51 Popular '50s Entertainment Facts: The Golden Age Of Rock And Roll

The '50s are often addressed as the Golden Age in history.

After the Great Depression, World War I, and World War II, the world was now looking to settle down. The decade played a different and crucial role in establishing America in many ways.

Drive-in theaters rose to popularity as they were fun leisure activities pleasing to many and affordable. So were the road trips as automobiles became common in many households. Hence people in the '50s indulged in television, soap operas, music, sports, news through radio, TV, and music, sports, news, drive-in theaters.

If the above facts have engaged you, we have Fun Fact articles on '50s fashion facts and 20th-century music facts.

Popular Inventions During The '50s That Changed The Entertainment Industry

In the '50s, people used to bond over leisure activities. Song and dance, mainly Rock'n' Roll, was made famous by Elvis Presley.

Buddy Holly, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Dinah Shore were some other prominent singers of the '50s. The young teens of the '50s enjoyed swinging to rock and pop. A popular dance that teens enjoyed was the jitterbug.

Television became a dominant mass media source of entertainment. Nearly every home owned a television set by the end of the '50s to the early '60s.

Households enjoyed popular TV shows as Father Knows Best, The Honeymooners, Lassie, and I Love Lucy, drama series Lone Ranger gained popularity in the mid'50s. And the way to access such entertainment was the construction of television and drive venues. Even game shows started to air during this period.

During the '50s, Americans had more income to spend for greater material comfort than their forefathers. This provided the convenience to spend more money and time on leisure activities and the expenditure of popular culture. After the Second World War, America entered the golden age. The public was now finding jobs quickly, and various customs arose.

Though active since the '30s, television broadcasting caught people's fancy only in the '50s. Soldiers who returned home after Second World War started families.

Television became the primary source of entertainment and people purchased the TV sets in millions. Television brought news and entertainment to most Americans. Television shows made their debut, and many movie stars slowly shifted from the small screen.

Hence '50s is often referred to as The Golden Age of Television. The then-new-age actors embraced method acting over drama-based concepts. Plot-driven and character-oriented stories alongside historical epics were now produced with a vast star cast.

One of the iconic names was Audrey Hepburn. She was a British actress and humanitarian. She was recognized as both a fashion and film icon. She was rated as the third-greatest female screen legend from Classical Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute.

Her performance as Princess Ann won her an Acadamy award. With the invention of a television set, the TV dinners, tagged as comfort food and symbol of prestige, came into the picture. The Swanson company provided the first TV dinners during Thanksgiving of 1953.

Parallelly revolutionary changes occurred in the music industry with the advent of popular music or Rock 'n' Roll. This genre became rapidly popular and a favorite among teenagers.

Rock 'n' Roll drew inspiration from the blues genre of music, based on themes of young love and rebellion against authority, popular among teenagers. This genre incorporated pop, rhythm, and blues (R&B), and gospel music.

These revolutionary changes in production style, musical form, tone, instrumentation, and eventually lyric content depicted social and political changes. This genre expressed the social anxieties of the Civil Rights Movement.

Pop provides a far-reaching socio-political message of any social paradox as it achieves national recognition. Rock 'n' Roll is the by-product of musical forms that are based on the culture of the Black community. The study of trends in popular music through the '50s shows the path of the Civil Rights Movement.

In an era where American culture was segregated, Rock 'n' Roll was integrated, making it a musical and social force. The pop style was slowly made famous by the disc jockeys.

Rock 'n' Roll affected American society by influencing family lives, youthful rebellion, and the civil rights movement. Teenagers turned to rock and youth-oriented television programs and movies to distance themselves from their parents' culture.

Rock 'n' Roll questioned the orthodoxy of the '50s by exposing controversial subjects that were not much approved at the time. It challenged the social strictness of the time.

Rock 'n' Roll encouraged self-expression and individuality among citizens. It influenced fashion, daily life, language, and attitudes in a way few other social developments have not equaled. Famous rock and pop stars evolved during this era.

