The Fabulous FiftiesWritten by Vicki Clark
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There was a change happening in music. A sound that had its roots in black music and was referred to as "race music" was becoming popular with white teens. Early in 1951 disc jockey, Alan Freed, realized that white teenagers with money to spend were buying records of what had been considered exclusively Negro music a year earlier. By summer of that same year "Moondog Show" premiered from Cleavland. Disc jockey, Alan Freed, was "The Moondog" and played this new music with a "beat". His shows were a phenomenal hit and Alan Freed is credited for naming new music, "Rock 'n Roll" Sam Phillips, a Memphis recording man and enthusiast of black music immediately recognized a special quality in Elvis Presley, who had been influenced by Southern black gospel and blues. On July 5, 1954 at Sun Records Elvis recorded "I'm All Right, Mama" with "Blue Moon of Kentucky" on flip side. Soon after, he was named "Most Up and Coming Hillbilly Artist of The Year". By February of 1955 Bill Haley's version of "Shake Rattle and Roll" had sold 1 million copies, Chuck Berry's "Maybellene" was on charts and then came Little Richard with, "Tutti Frutti". Rock'n Roll was born, and here to stay. Even as parents disapproved of it as "devil music" kids couldn't get enough. The automobile became an American icon during prosperity of 50s. The Ford Thunderbird, Chevrolet sedans and Chrysler station-wagons became symbols of new affluent American society. The nation was suddenly mobile and "Drive-in" became a part of language and culture. Public Works began construction of an extensive highway system like no other time in history and road trips in big-finned cars became a national past-time. The Cold War between world's Super Powers, America and Russia, cast a shadow of fear over Frivolous Fifties. The Atomic and Hydrogen bombs were created and military performed 200 above-ground nuclear tests between 1954 and 1958. There was failure after failure in rocket launching competition between two countries until Russia realized success with it's Sputnik on October 4, 1957. Americans found themselves watching skies and learning to "duck and cover". By latter part of decade Marilyn Monroe had appeared as first centerfold in Hugh Hefner's Playboy magazine and Ed Sullivan had backed down by inviting Elvis to perform, two months after calling him vulgar and exclaiming that he would never appear on his television show. The youth had their own music and Beats, with their hip new language, became forefathers of 60s counter-culture. Profound economic, political, racial and social changes had taken place in a short time. Happy Days? Yes, but complex and evolving too.
Vicki writes original content for her retro website, The Nostalgic Boomer. She is a baby boomer who lives and works as a Legal Assistant in a County Attorney's Office in Arizona and spends her spare time writing poetry, fiction, articles for web content and creating web design.
| | Planning Starts With The BasicsWritten by Jonathan Citrin
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Balance Sheet A balance sheet is a snapshot of your personal finances at one point in time. It contains two main elements: what you own (assets), and what you owe (liabilities). Your net worth is expressed as: Net Worth
Jonathan Citrin provides financial goal planning services. Go to http://articles.citringroup.com for hundreds of educational articles about Personal Finance, Retirement Planning, Investment Planning, and College Savings.
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