Question for those who grew up in 50's and 60's?

Question

Did your parents think that some of the music was real bad? My dad told me about how when Elvis went on the Ed sullivan show that they only would show him from the hips up because they did not want people to see him shaking his hips. i could only imagine what they would think of the music that the kids listen to know.

Answer 1

I was raised in the 50-60's and yes I saw elvis on the ed sullivan show. back them we had loads of morals. and no one really cared about elvis not being showed from the hips down, because we never thought about those things. life was simple, with very high standards,parents were decent, christian people who followed very high standards, unlike today, you would have to have lived in the 50's to understand what I mean. I am somewhat appaled at the way singers today dress and carry themselves, everything changed in the 60's with the love and peace movement, and today is the result of that, and look around you, what do you see, the bimbo's like britney ect. is really sad, in the fifties every thing was deceint, no girls gone wild, that wasen't even an option. I think todays music is very sad, I have xm radio and still listen to the fifties, the stuff nowadays is not music, its just yelling for the most part, rap music is the worst............!!!!!!!

Answer 2

I was 1 of those who watched the Ed Sullivan show and swooned and screamed over Elvis. I had all his records that is until the older Elvis,then I stopped caring,but my parents hated Rock and Roll,and I played it constantly on my portable radio.At that time it was top 40, today all those songs are old time rock and Roll. I still play them and I'm so lucky,my kids grew up loving music,1 is in a band for fun,1 plays the guitar and 1 is on the radio with his own talk show and also he DJ's for another show so he and I talk all the time about music, all kinds and we have so much in common,so I also never liked his music,he loves the late 70's and 80's and I don't,but we both like disco for some strange reason, and he likes some of the old rock and roll.

Answer 3

My parents thought the music of the 50's & 60's was trashy. I can remember watching tv when Elvis debuted on the Ed Sullivan show. His hips were gyrating in all over the place. My parents were in shock & my dad changed the channel, telling my siblings & I that it wasn't fit for us to watch. I thought Elvis was cool but kept my mouth shut & respected my dad's word. My dad told me later on, that the switchboard on the Ed Sullivan show lit up like a Christmas tree with callers, who thought Elvis's gyrations were obscene. The next time he appeared on the show, he was only shown from the waist up. If my parents were still alive, I can only imagine what they'd think about today's music. Yikes!!!

Answer 4

My household welcomed all the music from the 50's ... my mom actually bought some of the records. WE did not have that problem in our house. I remember seeing Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show, and yes, Elvis the Pelvis was shot from the waist up only!! OF course, there were the churches screaming Satan all over the place...somethings never change, do they? Peace, Goldwing

Answer 5

It's strange but my parents were OK with rock and roll. Even
when they saw Elvis on TV they didn't say much. And seemed
to be entertained. I started using my money to buy the latest
records for my record player. I bought the 78's to begin with
and then the 45's which were easier to hold and weren't
breakable like the 78s were. I had alot of singles that were
put out by an entertainer only once that I collected too. Like
Tab Hunter, singing, Red Sails in the Sunset. I'll never know
why I got that one LOL. All my 78s got broken in a trip to
Arizona and that was the end of those. I gave all my 45's to
one of my sisters' when I left to go into the service.

Answer 6

We didn't even own a radio back then-- so I didn't hear much more music other than what I heard outside the house on someone's transistor radio. When the Ed Sullivan Show was on the little Admiral B&W TV we did have they wouldn't even comment on Elvis or the Beatles et. al.

But this (resentment of the younger generation's music) is true of each generation--- no? I bet you will feel the same about your attachment to today's music when you get old too!

Answer 7

My parents were like all people of that era not quite ready for Elvis and his gyrating hips, but they got used to the new sound and singers. I don't much care for the new rock as the entertainers (?) do not act like they are enjoying what they are doing. The music all sounds the same, loud with no lyrics and all the same beat. It is my opinion that the parents of the generation of the 50 and 60s are appalled at the way the entertainment industry and in particular music has been degraded into vulgar, drug, alcohol, sex, disrespect, and violence lyrics. There is no fun in the music.

Answer 8

My mother and a neighbor lady (who didn't have a TV) watched Elvis shake his pelvis that evening on the Ed Sullivan Show. They were giggling and squealing like a couple of school girls. I was banished to my room because Elvis was so scandalous but of course I snuck out of my room, hid behind the couch and watched the show. I must have been about 6 years old but I remember it clearly.

Mom loved all kinds of music, including Elvis. Dad didn't like anything but country music. They never complained about the music I listened to, just hollered for me to "keep it down!" I don't think they'd appreciate the profanity in some of today's music but I don't care for it either.

Answer 9

My maternal grandparents didn't like "kids music", my other grandmother and my parents weren't thrilled with all of it-but they did like some of 'my' music.

I, too, heard the "turn that thing" down, a time or two. When I was very young, like about 7 years old, I played "Wake Up Little Susie" so loud and so long that I'm pretty sure my mom hid that record from me for awhile....:) By the time I was listening to Led Zepplin, she mostly just ignored my 'musical selections'.

My husband and I used to attend local "Battle of the Bands" to chaperone our daughter. We liked some of the bands, and either didn't like or didn't 'get' other bands.

My husband is in his late 50s now, and his hobby is playing in a rock band. Our parents have both been out to see him at gigs, and they still don't like the all the songs, and the music is too loud for them. His dad played trumpet in a jazz band (nights and weekends) for 30 years, before that he played in a country band. My parents 'jitterbugged'....my dad still does when he gets the chance.

I realize that things seem more blatent today, and too many (not all) parents don't pay enough attention to their kids. However, I believe that those who think things were so much better in the 50s or early 60 are only looking at "the package" presented on tv, radio, or magazines......not everything in the entertainment industry was all that sweet back then.

Answer 10

Oh yes.....I remember seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan.......sort of.....I was crying and screaming to see them and hanging onto the bottom of the recliner while my dad had my feet trying to pull me down the hall so I couldn't see them .LOL Finally he gave up and thought he'd try the sensible approach.......told me to look at those wires that were comming from the guitars and see how they went behind the curtain or off stage.......ya see.....there's other guys back there playing music too coz there ain't no way 4 boys could make that much racket with 3 guitars and drums. Heck lets not forget that long hair as well.......can't understand a thing they're sayin...YA YA YA....and you call that music? Boppin their darn heads like fools....LOL....oh yes music was a touchy subject back then. Funny thing happened though......he ended up loving them later. Said with all the garbage out there he had to admit they were the best shot. Took me awhile to convince him the fellow (Paul) on the AARP cataloge he had gotten was actually the same kid. LOL I think he probably could have handled the music if it wasn't for the dancing. That ,he could not handle. We were forbidden to dance.

My dad said the new music today was just plain filth and the Lords commin' to rid us of this sin. LOL