Influence on society
The popularisation of rock and roll involved both black performers reaching a white audience and white performers appropriating African-American music. Rock and roll appeared at a time when racial tensions in the United States were entering a new phase, with the beginnings of the civil rights movement for desegregation.
The coming together of white youth audiences and black music in rock and roll, inevitably provoked strong white racist reactions within the US. Many observers saw rock and roll as heralding the way for desegregation, in creating a new form of music that encouraged racial cooperation and shared experience.
Race
Rock music and fashion have been inextricably linked. In the mid-1960s of the UK, rivalry arose between "Mods" and "Rockers", each style had their own favoured musical acts. In the 1960s, The Beatles brought mop-top haircuts, collarless blazers, and Beatle Boots into fashion.
As rock music genres became more segmented, what an artist wore became as important as the music itself in defining the artist's intent and relationship to the audience. Musicians continue to be fashion icons; pop-culture magazines such as Rolling Stone often include fashion layouts featuring musicians as models.
Fashion
Love and peace were very common themes in rock music during the 1960s and 1970s. Rock musicians have often attempted to address social issues directly as commentary or as calls to action. During the Vietnam War the first rock protest songs were heard, inspired by the songs of folk musicians such as Bob Dylan.
Charitable and social causes
