1950s

Something dangerous happened in the 1950s: teenagers got their own music. Rock and roll exploded out of Black rhythm and blues, white country, and gospel, creating a sound that parents feared and kids couldn't resist. Elvis Presley's hips, Chuck Berry's guitar, Little Richard's screams — this was rebellion set to a backbeat. Jukeboxes glowed in every diner, car radios blasted through drive-in parking lots, and 45 RPM singles became the currency of cool. Doo-wop harmonies floated off street corners while Buddy Holly reinvented what a song could be. The generation gap was born, and it had a soundtrack.