Baby Boomers, Rock and Roll and the Economy
by Evan Harmon
In the midst of the revolutionary population
increase known as the Baby Boomer generation, the
U.S. economy was experiencing one of the biggest economic booms in history. During a time of
national distress due to the US coming out of WWII and continuing to deal with
both the Vietnam and the Cold War, Americans
wanted to distract themselves from what was going on around them. This was the
start of consumerism.
“The symbol of the USA economy was the car,” (Scaruffi). In
1952, three-fourths of the world’s cars were produced in the US. Due to the
increase in the production and demand for cars, President Eisenhower implemented the Federal Aid Highway Act
in 1956. This enacted nationwide
construction of highways, resulting in the creation of American suburbia. This expansion had a huge impact on the
economy, creating 1000s of new jobs in construction, as well as, opportunities
in this new territory.
This invention “caused a musical revolution of
its own…the masses were now able to listen to music when and where they
wanted,”(Scaruffi). Record companies followed suit, switching from 78RPMs to
45RPMS. “The 45RPM came to symbolize a new era of prosperity and fun,”(Scaruffi).
All these new inventions fed the American public’s desire
to keep them distracted from the turmoil of war.
Bill
Haley’s Rock Around the Clock was
“the song that turned rock’n’roll into a nation-wide phenomenon,"(Scaruffi)
He formed what is considered the first rock and
roll band, the Comets. Their song, Crazy
Man Crazy, was the first rock and roll song to get on the Billboard Charts.
This was the turning point that started Rock and
Roll’s individual effect on the economy. Their songs mesmerized the public,
creating a new industry in the music market. The top selling album of the 1950s
was Elvis Presley’s Elvis’ Christmas
Album, with over 7 million copies sold. White Christmas was the most notable and highest sold single on the album.
Another aspect of Rock
and Roll that evolved the music industry and
had an impact on the economy was concerts. Concert
venues allowed a new source of entertainment for the population that attracted
hundreds or thousands of people, and also boosted the economy greatly from
ticket and merchandise sales. The first Rock and Roll concert was Alan
Freed’s Moondog Coronation Ball.
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| Moondog Coronation Ball 1952 |
The sold out “venue
quickly reached capacity and thousands of fans broke through the arena's doors,”
(Freed). The riot of a crowd caused the
concert to be shut down after only one song, 14 minutes. Although this effort
failed, it showed how big of a role concerts could play.
Rock and Roll was born along with a booming generation that
helped it explode. Not only did it revolutionize
music and society, but also it kept the public
positive, entertained and distracted from their surroundings. With the instant popularity of rock and roll and the sudden
increase of American youth from the baby boomer generation during the 1950’s
and 1960’s, the nations economy skyrocketed over almost every aspect of the US.
From simply the demand of rock and roll records, to the initial beginnings of
radio and the suburbs, and finally the cultural phenomena that made production
of new technology and sources of entertainment available. These
revolutions helped expand an already healthy economy to one of the strongest of
all time.
References
Freed, L. (2012). My
father and the moondog coronation ball. Retrieved from http://rockhall.com/story-of-rock/features/all-featured/7487_alan-freed-the-moondog-coronation-ball-lance-freed/
Scaruffi, P. (2009). The
history of rock music. Retrieved from http://www.scaruffi.com/history/cpt11.html
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