1950’S MUSIC
Project by Shelby Sayer
A guitar from the 1950's.
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
The 1950’s began a new age in music. Rock and
roll became popular among teenagers.
 Other styles of music included jazz, rhythm and
blues, gospel, show tunes, country, and pop.
 Some famous artists from all genres included
Elvis Presley, Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Ella
Fitzgerald, Bobby Darin, Buddy Holly, Frank
Sinatra, Ritchie Valens, and J.P “Big Bopper”
Richardson, etc.
 Three themes that relate to music in the 1950’s
are consumerism, increase in technology, and the
emergence of teen culture.

CONSUMERISM
Teens were able to buy rock and roll records with
the money they were receiving.
 Bandstand was a Philadelphia program that had
music performers on it. With the increase in
money, more people were able to buy televisions
to watch shows like that.
 Rock and roll music grew in popularity and was
on the radio more often. Because of this, the
purchase of radios increased.
 People bought inexpensive and portable radios to
put in cars when radio stations started to play
music.

CONSUMERISM
This is a radio from the 1950’s.
When radio stations began to play
more music, the purchase in
radios like this one increased
greatly.
INCREASE IN TECHNOLOGY
In 1950, record companies were able to adopt new
ways to greatly improve sound quality in a song
recording.
 In 1952, the Multisound track replay was
presented by Cinerama, which started public
interest in further research on the possibility of
stereo recordings.
 In 1954, Companies began to provide more useful
equipment for stereo recording in major studios.
 In 1956, stereo LP’s became accessible and new
song releases became available in two types of
sound: mono and stereo.

INCREASE IN TECHNOLOGY
This is a recording studio from
the 1950’s. This studio marks the
new technology that became
available for music artists to use
to record their songs.
EMERGENCE OF TEEN CULTURE
Teens played a big part in making rock and roll
popular.
 Parents didn’t like that their kids listened to rock
and roll music, but teens became more rebellious
in the fifties, so they listened anyway.
 Music was expanding and teens experienced
more freedom than what their parents had, so
they listened to the music they liked.
 Teens liked rock and roll because they liked the
freedom that came with listening to it. They
could express themselves, let loose, and have fun.

EMERGENCE OF TEEN CULTURE
This is a Gibson E5-175 Sunburst Guitar
from 1957. This type of guitar was used in
rock and roll music. Teens liked rock and
roll music that featured guitars like this
because it made them feel like they had
freedom and that they could have fun.
TWO IMPORTANT 1950’S MUSIC FACTS


According to
www.kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade50.html,
and other websites, ‘rock and roll was
developed by blending southern blues and
gospel music and adding a strong
backbeat.’
“The Day the Music Died”~ February 3,
1959: This was the day Ritchie Valens,
Buddy Holly, and J.P. “Big Bopper”
Richardson, three very famous for their
time rock and roll artists, died in a plane
crash after a concert.
WEBSITES/BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=22923

http://www.soc.duke.edu/

http://www.loti.com/fifties_history/Teenage_Life_in_the_1950s.htm

http://www.fiftiesweb.com/bandstnd.htm

http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/adaccess/radio-tv.htm

http://homepages.gac.edu/~jcullip/workexamples/mea.html

http://www.loti.com/fifties_history/life_in_the_1950s.htm

http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade50.html

All photos from Google Images. Artists and types of music found from many different
websites
A guitar from the 1950's.