How boys were once socialized in a positive way by popular music.
by Nicholas Andrian on Saturday, April 2, 2011 at 1:28am
Today, when women are referred to as 'bitches' and 'ho's' in popular music and
where violence against them is celebrated in song, I find myself longing for the
days when the popular culture inspired young men to respect women and girls,
nay, even to place them on a pedestal. Take, for instance, a big #1 hit by Frank
Sinatra in the summer of 1955, "Learnin' the Blues." Here is a sample of the
lyrics: "The tables are empty, the dance floor's deserted, you play the same
love song, it's the tenth time you've heard it; that's the beginning, just one
of the clues, you've had your first lesson in learning the blues." It goes on:
"The cigarettes you like, one after another, won't help you forget her, or the
way that you love her; you're only burning a torch you can't lose, you're on the
right track for learning the blues." The refrain (and here's where the
socialization comes in): "When you're at home alone, the blues will taunt you
constantly; when you're out in a crowd, the blues will haunt your memory. The
nights when you don't sleep, that whole night you're crying, won't help you
forget her, soon you even stop trying. You'll walk the floor and wear out your
shoes, when you feel your heart break, you're learning the blues." First of
all, the words are sophisticated and paint a powerful picture of emotions a man
can truly feel. Secondly, Frank recorded this with Nelson Riddle, one of the
greatest arrangers ever of popular music. His orchestra consisted of truly great
musicians and he, they and Sinatra fit one another like the proverbial hand in
glove (the time Sinatra spent with Riddle, 1953 to 1961, saw the highlight of
his artistry). Most importantly, the song told boys that it was OK to feel hurt
when a girl dropped you. If Sinatra, who had a tough guy image (he lived hard
and was not above punching out a reporter from time to time), could spend the
whole night crying over a woman, well, then it was OK for a boy to do so, too.
Girls and women were to be wooed, pursued, respected, cherished. A kiss from a
love object was the source of a thrill, let alone anything beyond that (which we
all aspired to hopefully, of course). "Learning the Blues" marked a milestone
which no one was aware of at the time: The song that knocked Sinatra's
masterpiece out of the #1 spot was Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock," which
ushered in the rock and roll era and the decline of the Great American Songbook.
"Rock Around the Clock" had been released the year before, 1954, but went
nowhere; the public was not ready for this new and overly simplified style of
music, lacking nuance and sophistication. However, when the great film
"Blackboard Jungle" (starring Glen Ford, Anne Francis and the truly gifted
Sydney Poitier - playing a high school student!), using "Rock Around the Clock"
as background music during the rolling of its credits, was released that summer
of '55, the song took off and became a classic. This displacement of "Learning
the Blues" symbolized the Draconian changes that would come during the ensuing
years in American culture. It can be said that the social revolution which
overtook this country in the Sixties and beyond had its roots in the toppling of
the Sinatra/Riddle chef-d'oeuvre that summer.
by Nicholas Andrian on Saturday, April 2, 2011 at 1:28am
Today, when women are referred to as 'bitches' and 'ho's' in popular music and
where violence against them is celebrated in song, I find myself longing for the
days when the popular culture inspired young men to respect women and girls,
nay, even to place them on a pedestal. Take, for instance, a big #1 hit by Frank
Sinatra in the summer of 1955, "Learnin' the Blues." Here is a sample of the
lyrics: "The tables are empty, the dance floor's deserted, you play the same
love song, it's the tenth time you've heard it; that's the beginning, just one
of the clues, you've had your first lesson in learning the blues." It goes on:
"The cigarettes you like, one after another, won't help you forget her, or the
way that you love her; you're only burning a torch you can't lose, you're on the
right track for learning the blues." The refrain (and here's where the
socialization comes in): "When you're at home alone, the blues will taunt you
constantly; when you're out in a crowd, the blues will haunt your memory. The
nights when you don't sleep, that whole night you're crying, won't help you
forget her, soon you even stop trying. You'll walk the floor and wear out your
shoes, when you feel your heart break, you're learning the blues." First of
all, the words are sophisticated and paint a powerful picture of emotions a man
can truly feel. Secondly, Frank recorded this with Nelson Riddle, one of the
greatest arrangers ever of popular music. His orchestra consisted of truly great
musicians and he, they and Sinatra fit one another like the proverbial hand in
glove (the time Sinatra spent with Riddle, 1953 to 1961, saw the highlight of
his artistry). Most importantly, the song told boys that it was OK to feel hurt
when a girl dropped you. If Sinatra, who had a tough guy image (he lived hard
and was not above punching out a reporter from time to time), could spend the
whole night crying over a woman, well, then it was OK for a boy to do so, too.
Girls and women were to be wooed, pursued, respected, cherished. A kiss from a
love object was the source of a thrill, let alone anything beyond that (which we
all aspired to hopefully, of course). "Learning the Blues" marked a milestone
which no one was aware of at the time: The song that knocked Sinatra's
masterpiece out of the #1 spot was Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock," which
ushered in the rock and roll era and the decline of the Great American Songbook.
"Rock Around the Clock" had been released the year before, 1954, but went
nowhere; the public was not ready for this new and overly simplified style of
music, lacking nuance and sophistication. However, when the great film
"Blackboard Jungle" (starring Glen Ford, Anne Francis and the truly gifted
Sydney Poitier - playing a high school student!), using "Rock Around the Clock"
as background music during the rolling of its credits, was released that summer
of '55, the song took off and became a classic. This displacement of "Learning
the Blues" symbolized the Draconian changes that would come during the ensuing
years in American culture. It can be said that the social revolution which
overtook this country in the Sixties and beyond had its roots in the toppling of
the Sinatra/Riddle chef-d'oeuvre that summer.
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