When you think of classic pop culture canon, a sizeable chunk of it consists of big names in the music industry- Elvis, the Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, etc. Names so cemented in music history that even a vague outline of them is instantly recognizable- Elvis’ mile-high hairdo and the Beatles’ matching (and kind of dreadful) mop-tops speak for themselves. However, you don’t need to be told how famous these uber-famous celebrities are. If you’re like me, one ride in the car listening to your dad’s playlist will have you listening to their songs over and over. When you think of these artists’ fans, you think of your dad, or any guitar playing, stereotypical middle-aged guy. The Beatles and Elvis (our main focus for this month) are held up as shining examples of legit musicians, so much so that it’s easy to forget that if you rounded up a group of their founding fans, you might think you were looking at a group of Swifties instead.

Yes, teenage girls are a big reason why these beloved artists gained as much traction as they did. And they’re also part of the reason why they attracted such hate during their heydays as well.

One giant example of this is the infamous Beatlemania, the “ecstatic, female-led fan culture surrounding the Beatles”-key words, “ecstatic” and “female-led” (Feldman-Barrett). Young women wouldn’t just hang pictures up on their wall of their favorite Beatle, but essentially go feral over them at concerts, in public, and in meetings held with fellow Beatle-crazed fangirls. Beatlemania marked a change in how fans expressed their love for musicians- shifting away from the tame, reserved adoration that was expected in the 50s, and shifting more towards the ready-to-spend-thousands-of-dollars-on-merch culture of today. Similarly, Elvis sparked the same craze in young woman over in America, all with his dare-devilishly loose hips. These up-and-coming artists seemed to have a blatant disregard for what was commonly held as “acceptable”, which struck a chord with young audiences, and had a hand in their ability to charm their way to the top of billboard charts. And as they became more popular with young girls, they became, in a way, more popular with older generations as well-however, in a much less positive light.

Rather than blind adoration, both the Beatles and Elvis were met with blind criticism from parents and other authority figures, who saw the effect this new music was having on young teenagers. Elvis was met with protests of his “animalism” (DeGrushe), while the Beatles were criticized for being a “bottomless chasm of vacuity”, seemingly having unearned their fame on account of their popularity with the ladies (The Saturday Evening Post). Well, looking at their music from the perspective of a modern day listener, it’s clear that they obviously were not, in fact, talentless. So why such pushback? Why did fathers react with threats of violence towards their daughters as a result of Elvis’ music, making outrageous claims like that they’d “kick her teeth in” if they found out she was listening to such music (Desborough)? I think this boils down to one topic that people are continually resistant to: change. Ironically, I also think this is one of they key elements that actually led to them eventually breaking out of their image of frivolity in the long run.

They were able to move with the winds of change, during a conservative time that sought to maintain tradition. For instance, they collaborated with other popular musicians of their time (the Beatles with Bob Dylan, teaching their respective strengths of rock’n’roll and song-writing to the other), and experimented with different genres to create a modern sound that’s still catchy today (Elvis and his blending of African American music with country into the “rockabilly” genre (Wardle). They were able to influence others while remaining malleable enough themselves to adapt to changes in popular demand, developing a recognizable image. There’s an original sound about them that feels organic, and I would argue that that natural charisma both music-wise and personality-wise was first seen by their young female fans. Their admiration for these artists may have manifested in the form of screaming and obsessing over them, but that effect was sparked by a very real quality that these singers possessed. In a way, their obsession with these men was a way of breaking of the 50s’ gender constraints and into a more forward-marching era of self-expression for young females, which naturally angered parents who wanted to keep their daughters traditionally minded. These artists just helped fan the flames of a social change already occurring, making them clear targets for traditional groups who needed tangible ways to solve this issue. They gained popularity during a time that was already a race car shaking at the start line, and their embracing of new movements only helped their rise to super-stardom, while also showing the public that they were more than just singers. During the 60s, the Beatles aligned themselves with the growing Anti-Vietnam War movement, while Elvis helped popularize gospel and R&B music with white audiences. It may not be as obvious now how revolutionary they were in these ways, but that’s because they helped bring our society to the point it’s at today, where we see them as tame and old-fashioned. So, maybe what these factors that helped them become “serious” artists indicate is that there’s a very fine between love and hate when it comes to the reception artists get from the public of their time, and sometimes it’s only magnified by their innovation, especially regarding the always-relevant and ever-expanding topics of gender and race. But maybe if we peel back the layers of critique an artist or group receives, we can find what exactly the sore subject of our society was at the time. Maybe they weren’t frivolous just because they were catapulted into fame by young women, maybe the majority of their haters were trying to keep young women frivolous by whittling down these artists’ value to no more than young rascals trying to capitalize on crudeness.

 

So, do these men’s rise to idol status mirror any artists today? One that comes to mind pretty quickly as one that young girls love and others love to hate is Taylor Swift. Whether you like her music or not, it’s undeniable that she has had a significant impact on the music industry. While she hasn’t been the most politically or socially trailblazing, she’s experimented with different genres, managed to stay relevant for quite a long period of time in the industry, and tried out innovative marketing techniques that keep her fans continually wanting more. She’s clearly struck a chord in some way with young fans, and for now, she’s one of the largest names in the industry. How long this will last for, however, remains to be seen. In the future, will people look back on Taylor as a pioneer in the industry, or will her fanbase stay restricted to one stereotype?

So, while these older artists may seem geared more towards older generations today, they’re made to be discovered by young people, even 50 years down the road. Even now, you can find fan pages on Instagram and TikTok dedicated to these artists, proving that even in modern times they’re still being recognized. Biopics about these legends are continually being made, and considering their start, it seems like a fitting (even if unintentional) choice to cast current “heartthrob” actors as these men (Jacob Elordi as Elvis in Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, Joseph Quinn in the new Beatles biopic). It seems that love for these artists won’t die for some time, and part of that can be attributed to the love young teenage fans gave them first.

 

References

Feldman-Barrett, Christine. “The Rise of Beatlemania – Museum of Youth Culture.” Museum of Youth Culture, 19 Nov. 2022, www.museumofyouthculture.com/beatlemania/.

DeGrushe, Allison. “Elvis Presley Nearly Got Arrested for His Suggestive Dance Moves.” Distractify, 24 June 2022, www.distractify.com/p/elvis-dance-moves-controversy.

says, Clearer Vision. “Why Early Critics Hated the Beatles.” The Saturday Evening Post, 31 Jan. 2014, www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2014/01/why-the-beatles-bugged-the-critics/.

Desborough, Jenny. “Elvis Presley Reviews: What Did Critics Say during Elvis’ Heyday? “Slap the SNEER off Him.”” Express.co.uk, 13 Aug. 2020, www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/1320553/Elvis-Presley-reviews-what-did-critics-say-Elvis-heyday.

Wardle, Drew. “Why Are the Beatles so Popular?” Far Out, 12 June 2021, faroutmagazine.co.uk/why-are-the-beatles-so-popular/.