1944 January 28

Teens Declare That Boogie-Woogie Does Not Cause Delinquency!

 

On this day, 500 teenagers at a public forum mocked the idea that boogie-woogie music caused juvenile delinquency.

They did not comment on whether it cures acne.

Symphony conductor Arthur Rodzinsky had warned about the bad influence of boogie-woogie. The forum was one of a series of planned forums organized by The New York Times. The teenagers also discussed delinquency, mixed marriages and war work.

In the 1950s, many conservatives believed that rock and roll would lead to delinquency and moral breakdowns (see, for example, May 22, 1955). Earlier, in the 1920s there were efforts to ban jazz from the radio because it was “degrading.” See March 14, 1928.

There was also a national panic in the 1950s over comic books as a cause of juvenile delinquency. A U.S. Senate committee held hearings on April 21, 1954 on the alleged dangers of comics. And on October 26, 1954 the comic book industry adopted a restrictive Comic Book Code to “clean up” the comics. The code was similar to the notorious Hollywood Production Code, adopted on June 13, 1934, that imposed heavy censorship on American movies.

Learn more: Eric Nuzum, Parental Advisory: Music Censorship in America (2001)

Watch Meade Lux Lewis play 1940s boogie woogie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pAJEC_kcpc

Find links to book, articles and more on censorship of rack and roll at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame here

Learn about “pre-Code” Hollywood films: Thomas Doherty, Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema, 1930-1934 (1999)

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