Search:  

All American Hit Radio Shows     All How Music Changed Shows     Reviews     AHN Podcasts     Sign UP, Find Out

American Hit Radio - 1950's

New Cool Sh*t

History of Rock & Roll

1950's music

1960's music

1970's music

1980's music

1990's music

2000's music

Where Are They Now?

Do you ever wonder what happened to your favorite musicians of the past?

Decade Overview

Featured Songs

Best of the Decade

Greatest Hits

Greatest Misses

Where are they now?

1950's Decade Overview

Was life really so innocent in the fifties, or does it just look that way now? Is it possible to imagine a time before rock and roll? Or a time when Father Knows Best was intended as a reflection of reality? In the fifties, the ‘nuclear’ family was the rule, and not the exception, but that could also be taken literally; while most family units clung together, the ‘red scare’ hovered in the back of everyone’s mind. It was the age when “duck and cover” was taught in schools in the event of a nuclear attack. It was also an age of fierce civil pride, when America accepted its role as the leading superpower for democracy with vigor. Unfortunately, not all citizens were benefiting from our democratic ideals, due to enforced segregation laws that treated blacks as second-class citizens.

By the mid-fifties, though, a rumbling appeared on the horizon that at first seemed to threaten the very nature of American existence. Rock and roll music coalesced from jump blues, western swing and pop culture, providing American youths with a music to call their own. It also provided a subtle means of integration, with dozens of black artists appealing directly to middle-American kids. Elvis Presley served as the conduit that crossed racial barriers, with his adaptation of black styles. At the start of the decade, the charts were dominated by singers like Doris Day, Eddie Fisher and Perry Como. By decade’s end, kids were focusing most of their attention on Lloyd Price, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino and Sam Cooke. A mainstream backlash pushed performers like Pat Boone and Frankie Avalon to the forefront for a while, but to paraphrase Danny and the Juniors, rock and roll would not die.