History of Rock 'n' Roll

Throughout the music, there has always been “protest” music. Things going on in the world or a musician’s life will almost always affect their music. A specific artist that did this in the rock ‘n’ roll scene was the Beatles. The Beatles started in the early ’60s as a type of teen heartthrob band but as the years went on they changed the entire image they were well respected and they had a lot to say about war and other political issues.

In this essay, I will elaborate on how the Beatles provoked change and challenged political issues through their music.

In an eBook by Michael Frontani, he states, “the Beatles wore sharply tailored suits and cast themselves as adorable, accessible teen heartthrobs. By the end of the decade, they had absorbed the fashion and consciousness of the burgeoning counterculture and were using their interviews, media events, and music to comment on issues such as the Vietnam War, drug culture, and civil rights.

” (2). At the beginning of their career, they didn’t seem too interested in things going on in the world but I believe it is because they weren’t being asked about things like that they were being asked about their personal lives and their music. As the 60s went on and the war was happening they chose to use their platform for good and to address these issues that were going on. In just a short two-year period they changed drastically. It wasn’t just about the music anymore it was about the lyrics and the message a song was sending.

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A lot of people were reacting well to their music and they liked what they were doing. This became very known to people in 1965. “Queen Elizabeth II awarded the prestigious Order of the British Empire, popularly known as the MBE, to John, Paul, George, and Ringo. The honor, which was usually bestowed upon military officers and civic leaders, sparked protest among several conservative MBE recipients, who returned their awards in protest.” (Schinder 170). Them receiving this award shows that they were doing more than just making music. They were making a change. People were listening to their music and hearing a message.

In their last interview in 1966, they were asked about the Vietnam War and asked how they felt about the way America was reacting to things concerning them. Around 2:25 in the video, they begin to talk about how they can’t say too much about the war issues because everything that they say can be seen as a problem and that the reason they’re asked these types of questions is that people in American like to know what people in showbiz are thinking always. They say is amazing how it’s a problem to mention Vietnam as if nothing was going on. This was mostly John Lennon but you can tell just how passionate they are about war and other things going on. Even as the years continue and they go on to do their things, John stays very connected with political and cultural issues going on in the world.