The Dangers of Beboppism

[garthsj]

In the mid-fifties, when I was just beginning to discover girls, we in far-off Cape Town used the term "bopping" to describe what had previously been known as "jiving." Dancing was done to a mixture of things ranging from Benny Goodman's "Lullaby of the Leaves" (his flirtation with be-bop) to Presley's "Hound Dog" ... so it was a transition period.

The fifties are a rich period for the study of cultural transition, especially because it was fueled by the political tensions of the Cold War. I have spent a lot of time researching this issue of "social control" of media for various books and government reports I have written. I can recommend one good overview of the subject ... James Gilbert, "A Cycle of Outrage: America's Reaction To The Juvenile Delinquent In The 1950s" (N.Y.: Oxford U.P., 1986).

I once gave a special lecture here at the Museum of Contemporary Art on the subject of "Cultural Choices in 1950s: To Be 'Cool' or 'Hot'?" My premise, illustrated with lots of personal photographs of my teenage years, was that some of us were faced with sticking with Gerry Mulligan ('cool'), or going with the Presley tidal wave ('hot'). The iconography and styles of these two "schools" were quite different ... of course, in Britain it later manifested itself as the battle between "mods" and "rockers". Interestingly, there really was no similar division among American teenagers. Rock just became so dominant, and teenage jazz fans were too few to constitute a serious movement, or to even be noticed!

Garth.

Edited January 9, 2005 by garthsj

[Jazzmoose]

The comic books remark was joke... I know about E.C. and Wertham,and Mad covered a lot of the pre-RnR JD threat material in the first couple years, like the "Starchie" piece.

I thought I felt a hook in my mouth, but I wasn't sure...