In conclusion the early sixties was a time when teenagers could finally have their own lifestyles people who remember the sixties with affection were in their teens when the decade began.
Why did bands like the Beatles and the Rolling stones have such a great impact during the 1960s?
The Beatles and the rolling stones is an extremely well known band during the 60s. There are many reasons why they made such a strong impact. During the 1960s it was when there was a development in technology, the seven-inch singles where created they were cheaper, lighter and more available easier to carry around and listen to the latest songs. Music gramophones were also cheaper. Television pop shows were also shown such as ’six Five Special’ and ’juke Box Jury’, which were extremely popular. Coffee bars all this was Because of the economic boom during the late fifties.
The first pop music shows on television where shown. In 1962 a combination of individuals, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and John Lennon started performing. This was a great breakthrough in music the British public had never seen anything like them before, this was probably because they were so unique. Brian Epstein managed the Beatles; he created one of the most talented and recognised bands in history. He made the Beatles wear jackets with no lapels and a hairstyle that looked like a pudding basin. The Beatle at first wrote song mostly about love, sentimental songs which appealed to everyone, they where the next boy image
They appeared with the Prime Minister Harold Wilson, they were working class teenagers with regional accents from Liverpool. The Beatles were enormously popular because before most British singers copied American songs and American influence. The Beatles were seen as heroes because they represented the British teenagers and a whole new revolution in music.
The Beatles in their earlier year where very uncontroversial and suited everyone, during their later years they took a rebel stance and their songs suggested revolution against the establishment. The boy next-door image had transformed into psycadelic hippies types. They took interest in Buddhism and they took LSD. Their earlier sentimental, easy listening love song turned to complicated lyrics serious and perplexing. In their song ‘All your need is love’ was a message for freedom of speech and peace. In ‘penny lane’ and ‘lady Madonna’ their questioned British society and religion. In ‘Lucy in the sky with diamond’ it suggest drug use LSD. All of this led to the establishment disliking them. But it seem that the more people opposed the beatles the more teenagers were curious to listen and to go and buy their album.
Because of all the new genres of music new subcultures were formed such as the mods and the rockers these two clashed violently against themselves and the establishment, the mods were higher class teenagers who dressed neatly and followed fashion they travelled in scooters and took drugs, the rockers were working class and they wore leather jackets . because of the baby boom during the 1945-1947 there was an enormous increase of babies being born, in the sixties these babies will be all teenagers and because of the economic boom as well, this led to teenagers having a lot of money to spend on records and clothes. This contributed a lot to the Beatles and Rolling stones success. The rolling stones were Rockers and they were very wild on stage. In 1967 the rolling stones released their single ‘satisfaction’, which was a song, which was controversial at that time because it suggested sexual satisfaction and that they were not catalysed by the way the government and society is treating young people. Also ’Brown sugar’ was released, this was
Very controversial because it openly suggested heroin use and mixed race sexual relationships. Mick jagger was the lead singer of rolling stones and his stage acts attracted a lot of attention. Such type of popular music had never been seen before in the 1960s.
In conclusion the Beatles and Rolling Stones had such a great impact because of the baby boom, the economic boom, the controversy and the uniqueness of these bands.
To some people the sixties were the best of times; to others it was a period when many things in society went wrong, why do people have such different ideas about the 1960s?
During the 1950s to the 1960s there was many changes in society. Many dramatic events of the twentieth century happened in the sixties, such Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space, Cuban missile Crisis, and John F Kennedy’s assassination. The Vietnam War and the first men on the moon,but the sixties was blamed for many things going wrong in society
For teenagers the sixties was a great time for them, they could finally have their own lives and their own freedom of expression in their clothes and music and tastes. Music had become more available and convenient because of the new technology; the new seven-inch singles were created light, cheap and convenient. Gramophones became cheaper and pop shows on TV started showing and coffee bars became popular so teens could catch up with the latest songs. The economic boom gave the teenagers more money to spend on what they wanted and this gave them more freedom. Because of the development of popular culture this led to the many subcultures being created, such as the Mods, Rockers, hippies and beatniks so this was great for them because teenagers now had freedom of expression which they did n’t have before.
Women also had great sixties as well because of the creation and changing of the contraceptive pill, abortion and divorce laws, education, jobs and pay. The conceptive pill invention gave women freedom and now they could plan their own lives. The abortion act of 1967 was made so that abortion was made legal but it was strictly controlled under medical supervision, this was because the government wanted to stop ’back street abortions’ which were carried out by untrained people and was very dangerous. The pill and the abortion act together gave women a very effective way to plan when they wanted children. In the sixties there were several legal changes, which gave women a stronger position in marriage. The Married women’s property act in 1964 made sure that all women would get half the money they saved from housekeeping, in 1967, the matrimonial acts gave husband and wife exactly the same right of occupation in a family home. Best most of all in 1970, when family assets were divided up the women’s upkeep of household and welfare of family was taken into acount.women were now treated with more equality, and this had been a great change for women who lived in the 1950s. Before, in the 1950s women did not have many job opportunities most of them worked in boutiques or as receptionists all of this was because of the traditional views that women stay at home and sacrifice their career for the home and children, this is because they did not have equal education. So in the sixties law was formed to make sure girls and boys had same education.
Liberals liked the sixties because there were many changes. Homosexuality was legalised in 1967 but relationships had to be in private and The Death penalty was abolished.
Most parents would have disliked the sixties because they would disapprove their children’s Behaviour. Because of the changes in popular culture teenagers would constantly going out, listen to music that parents found offensive, artists like Beatles and Rolling stone, this is because they influenced drug use, suggested sex and rebellion. During the sixties the fashion changed from formal clothes to youthful and more provocative clothing, such as the mini skirt. Parents thought that their daughters were going out to have sex when they wear tight clothes and miniskirts, and fathers thought sons were being unmasculine by worrying about their appearance all the time.
The church thought the sixties as a time when things went wrong because they believed that the marriage acts of parliament broke down family values and that it made the marriage bond weaker. The church disliked the pill and abortion because it encouraged sex before marriage; also it made relationships less loving. The church believed that abortion was murder and it weakened society. Also the church opposed to homosexuals because it was against the teaching of church
The government disliked the sixties because TV, magazines and newspapers were constantly attacking them. Church, Politicians, royal family and Prime Minister Harold Macmillan were targets for satire. In weekly programmes on TV like ‘Beyond the Fringe’ and ‘TW3’ they were made fun of. In magazines such as ‘Private Eye’ they were pictures of public figure and politician with speech bubbles that ridiculed them. In 1963 satirists revealed to public that the secretary of war, John Promumo had been having an affair with nineteen year old girl Christine Keeler who also slept with a Soviet spy, this led to many people believing that the government was untrustworthy and wrong.
In conclusion whoever liked or disliked the sixties depended on their age, religion, gender and politics. It was a great time for young people because of their freedom and popular culture but bad for the older generation who were more traditional. Religious Christians believed that the pill and abortion and homosexuals was wrong and weakened society. For women, sixties was a time of great changes because now they could have equal pay, better jobs and education and a stronger legal position in marriage. Some husbands would have disliked this because they are not used to living without their wives looking after the house and family. For liberals sixties was good because of the abolition of death penalty and legalisation of gays. For people who belived in politics and trusted the government, they disliked the sixties because they do not like to see the politicians being attacked by the media. One of the main things of the sixties is that it was the beginning of when people began questioning society and lack respect for the establishment. The strong moral and family values of before had changed by the end of the 1960s into freedom, self-expression and the individual.
