Sex, Drugs & Rock ‘n’ Roll: The Evolution of an American Youth Culture

340 Pages·2015·6.543 MB·English

by  Douglas Brode

30
Sex, Drugs & Rock ‘n’ Roll analyzes the cultural, political, and social revolution
that took place in the U.S. (and over time in the world) after World War II, crys-
tallized between 1955 and 1970. During this era, the concept of the American
teenager fi rst came into being, signifi cantly altering the relationship between
S
young people and adults.
E
As the entertainment industries came to realize that a youth market X
existed, providers of music and movies began to create products specifi cally ,
D
for them. While Big Beat music and exploitation fi lms may have initially been
R
targeted for a marginalized audience, during the following decade and a half,
U
such offerings gradually become mainstream, even as the fi rst generation of G
American teenagers came of age. As a result the so-called youth culture over- S

took and consumed the primary American culture, as records and fi lms once
&
considered revolutionary transformed into a nostalgia movement, and much of
R
what had been thought of as radical came to be perceived as conservative in a
O
drastically altered social context.
C
In this book Douglas Brode offers the fi rst full analysis of how an American
K
youth culture evolved.
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’

R
Douglas Brode (Ph.D., Syracuse University) is a fi lm and media historian and O
multi-award winning journalist. He is the author of more than forty books, L
L
including Shakespeare in the Movies: From the Silent Era to Shakespeare

in Love (2000) and Multiculturalism and the Mouse: Race and Sex in Disney

Entertainment (2009).
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30
Sex, Drugs & Rock ‘n’ Roll analyzes the cultural, political, and social revolution
that took place in the U.S. (and over time in the world) after World War II, crys-
tallized between 1955 and 1970. During this era, the concept of the American
teenager fi rst came into being, signifi cantly altering the relationship between
S
young people and adults.
E
As the entertainment industries came to realize that a youth market X
existed, providers of music and movies began to create products specifi cally ,
D
for them. While Big Beat music and exploitation fi lms may have initially been
R
targeted for a marginalized audience, during the following decade and a half,
U
such offerings gradually become mainstream, even as the fi rst generation of G
American teenagers came of age. As a result the so-called youth culture over- S

took and consumed the primary American culture, as records and fi lms once
&
considered revolutionary transformed into a nostalgia movement, and much of
R
what had been thought of as radical came to be perceived as conservative in a
O
drastically altered social context.
C
In this book Douglas Brode offers the fi rst full analysis of how an American
K
youth culture evolved.
‘
n
’

R
Douglas Brode (Ph.D., Syracuse University) is a fi lm and media historian and O
multi-award winning journalist. He is the author of more than forty books, L
L
including Shakespeare in the Movies: From the Silent Era to Shakespeare

in Love (2000) and Multiculturalism and the Mouse: Race and Sex in Disney

Entertainment (2009).
B
r
o
d
e
m P
o ET
c E
ng. R LA
a N
l G
r
e
t
e
p
w.
w
w
SEX, DRUGS & ROCK ‘n’ ROLL
Toby Miller
General Editor

Vol. 30

The Popular Culture and Everyday Life series
is part of the Peter Lang Media and Communication list.
Every volume is peer reviewed and meets
the highest quality standards for content and production.

PETER LANG
New York  Bern  Frankfurt  Berlin
Brussels  Vienna  Oxford  Warsaw
DOUGLAS BRODE

SEX, DRUGS & ROCK ‘n’ ROLL

The Evolution of an American Youth Culture

PETER LANG
New York  Bern  Frankfurt  Berlin
Brussels  Vienna  Oxford  Warsaw
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Brode, Douglas.
Sex, drugs & rock ‘n’ roll: the evolution of an American youth culture / Douglas Brode.
pages cm. — (Popular culture and everyday life; vol. 30)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Youth—Sexual behavior—United States—History.
2. Teens—Sexual behavior—United States—History.
3. Youth—Drug use—United States—History.
4. Teens—Drug use—United States—History.
5. Youth—United States—Social conditions—History.
6. Teens—United States—Social conditions—History.
I. Title. II. Title: Sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.
HQ27.B685 3305.2350973—dc23 2014043805
ISBN 978-1-4331-2887-5 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4331-2886-8 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-4539-1506-6 (e-book)
ISSN 1529-2428

Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data are available
on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/.

Cover image by Dan Zollinger

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All rights reserved.
Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm,
xerography, microfiche, microcard, and offset strictly prohibited.
acknowledgments
With great thanks to my son Shane Johnson Brode, for his endless hard
work and great judgment in helping me pick the precisely appropriate images
for this volume. And to Eileen Dykeman, who gave so much of her time to
proofreading and going over my text with the finest of fine-tooth combs ever
imagined in order to eliminate any possible glitch, however small. And with
great appreciation to Tony and the entire team at the Copy Center on Stone
Oak Parkway in San Antonio, Texas, for all their time, help, and support.

dedication
To:
JOSEPH AGOSTINELLO
the greatest football coach and mentor any 1950s teenager
could have hoped for
and
the graduating class of 1961 Patchogue High School
who shared with me the joys and sorrows of being among
America’s first youth culture