’60s, ’70s and the ’80s was drug abuse. Though drug use was common, yet it was only gradually that it became associated with addiction. Many singers expressed themselves about their addiction through the songs they wrote. The writing of strong lyrics on the theme of drugs was first initiated by Bert Jansch (Needle of Death, 1965 and The Velvet Underground (Heroin, 1967) However, real public awareness on the issue of drug addiction, was ushered in during the 1970s and the chief reason behind this was that many popular rock artists’ such as Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Brian Jones, and Janis Joplin had become victims of drug abuse and had passed away. (Shapiro, 2003, pp. 191 -192) In lieu of their deaths, surviving the onslaught of drug abuse became the central theme in Rock during the period of the ’70s. (Marcus, 1993, pp. 57- 60).