Elvis Presley (1935–1977) was undoubtedly the undisputed king of Rock 'n' Roll in the '50s. Others included Chuck Berry Fats Domino, Little Richard, Johnny Ray, Buddy Holly, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Big Events Happened In The '50s

The '50s were the best decade of emerging, invention, and revolution. Right after World War II and the Great Depression, the golden age arose. Finding a job became accessible; also, different types of customs came about.

Rates of inflation and unemployment were low, and salaries were high. Middle-class people now had more money to spend than ever. The range and availability of consumer goods expanded along with the economy.

To begin with, the most noticeable occurring was population growth as many soldiers returned home after the war and considered starting a family this led to the celebrated baby boom. US population shoot up between 1940 and 1960, from about 132 million people to over 180 million.

The '50s was the baby boom period as many troops returned home and wanted to start families with their wives. With the baby boom, came the rise in mass culture.

Changing living and working patterns spurred essential developments in post-war America. The '50s marked an era of industrial supremacy, general stability for American capitalism, interstate highways, and big cities, but also showed signs of a new suburban-oriented, more turbulent, and service-based economy.

This combination of economic factors seemed to work wonders, with greater income equality than had been true across recent American history.

The most apparent inequality of the period was racial. The '50s witnessed the restoration of civil rights protests for the over 17 million American blacks who were victims of other forms of persistent discrimination.

Brands illustrate the post-war civil rights movement by focusing on the impact of the two monumental US Supreme Court decisions in the 1954 and 1955 Brown cases and the 1955-6 Montgomery Bus Boycott.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott occurred when Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat to a white person in Montgomery, Alabama. She was called the mother of the Civil rights movement and fought for racial equality.

This is what led to her arrest and the birth of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The US Supreme court rules out separate schools for whites and blacks.

Historians claim a revealing linkage between the international Cold War and the domestic civil rights movement. The government in America focused on the third world, where American policymakers sought to influence events in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Other important events include Queen Elizabeth's coronation, the Civil rights movement, the Korean War, Olympic games held in Melbourne. Senator Joseph McCarthy alleges Communists in US Government. Dwight Eisenhower was elected President during this time.

Today, the music we listen to, the movies we watch, and many events we see, route back to the golden age as new trends and ways of living emerged.

On the entertainment front, television started to evolve as a new form of amusement. Many new-age stars came to action as the acting trends started to change as well. The television at home transformed into a cheaper, simpler, and convenient leisure activity. Amid live performances, broadcasters discovered the ability to film events and aired later.

NBC was the first to create dramatic visuals of newsreels and announce radio news. CBS, another newsgroup later expanded its territory into broadcasting and radio news with Edward Murrow stealing the show with his deep voice.

The Edward Murrow days were remembered as the Golden Age of televisions. On October 2nd, 1950, famous a new strip good grief character Charlie Brown debuted with a group of other comic cartoon friends. Julia Child, who bought French cuisine to American audiences, was the first to host a cooking television show.

On the other hand, movies were making a significant effort to pull audiences to cinema halls. Producers tried to hire famous stars like Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe to attract youth.

Music took its new form with the innovation of pop culture and upbeat and dreamily romantic songs. Fashion icons like Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Lana Turner, Martine Carol, Lauren Bacall, Doris Day, Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth, Eartha Kitt, and Jane Russell inspired people's dressing and lifestyle.

Advertising on televisions gave scope for brands to promote their products with fantasy and careful preparations and packaging. Brands started to sponsor broadcasts for publicity and to get a mention. Politically, Dwight Eisenhower was the first person to utilize television advertising for presidential campaigning, which was later approved and followed by all future Presidential candidates.

The record-breaking, academy award-winning movie Ben Hur was released on November 18, 1959 and became one of the most successful films in history. Ben Hur won 11 Academy Awards, an intact record until the film Titanic in 1998.

Parallelly, the Pulitzer prize was awarded to people for excellence in American journalism, literature, or arts for their works. The prize was established in 1917.

