Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay

1965

Ten years into the Rock Era, it looks like it's here to stay. Time magazine reports on the rock revival with the cover story, "Rock 'n' Roll: The Sound of the Sixties."

Rock got off to a strong start, with the likes of Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Little Richard leading the way in the mid-'50s, but late in the decade it floundered as artists like Paul Anka, Pat Boone and Perry Como took up chart positions previously occupied by the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis and Fats Domino. Naysayers who declared it a fad looked like their predictions were coming true, but then Detroit became Hitsville, USA at the same time British acts like The Who, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles invaded America. A big difference with this wave of rock is that it appeals to adults. "A surprisingly large segment of 20-to-40-year-olds are now facing up to the music and, what is more, liking it," the magazine reports. And the music is also influencing this generation's culture, with dance clubs - known as "discotheques" - popping up all over the country where they can groove to the big beat. All this bumping and grinding is suddenly acceptable. Harvard psychiatrist Philip Solomon says, "These dances are outlets for restlessness, for unexpressed and sublimated sex desires. This is quite healthy." It's a huge shift in attitudes, as rock is now seen as sophisticated, and its critics hopelessly behind the times. "In chic circles, anyone damning rock 'n' roll is labeled not only square but uncultured," Time reports. Appearing on the cover are The Beach Boys, Petula Clark, Herman's Hermits, The Righteous Brothers, and notably, The Supremes, marking a rare appearance of black faces on the cover of a mainstream magazine. "The best brown sound is, of course, that sung by Negroes," Time notes, offering praise for the "Motown Sound" that is taking hold. Rock and roll really is here to stay. By the end of the decade, there is no questioning its influence or staying power.