Book Review on All Shook Up by Glenn C. Altschuler Paper Example

For many years, music has been around as early as from the beginning of times just in varying styles, ways and for the different audience. Over time music has evolved, changed and grown correspondingly that the communities have especially the United States. Several things that have occurred in history have been attributed as the main reason as to why there have been many changes in the area of music. "A new generation of concerned parents has raised some old questions concerning the influence of popular music on youths" (Rosenbaum & Prinsky, 1987). The changes experienced in the music sector have been fueled by various happenings in society. "A new generation of American moralists and thinkers saw themselves as inhabiting a nation of providential destiny and infinite potential, and they expressed an exuberant faith in the perfectibility of both individuals and society as a whole" (Shi & George, 2015). Since music is impacted by several happenings occurring in daily life, significant things which have occurred in history has also resulted in critical changes to the music.

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The music changes have helped n bringing societies together although some of the changes cause conflict between age, gender, and race which tear the communities apart. Rock 'n' roll music was a "highly visible and contested arena for struggles over racial identity, and cultural and economic empowerment in the United States" (Altschuler, 2004).In the book written by Altschuler: All Shook Up: How Rock 'N' Roll Changed America, the changes brought by the rock 'n' roll music in the early American society are clearly analyzed and stated. The rock 'n' roll music is represented as having caused both negative and positive changes in American society.

Since Altschuler was born in the 1950s, he never found much interest in the growing music culture of the rock 'n' roll music since he was still a small child during that era. After he obtained his Ph. D in 1976 after studying American History, he was signed in by his friend, James McPherson to write this book that was to be added on the series that he was working on. Altschuler viewed on his experience that e received from writing the book as "not only to revisit a decade-but to discover some phenomenal music about which he was only dimly aware" (Altschuler, 2004). Altschuler did a phenomenal job by using several newspaper and magazines which were from 1950s to help him gather major points written in the book and organized them into various topics which makes the overall work become much interesting and being read with ease as the audience have the opportunity of looking using different perspectives about how the rock 'n' roll music changed the society at that particular time.

The first book section starts by describing youth fascination during the 1950s which they had while being influenced by the newly introduced rock 'n' roll music. Altschuler makes use of a clip gotten from an article in the newspaper which assisted in creating of great imagery illustrating how influential this new music was to the people in the American society especially among the youths. "The reasons are many and complex, involving long-developing commercial and strategic interests, missionary impulses, and a quest for international prestige" (Shi & George, 2015). There was a cultural shift of the "relationship between youth and the modern economy" (Altschuler, 2004). One of the parts f the article from the newspaper even goes ahead describing rock 'n' roll music as being the same as a communicable disease which had the potential of affecting the entire nation. "The urban industrial transformed social and intellectual life" (Shi & George, 2015). There were chaos and riots that broke up between the people who were attempting to stop the music and those individuals who wanted the music in different parts across the country. "Teenagers were more interested in the sound of popular music" (Rosenbaum & Prinsky, 1987). As a result, there was banning of rock 'n' roll music shows around the nation and societies led attempts to eliminate the new rock 'n' roll music culture that was mostly adopted by the youths. "The people on each side of this cultural divide viewed the other through the prisms of their ethnocentrism" (Shi & George, 2015).

In the second and third section of the book by Altschuler, he attempts describing ways in which rock 'n' roll music impacted sexuality and race in the 1950s. There was a significant spread of the rock 'n' roll music which was experienced conveniently during the period which civil right movement started hence the new music culture started being criticized as the music was believed to be promoting integration which the state was against. The artists of rock 'n' roll music were also challenged for promoting music that was regarded as being sexually suggestive and for not performing at the segregated events "as it entered popular discourse, rock 'n' roll was a social construction and not a musical style" (Altschuler, 2004). Many parents formed groups to begin campaigns which aimed at getting rid of the rock 'n' roll music as they believed that the new music was destroying the mind of their children and the livelihood reputation of the blues and rhythm form which rock 'n' roll music was derived from. According to (Rosenbaum & Prinsky, 1987), "there is little evidence that listeners understand or appreciate whatever messages might be presented."These comparison being made by Altschuler between the movements of fundamental civil rights and rock 'n' roll music assist the reader in getting a better understanding of how the two relate during the 1950s.

Just like he had begun describing in the book's second and third section, Altschuler continues to provide significant details that are associated with the conflicts brought by the rock 'n' roll music between the parents and youths. According to Altschuler, (2004), "most parents doubt that their offspring derive any significance from the lyrics." Most of the parents and the elderly of the youths that were infatuated never understood what was the reason behind why they had a strong desire to listen to rock 'n' roll music. "The desire for a higher standard of life, for purely material comforts and luxuries, brings many people to the city" (Shi & George, 2015). Many parents had the belief that their children were being influenced by the rock 'n' roll music to start rejecting the authority figures, becoming much emotional and confirmation of the old behaviors.

Later in the book, a discussion about how the rock 'n' roll music started becoming more popular to the point that it angered members of the American Federation of Musicians is provided. Members of American Federation of Musicians were angered as they perceived that rock 'n' roll music rendered no use of live musicians, actors, and comedians as they were getting replaced by rock 'n' roll music records. "The rural population is not merely conservative; it is full of error and prejudice" (Shi & George, 2015). The youths had started buying records which increased the record market, and they started the behavior of bringing a radio with them in many places that led to the fading away of the need for the live entertainment.

Conclusion

At last, the parents began getting what they had longed for. Rock 'n' roll music had successfully faded to the point of having a dull humming witnessed in the background. However, rock 'n' roll music sparked out in a different place: England. Towards the end of the book, Altshuler concluded by explaining that the rock 'n' roll music era had culminated into one main event: "the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in Bethel, New York August 1969" (Altschuler, 2004) However, several people argued that it should not be happening while other promoted the rock 'n' roll music.

References

Altschuler, G. C. (2004). All shook up: how rock n roll changed America. New York: Oxford University Press.

Rosenbaum, J., & Prinsky, L. (1987). Sex, violence and rock 'n'roll: Youths' perceptions of popular music. Popular Music & Society, 11(2), 79-89.

Shi, D, & George, B. (2015). Tindall. America: The Essential Learning Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.