The Devil's Music

The churches of America have always been eager to point out the pitfalls of a sinful world and to urge fallen souls to repent. For centuries music has been an easy target for preachers and priests to show how it can be a gateway or a companion to a host of other sins. The appearance of rock and roll music in the 1950s brought this concept to the forefront of churchgoers’ minds, who were concerned about their young members’ spiritual well-being. At the same time, there was a strong resurgence of evangelical Christianity, led by Billy Graham and Norman Vincent Peale, and rock and roll music gave them the perfect common enemy upon which they could heap their scorn.

Prior to the 1950s, there were many types of music that had been dismissed by church leaders as belonging to the devil. Jazz in the 1920s and R&B in the 1940s had set a pattern of music that crossed over from African-American culture into white audiences, and church leaders tended to believe that this music brought loose morals with it. But while there were whites who played those earlier types of music, no one had brought this “dangerous” music to a young white audience as effectively as Elvis Presley. Raised in Mississippi and Memphis, his mother instilled a love of God, church, and gospel music into him, and he kept that devotion through his entire life. Many preachers singled him out in their sermons, condemning his singing and his movements as sexual perversions. He was said to have been hurt by these accusations, but he continued singing and releasing gospel songs throughout his career. Many church leaders thought his music and dancing elicited sinful thoughts in the young listeners, and they sought to discourage teens from being fans by asking them to burn records and not buy tickets to concerts.

Rock music may have been an accompanying soundtrack to teenagers running wild instead of the reason for it, but church leaders certainly thought it was the source of the trouble. Preachers saw it as the gateway to other sins such as drinking alcohol, taking drugs, and having premarital sex. They thought the lyrics encouraged such behavior and often repeated many salacious song lyrics from the pulpit in their efforts to shock their congregations into action. Church leaders have often been considered trusted authority figures who had their constituents’ best interests at heart, but in the 1950s there seemed to be a change of attitude from some of their followers. As Sandra Scarborough was quoted, “You’d go out on Saturday night… and then you’d come and rededicate your life on Sunday morning.” Rock music fans tended to place themselves on both sides of this particular situation, which must have made for some difficult moments on Sunday morning with their Saturday night memories still fresh in their heads and a pastor rebuking them for their actions from just a few hours earlier.

At the same time rock and roll was picking up steam, evangelical pastors such as Billy Graham and Norman Vincent Peale were surging in popularity as well. They, like rock and roll stars, used television as their medium of choice to get their words out to the public. Both sides understood the importance of presenting a powerful look to accompany their sound, and one can draw similarities with the pictures at left. Note the suit coats, the slicked back hair, the strong stances and gestures.

In each case it is clear that they are passionate about their messages, and their popularity at the time shows that the public responded favorably to both. It must have been difficult for listeners to reconcile these disparate messages within themselves, and it continued (and continues) to be the eternal internal fight within so many of us, that of good versus evil, sinner versus saint. I have always felt that there is room for both rock and religion in one’s life, and I believe that there is a connection between them, as I believe everything is somehow connected. These battles and perceived enemies continue to this day, and there are plenty of churches that still preach against secular music of all kinds. Then it is up to the congregation to choose how or if they will follow.