1. 27.2: Youth Culture

2. A. The Youth Market 1.The word “teenager” became common in the American language after WWII. 2.Young people’s numbers grew and their purchasing power increased. 3.The marketplace, schools, and mass media reinforced the notion of teenagers as a special community.

3. B. “Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll” 1.Structural changes in the media transformed radio into a music- dominated medium. 2.In addition, small independent record labels promoted black rhythm-and-blues artists, many of whom “crossed over” to white audiences. 3.Established record companies offered toned-down white “cover” versions that frequently outsold the originals. 4.Alan Freed, a white Cleveland disc jockey, promoted black artists and set the stage for the first major white performer who could play rock ‘n’ roll: Elvis Presley. 5.Black singer-guitarist Chuck Berry was probably the most influential artist after Elvis.

4. This photo of Elvis Presley singing at a 1956 state fair in Memphis captured his dramatic stage presence. Performing with only a trio, his sound was spare but hard driving. Both the music and Presley’s stage moves owed a great deal to African American rhythm and blues artists. SOURCE:Getty Images,Inc.(C422).

5. Rock pioneer Chuck Berry and one of his many younger disciples, Bruce Springsteen, played together at the grand opening of the Hall in September 1995. Berry was among the inaugural class of inductees in 1986. Terry Knerem/Corbis/Sygma.

6. The 1950s “rockabilly” sound from Sun Records in Memphis epitomized the cultural melding of African American blues and white country music that was the foundation for rock and roll. Sun producer Sam Phillips and singer Elvis Presley were key figures in creating these breakthrough recordings. Brooks Kraft,CORBIS-NY.

7. This view of the pyramid side of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. Brownie Harris,CORBIS-NY.

8. C. Almost Grown 1.Rock ‘n’ roll united teenagers, giving them a feeling it was their music and focused on the trials and tribulations of teenage life. 2.Ironically, teenagers were torn between their identification with youth culture and the desire to become adults as quickly as possible. 3.Many adult observers saw rock ‘n’ roll as unleashing youthful passions in a dangerous way. 4.Rock ‘n’ roll was closely linked to juvenile delinquency. 5.Popular films like The Wild One and Rebel Without a Cause showed the different reactions of youth and adults to the growing generation gap.