Its three predecessors in the series cover the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education, the stock market crash of 1929 and the battle of Antietam, which is to say the editors, the distinguished historians David Hackett Fischer and James M. McPherson, put rock 'n' roll in rarefied company.
They are right to do so. "How Rock 'n' Roll Changed America," as Altschuler's subtitle puts it, really should be phrased as a question rather than a declarative statement because the exact nature of its influence is not easily pinned down, but it surely ranks with the movies and television among the most important developments in 20th-century America. Inasmuch as that was the century in which pop culture shoved high culture aside and became (to borrow a pop-cultural slogan) the heartbeat of America, it must be viewed in a far larger context than historians traditionally have been willing to accord such matters.
If a strong case can be made (and it can) that the most important American of the 20th century was Walter Elias Disney, then by the same token the Founding Fathers (along with a few Mothers) of rock 'n' roll must also be given their place on history's stage.
This is what Altschuler attempts to do in "All Shook Up." He is a something less than riveting prose stylist, and it's not likely that many readers familiar with the music and literature of rock 'n' roll will find much here they don't already know, but the books in this series apparently are intended to be syntheses of primary and secondary sources rather than ground-breakers. This Altschuler accomplishes capably. He also gives overdue recognition to a number of people, some of whom made absolutely wonderful music that deserves rediscovery not only because of its undeniable influence upon the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and others, but also for its intrinsic merit.
These men and women created and performed within the genre of rhythm and blues as well as its several sub genres. R&B came into being soon after the war as "a distinctive musical genre, drawing on the rich musical traditions of African-Americans, including the blues' narratives of turbulent emotions, and the jubilation, steady beat, hand clapping and call and response of gospel." It "tended to be 'good time music,' with an emphatic dance rhythm." Its most famous performers were and still are Chuck Berry and Fats Domino, but there were innumerable others.
R&B is the essential link between the blues, jazz and swing and all the forms of rock that developed in the 1950s and thereafter as whites began to "cover" to borrow, copy and often homogenize black music. Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly and other, far tamer white musicians Bill Haley, Pat Boone, Ricky Nelson couldn't have done what they did without the black foundation to build on.
In sex as in other matters, "the influence of rock 'n' roll was not always pivotal." Altschuler correctly notes that though it did affect attitudes toward race, "the civil rights movement would have unfolded much as it did without rock 'n' roll." But in other aspects of 1950s America, its influence was important:
"To a significant extent, a distinct teenage culture, with its own mores and institutions, did develop during the decade.
They are right to do so. "How Rock 'n' Roll Changed America," as Altschuler's subtitle puts it, really should be phrased as a question rather than a declarative statement because the exact nature of its influence is not easily pinned down, but it surely ranks with the movies and television among the most important developments in 20th-century America. Inasmuch as that was the century in which pop culture shoved high culture aside and became (to borrow a pop-cultural slogan) the heartbeat of America, it must be viewed in a far larger context than historians traditionally have been willing to accord such matters.
If a strong case can be made (and it can) that the most important American of the 20th century was Walter Elias Disney, then by the same token the Founding Fathers (along with a few Mothers) of rock 'n' roll must also be given their place on history's stage.
This is what Altschuler attempts to do in "All Shook Up." He is a something less than riveting prose stylist, and it's not likely that many readers familiar with the music and literature of rock 'n' roll will find much here they don't already know, but the books in this series apparently are intended to be syntheses of primary and secondary sources rather than ground-breakers. This Altschuler accomplishes capably. He also gives overdue recognition to a number of people, some of whom made absolutely wonderful music that deserves rediscovery not only because of its undeniable influence upon the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and others, but also for its intrinsic merit.
These men and women created and performed within the genre of rhythm and blues as well as its several sub genres. R&B came into being soon after the war as "a distinctive musical genre, drawing on the rich musical traditions of African-Americans, including the blues' narratives of turbulent emotions, and the jubilation, steady beat, hand clapping and call and response of gospel." It "tended to be 'good time music,' with an emphatic dance rhythm." Its most famous performers were and still are Chuck Berry and Fats Domino, but there were innumerable others.
R&B is the essential link between the blues, jazz and swing and all the forms of rock that developed in the 1950s and thereafter as whites began to "cover" to borrow, copy and often homogenize black music. Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly and other, far tamer white musicians Bill Haley, Pat Boone, Ricky Nelson couldn't have done what they did without the black foundation to build on.
In sex as in other matters, "the influence of rock 'n' roll was not always pivotal." Altschuler correctly notes that though it did affect attitudes toward race, "the civil rights movement would have unfolded much as it did without rock 'n' roll." But in other aspects of 1950s America, its influence was important:
"To a significant extent, a distinct teenage culture, with its own mores and institutions, did develop during the decade.