Several months ago, I wrote a column commending the Reverend Jesse Jackson for his criticism of sex rock — the so-called music that promotes immoral sex habits among teenagers and thereby contributes to the high rate of venereal disease, illegitimate pregnancies, and broken lives.
Among the letter, I subsequently received was one from a union musician, Jack Staulcup, who agreed, but said that I told only half the story. The other half is the fact that hard rock music has fostered the great wave of drug addiction among young people in the United States and in England.
Prior to 1964 drug use among grade school, high school and college students was almost unheard of. Since 1964 television, radio, movies and juke boxes have built multi-million dollar stars out of drug-using rock “singers.” They peddle the line that drug use, as well as illicit sex, sloppy dress, atheism, and rebellion against authority are the “in” activities. Even a lot of country music dwells on adultery and divorce.
It is self-evident that certain kinds of music create different moods and emotions. Music is widely used as therapy in mental institutions. Music piped into factories is estimated to increase employee efficiency up to 20 percent. Soothing music is used in the waiting rooms of doctors and dentists to alleviate anxiety.
Most church services use music to inspire and motivate the congregation. STAR WARS is only the most recent striking example of how background music is artfully used to create a mood, to play on the emotions, and to achieve psychological effects.
We are kidding ourselves if we think that hard rock is unique among music and that it has no effect on its listeners. According to Mr. Staulcup, a steady diet of rock and roll junk promotes degenerate rebelliousness among teenagers that finds its outlet in drugs, alcohol, and illicit sex. Teenagers really do not even dance to it; all they can do is to move their bodies in an obscene motion.
Some will argue that every generation has had its “fad” dances such as the Charleston, the Big Apple, and the Jitterbug. Some were silly, some were energetic exercise, but none of the previous fads was lewd or obscene. Those older dances required competent musicians to play the music, whereas hard rock does not.
Most of the so-called music on television, radio and juke boxes is performed by screaming, moaning singers accompanied by racket-makers who never had a music lesson in their lives.
For a time I, too, thought rock and roll was a fad that would go away. But it persists year after ear-splitting year. The latest version is “punk rock” which originated in England. It preys on the instability of children between the ages of 10 and 16, and is twice as loud, vulgar, and revolutionary as ordinary hard rock.
It is strange that government and public interest groups, which have been so concerned about air, water, and land pollution, never utter a word about ear, mind or moral pollution. Cigarette and liquor commercials have long been outlawed from television and radio, but still the drug-pushing, sex-stimulating singers survive without protest.
Mr. Staulcup’s criticism comes from authentic information. An experienced and successful musician, he has attended many rock festivals to see for himself what goes on. He has conducted thousands of interviews with teenagers and learned from their own mouths how rock and roll promotes immoral activities and attitudes.
His interviews also reveal that most talented young music students who have learned to play good music despise the rock noise. Of course, every teenager who likes rock and roll is not a juvenile delinquent, but most go along with the crowd because of peer pressure.
Mr. Staulcup concludes that rock and roll is the biggest legalized racket this country has ever seen. If we value civilization, we cannot afford to ignore any longer the high correlation between the multi-billion-dollar hard-rock racket and the explosion of drug use and illicit sex among their teenage victims. Parents should take a more active part in monitoring their children’s entertainment.
