Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Greasers in the 50's

     Throughout the 1950's and 60's Greasers were known as a youth created subculture among teenagers in the Northeastern and Southern regions of the United States. Inspired by Rock and Roll, this genre of music was one of the major parts of the culture, and popular styles were influenced by singers such as Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley. The two main figures of the look and fashion of Greasers were Marlon Brando and James Dean. 


     The name "greaser" came from their greased-back hairstyle, which involved combing back hair using large amounts of hair gel. North American greasers were known more for their love of souped up hot rods, Doo Wop, Rockabilly, and Rock and Roll music. Even though the greaser subculture was mostly known as a North American phenomenon, there were similar subcultures throughout the world; The UK, Australia, Italy, Germany, Japan, and even South Africa. They had an intimidating reputation in society. Often seen as juveniles and young criminals. 
      Cars and souped up vehicles gave teenagers a new kind of freedom. Also, the large amount of cash flow after the war made this the most fortunate generation. This also gave teenagers a sense of freedom and entitlement.


                                      
     During the 1950s, surprisingly, women also became a part of greaser culture. Similar to men, they joined in motorcycle gangs and wore jackets displaying the group they were in or gang’s name. But, women were often depicted as the property of male motorcycle gang members.

They say that the Greaser era died when Doo Wop and President John F. Kennedy was killed in 1963, but there was an underground Greaser culture that existed in big cities around the country like Chicago, Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Philadelphia, and the New Jersey Shore (Jersey City, Newark, and Perth Amboy). It wasn't uncommon to find Chicago Greaser gang members in the mid 1970s Doo Woping on their corners. Some of the Greasers evolved into the motorcycle clubs of the 60s and the Punk scene in the 1980s. The Greaser era never really died out. Today, the garage group Rockabilly crews on the East Coast have brought the Greaser style back to the shore, though Greasers have always existed in New Jersey.


Example of Greasers Vs. Soc.:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WpHEcDSYtiA
Music they listened to:


Sources:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greaser_(subculture) , http://theoutsiderstory.pbworks.com/w/page/22121292/The%20Greasers

7 comments:

  1. also by any chance are you single

    ReplyDelete
  2. the picture you have their isn't from 1950 and they listen to more rockabilly then Elvis

    ReplyDelete
  3. Coming from someone who grew up on Chicago's south side and suburbs, in the 50's-60's, no white kids ever doo wopped on street corners.
    The term greaser wasn't used until around 1964 after the Beatles hit and in the 50's the people you are talking about were called "Hoods" pronounced Hoooooohhhds as (in oh la la). Being a greaser from 1964-1970 meant you were being a bada...... Nothing really to do with the 50's music because radio stations did not play it. Nobody knew what rockabilly or even doo wop was just called it rock and roll music. If you wanted to listen to early rock and roll like Buddy Holly, you had to go to a record collector or somebodies older brother with a collection. Also the look of the south side greaser (white) was slick back pompadour, hair tight black pants, cabretta black leather button down jackets and black pointed toe shoes with cuban heels with metal cleats. Engineer boots were only worn by the motocycle hoods in the sixties (i.e. Chicago Outlaws). The picture you have was staged... probably in England. Nobody in the 50's and 60's had those exaggerated hairstyles in Chicago and probably New York as well. The car models are wrong for that time period as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete