Rock and Roll and the Rise of the Teenager

In the 1950s rock and roll grew from African American rhythm and blues, gospel and country music. Performers such as Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, an earlier gospel guitarist, shaped its sound, and Elvis Presley became its biggest star with hits such as 'Heartbreak Hotel' (1956). Postwar prosperity gave teenagers spending money, and cheap 45 rpm records and portable transistor radios let them choose their own music, creating a youth market.

Rock and roll crossed racial lines in a segregated country, as white and Black teenagers listened to the same songs, though white performers often gained more fame and money from covers of Black artists' songs. Critics attacked rock as a threat to morals. In 1964 the Beatles' appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show drew about 73 million viewers, showing music's new global, televised reach.