questions for people from the 50s-70s?

Question

when i look back about the music during these times i always think about the beatles,the doors, elvis,johnny cash, rolling stones, etc.

but they are all kind of the same genre of music.
unlike today, did you guys ever asked what kind of music you listen to or whats your favorite type of music?
today we have rap,country,rock,pop etc.
but the most i differnce i could think of back then is like blues and rock or something.

i dont know im just curious about that.

Answer 1

After the "British Invasion" of 1964 and early '65, English-style rock groups much like the Beatles became all the rage. There wasn't very much that could compete with them for several years.

These groups not only introduced new music to America, they also introduced new fashion styles like mini-skirts and motorcycle caps for girls and button-downed collars and turtle neck sweaters for guys. Crew-cuts and slicked-back hair on guys were now considered uncool. The Beatle mop-head or at least, semi-long hair combed forward was considered "in."

The Beatles pretty much ruined the careers of earlier American rock 'n roll heart-throbs like Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson and the Beach Boys. These guys were basically history after that.

In my opinion, Johnny Rivers, was the American artist of the mid-sixties (1964 -67) who did his best at holding his own against the British invasion. He sang a lot of rockabilly songs like Mabelene, Poor Side of Town and Baby I Need Your Lovin' which reflected his upbringing in Louisiana. He reamained surprisingly popular at a time when it seemed no other American singers could beat the English sound of the British Invasion.

After coming out with a hit song "I Walk The Line" in 1960, Johnny Cash was dormant during much of the 1960's. Then in 1969, as Beatlemania receded, he came out with a smash-hit comical song called "A Boy Named Sue" which really jump started his career again. He also sang a duet with Bob Dylan that same year which increased his popularity with rock music fans.

I never heard anyone in high school say that they liked country music. Country music didn't experience a revival until around 1974 with Merle Haggard (from Oklahoma) and Tanya Tucker (from Texas).

Rap and Hip-Hop music did not exist then. Many Black artists at the time like Otis Redding, The Fifth Dimension, The Chambers' Brothers and Jimi Hendrix had a tendency to go with the flow and imitate the Beatles.

In the 1960's pop music and pop culture were pretty much inseparable. They came together in the same package.

The 1970's saw a lot more diversification in popular music including a revival in country (Merle Haggard, Tanya Tucker, Willie Nelson) music and jazz and blues type music (Stanley Clark) ending with Disco, Punk and New Wave around 1978 and '79.

The '70's has been called "an aimless musical period" by some music critics. By then, everybody was starting to go in their own directions. That trend has continued down to the present time (2008).

So, in short, nobody I knew of in the 1960's and early '70's really talked about liking a specific genere of music other than Beatles-influenced rock 'n roll. That all started around 1980 when the Woodstock era was beginning to fade into history.