Different Influences On The Entertainment Industry Of The '50s

The Black Community had a significant impact on the entertainment industry. Every genre of music was influenced by black American pop culture, of which two genres that stand out are R&B music and hip-hop/rap.

This influence begins with the Trans Saharan slave trade era and continues to the '50s or '60s. Famous among black musicians was Charles Brown with his melodious American blues.

The community's norms and artistic genres definitely integrated people, activities, arts, events, and objects. These forms of music reflected the struggle for cultural emancipation, and oppression.

The black pop culture eventually started to influence the American people and the world. The impact of their music was vividly seen in the kind of movies, music produced, and through mediums. The influence of the black community via entertainment and music is evidently reflected even at the annual Grammy awards.

In 1959, the first-ever Grammy Awards were held, appreciating the recordings of 1958. Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie were the first black musicians to win these awards.

Rock 'n' Roll debated the orthodox rules of society, that rationalize cultural differences between white and black citizens. Government bodies, news media, and parents especially were against this genre of music. But kids of the '50s disagreed with the older generation, causing a major generational rift.

Rock 'n' Roll influenced fashion, daily life, attitudes, other social developments. This genre became a deeply interwoven and accepted thread in popular culture as the generations of rock fans matured. New styles of music in the form of blues, ragtime, jazz, and gospel emerged among black Americans in the early 20th century.

Writer Robert Palmer mentioned in his works that, 'Rock 'n' Roll was an inevitable outburst of the musical and social interactions between blacks and whites in the Southwest and South'. Popular music has played a predominant role in drawing people together.

Though few people disagree, a pop song encouraged people to form new relationships. Many of the million pop songs did not contain any profanity or encourage violence. Pop music was principally composed to be received and appreciated by a broad audience dominated by urban culture.

What label does the Walts give to categorize Disney entertainment in the '50s?

A production logo is an emblem used by television production companies and movie studios to brand their product and establish the production company and the distributor of a film or television show. They are usually seen as opening logos or as closing logos of any television program or TV show.

The story of Walt Disney began when young enthusiast Walt stepped into Kansas City, Missouri with a dream of what we call today the Walt Disney Company previously called the Disney Brother's Cartoon Studio. Walts received much disappointment and defeat from his producer Charles Mintz, who was stealing most of Disney's animators.

From this defeat emerged the most famous character which is famous as Mickey Mouse. After which, this cartoon entertainment creator and dreamer was accepted, and he rose to fame.

The year 1950 saw Disney's first live-action film, the Treasure Island, and Disney's first television show, One Hour in Wonderland. This opened new roads for the Walt Disney company as both were highly appreciated and liked.

In 1955, Disneyland opened after planning and dreaming about it for many years. The basic idea of Walt to create this park was that families and children would together have some family time.

This prestigious movie studio did not have a brand logo in its first 48 years. The year 1985 saw the first logo of this studio.

The appearance of the Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella castle was the first-ever signature emblem of this iconic Disney production which was also used in theme parks. A scintillating white light slowly formed from top to bottom of the castle, following which 'Walt Disney Pictures' would appear. Completing this was the line drawn behind the castle.

There was much more to this decade than music and entertainment. The most monumental moment occurred in the '50s when the first human climbed the summit of the world's tallest mountain, Mount Everest. Tenzing Norgay and British explorer Sir Edmund Hillary made it to Mount Everest on May 29, 1953.

In 1954, the first-ever Miss America Pageant was conducted. This prestigious event was the first live broadcast to the entire country on television from the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

Scientifically significant '50s fact is the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Act on 29 July 1958. This led to the evolution of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The space agency later went on to achieve the first human moon landing in history. The first Barbie was introduced in March 1959.

The concept of malls saw its beginning when the first indoor mall was opened in Minnesota called the Southdale Center. This indoor mall is the oldest temperature-controlled mall in the US. The most important and determining lifestyle fact of America, the fast-food culture was also introduced by the McDonald franchise in 1955.

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