Whatever teenage rebellion looked like before the mid 1950s, it was changed by the rise of car culture and the beginnings of what would eventually give voice to teenage angst through the decades – rock music. From the early rock and roll of the 1950s through psychedelia in the 1960s, punk rock in the 1970s, hip hop and grunge of the 1990s, and emo of the 2000s, rock and roll has been central to the expression of teenage angst and rebellion and the seeking by youth for authenticity in art and life.
Before the 1950s, most music was experienced either live or in the home on the family radio, tuned to whatever station the parents found acceptable. In many white, middle class homes, this would have been the station that played mainstream pop classics with clean lyrics and perfected vocals. But there were other stations playing rhythm and blues for a primarily Black audience, or country for a “lower class” rural, white population, although most if this was out of reach of the teenager who only listened to the family radio. The 1950s saw the rise of car culture – road trips, drive-ins, and the car radio. This technology, along with more portable transistor radios, gave teens the freedom to listen to music of their own choosing, to cruise the radio dial and pick up music from superstations playing rhythm and blues and country. (Covach & Flory, 2023.) They got a taste of the hokum blues with it’s risqué lyrics, and the less polished sounding vocals and instrumentation of the country artists. These teens would then show up at their local record stores and ask about the songs they were hearing on their own personal radios. Music labels took notice and soon these genres were blending into what would become rock and roll.
Songs like Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti,” Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel,” and Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” were a far cry from the pop standards of Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. This music had a dangerous, wild feel to it that many parents saw as a “bad influence,” but gave teens a voice to their rebellion and something of their own apart from their families. Because of the more upbeat rhythms and driving guitars, music was no longer just about listening, but also for dancing, and for watching as television became a staple in every home. Record companies took advantage of this and started pumping out music especially for teenagers, a category that was largely ignored in previous decades. As the 1950s moved into the 1960s, the teenagers became young adults, America became involved in the conflict in Vietnam, and the fight for equality and civil rights for Black Americans and women moved to the forefront of the political scene. Rock and roll changed along with society,
The 1960s saw the rise of the hippie aesthetic and songs in protest of racial divide and war. Young people were suspicious of government and American institutions, school, church, and the military. (Covach & Flory, 2023.) Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” is a good example of the mood of the young people of this era. “People Get Ready” by the Impressions illustrates the more activist sound that some Black artists embraced in the fight for civil rights. Psychedelic drugs were used to expand the mind and make music into more a of trip than the fun experience of early rock. (Covach & Flory, 2023.) The Beatles “Day on the Life” is an example of music as the trip, with its mix of song styles and crescendos of sound. Music once again became about listening, not about dancing and having fun. Teenagers were angry at the society they had saw around them and the protest music of the 1960s, especially that of groups like Country Joe and the Fish, shows this push for change. The drastic changes that came about in the late 1960s were a direct result of the exposure by white middle class Americans to Black culture through music, and to the role Black artists played in society.
There is an ebb and flow to this musical rebellion. After the original rise of rock, there was a lull where the belief was that rock was dead, teen idols and pop standards were on the rise again. Music felt safe for a time. Then the rise of psychedelia came about with the next wave of youth, until the Vietnam Conflict ended and the fight for civil rights seemed settled. Into this lull stepped the corporate rock of the early 1970s, with its mega albums and safe, stadium anthems. Through all of these lulls there was the question of “authenticity.” What made music “authentic”? What made music something other than a money making scheme for the record companies? Teens sought something real to give voice to the very hard job of leaving childhood behind and becoming an adult, to the awakening to the problems of society. In the late 1970s, punk rock became that voice.
In response to the musical virtuosity of the stadium bands and the polished sounds of corporate rock, the three chord dissonance of punk became the outlet for the angst of youth rebelling against the capitalism of society and the music business. (Covach & Flory, 2023.) Songs like “White Riot” by The Clash and “Rise Above” by Black Flag became anthems for disillusioned youth who felt left out of the soft rock for profit model of the early 1970s. These punks, mostly young, white men, were seeking music to give voice to their anger and angst and the screaming vocals, fuzzy guitars, and in your face lyrics gave them something to slam their bodies against in the mosh pits of underground clubs in New York and London, among other cities.
Following the same pattern as previous underground scenes, the punk scene would soon be assimilated into mainstream rock and toned down for a wider audience. The angst of the punk scene would become the new wave of the 1980s where once again safe, corporate pop ruled the newly formed MTV and FM radio. In the early 1990s, grunge rock would be the new rebellion, with bands like Nirvana rejecting the glam of 80s rock, and hip hop artists like Public Enemy continuing the tradition of calling attention to the plight of violence and poverty in Black neighborhoods. In the 2000s, emo, with its dark, emotional lyrics about heartbreak and death would be what teens in black eyeliner would coalesce around to share in their dissatisfaction of growing.
After the rise of rock and roll in the early 1950s, expressions of teenage rebellion became centered around music, in a search for authenticity and a collective voice. Through psychedelia, punk rock, grunge, hip hop, and the emo of the 2000s, the ebb and flow will continue to whatever new genre will spring up next in response to the problems of modern life. While teenagers are often dismissed and demeaned for what they enjoy, and seen as immature and ignorant, they are often the very people who see the problems at hand and their music is a direct expression of the changes they would like to see in society.