To the older generation rock 'n' roll came to mean Teds and
violence. There was a riot in Berlin. Some countries banned rock 'n' roll
altogether. In Singapore police were called in to stop British soldiers jiving
in a cinema foyer after a midnight premiere of Rock Around The Clock. The Rev. Albert Carter of Nottingham
denounced rock 'n' roll from his pulpit: 'The effect of rock 'n' roll on young
people is to turn them into devil-worshippers; to stimulate self-expression
through sex; to provoke lawlessness, impair nervous stability, and destroy the
sanctity of marriage.' In Miami, Florida, the head of the local censorship
board described rock 'n' roll dancing as 'nothing more than shoving boys and
girls around' and 'vile gyrations'! Racialist Asa Carter of the North Alabama
White Citizens' Council was scared too: 'Rock 'n' roll is a means of pulling
down the white man to the level of the 'Negro'. It is part of a plot to
undermine the morals of the youth of our nation. It is sexualistic,
unmoralistic, and the best way to bring people of both races together.' Many
older musicians hated rock 'n' roll: 'Viewed as a social phenomenon, the
current craze for rock 'n' roll material is one of the most terrifying things
ever to have happened to popular music ... Musically speaking of course, the
whole thing is laughable ... Let us oppose it to the end.'
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