Music in the '50s ranged from rock 'n' roll to the big band sound.
The postwar period of the 1950s brought optimism to the United States, and the music of that era reflected that attitude. Although jazz music was still going strong during this time, new types of music began to grab hold of the nation's youth -- and refused to let go. This music brought the energy and optimism of the '50s to radios, jukeboxes and dance halls across the nation.
Rock 'n' Roll
The 1950s saw a new type of music emerge -- a combination of country western, rhythm and blues, gospel and soul -- known as rock 'n' roll. The guitar-, bass- and drums-based music dominated the decade, and subsequent decades. Rockers such as Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis brought this new medium into the mainstream. But no artist did more for rock 'n' roll than Elvis Presley, whose hits captivated the youth of America.
Country Western
Hank Williams and Johnny Cash took the slow cowboy ballads and gospel music of previous decades and added a rockabilly element to it. Cash even toured with Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis throughout the decade. William's honky-tonk tunes, like "Hey Good Lookin," combined ragtime with rockabilly, while Cash's serious tunes about real life and humorous ballads about low-life rapscallions played well in the many prisons he played.
Jazz
The jazz music in the first half of the 20th century continued to entertain audiences of the 1950s. Duke Ellington's piano, John Coltrane's saxophone and Miles Davis's trumpet were all on display during the decade, most notably Davis's "Kind of Blue."
Crooners and Divas
Singers such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennet, Nat King Cole and Perry Como crooned old and new jazz standards to adoring audiences nationwide. At the same time, diva singers like Ella Fitzgerald, Doris Day and Dinah Shore sang of heartbreak, lost love and steamy nights in dive bars and nightclubs alike.
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