The 1960s showed a growth and popularization of the youth counterculture. The widespread popularity of British rock bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones in America created a new definition for rock and roll, one where it was both created and popularized by white artists. In reality, the popularization of rock and roll through the British invasion was only possible through the appropriation of black vernacular, music, and style by white artists. This music, though seen before, was only accepted because of the whiteness of these artists. Through the separation of the white counterculture and the black power movement, black and white musicians, that would previously be accepted as musicians of the same genre, were now split into separate genres, allowing white artists to be seen as innovative and unique. The change of rock and roll from an all black ‘blues’ genre into a white genre also allows for the perception of black artists as nothing more than a foreshadowing of future white talent. Some argue that The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were an important part of introducing black music into the popular music scene, but even with their love for black music, public opinion on racial issues were still ambiguous at best.
With the dawn of the 60s came a decade of chaos and nationwide turmoil. The height of the Vietnam War also brought along widespread draft protests as the nation started to question the motives of the war. The youth, desperate for change, moved into a counterculture of rebellion and protest. Musicians like The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan provided for a new form of artistic protest and rock and roll became one of the defining factors of this time period. At the same time, the Civil Rights movement started coming to a halt and, as the black American population grew frustrated with the lack of development in black justice, the Black Power movement gained fervor. The new belief of self-determination and black separatism created a new counterculture for the black youth. In a decade of such tumult, music created a vessel for expression and change and this music is often claimed to break through racial barriers, but racial tensions were as high as ever.
Though rock was highly influenced by black artists, white rockers and black rockers drew separate crowds as the countercultures diverged for the two groups. The counterculture of the white youth was influenced mostly by the Vietnam War and drafts, leading into a new genre of folk and ballads. This allowed for the divergence of music into black ‘soul’ and white ‘rock’. As the popularity of white rock bands grew, music that was previously identified as one genre was separated by race. White artists were recognized in rock and black artists were grouped into soul. This ensured the recognition of white rock musicians as something new and innovative. Though these genres were both were influenced by the same early black rock and roll musicians, like Chuck Berry and Little Richard, race played a greater part as rock became more integrated and the races were then separated into different genres. Additionally, following the introduction of ‘folk’ music, came an alternative history of rock and roll. After a short period of integration, the introduction of “folk” music to the popular scene allowed rock music to be described as an “american”, raceless creation, erasing its black history. This music came as a response to the anti-war movement with artists like Bruce Springsteen leading the genre. As the youth started to doubt that their lives would go past 30, they started making protest music and, eventually, advocated for stepping out of society and encouraged living as individuals. Along with the slight integration of music came the resegregation of the charts through the new ‘ballads’ of The Beatles. By taking over the pop charts with their covers of music originally by black artists, The Beatles pushed them aside and took their spots. This left black artists making less money for music that they had founded.
The black counterculture, on the other hand, was fueled mostly by the growth of the black panther party and the separatist movement. As the white rock movement gained momentum, black rock artists were encouraged to split into separate genres. Genres did not begin to split until white artists started to create a new contemporary movement, taking over the spotlight and forcing new separate genres for black musicians, leaving the white artists to seem innovational in their own scenes, though they did almost nothing that was new. As white artists grew popular with a white fanbase, they were able to take over R&B charts without black listeners, while black artists, even with black listeners, could not take back their spots. As the charts were washed out, black musicians moved into different areas to find musical acceptance. This is what a lot of musicians of the time had called the New Black Renaissance. This was a time of a separation from white culture, society, and music. Growing rebellious sentiments from African Americans in the black power movement led to a completely different counterculture than that of the white youth. However, arguing that black artists made a conscious choice to separate from rock and roll excuses the white artists that had orchestrated such a takeover of the scene and were, purposefully or not, appropriating the cultures of a group that they had shut out of society.
Towards the end of the 60s, black artists were constantly seen as a foreshadowing force of future rock and roll artists rather than innovative musicians themselves. This change shows the development of rock from a black genre into a white genre. One case that shows this completely is the development of The Rolling Stones in rock, as described in Jack Hamilton’s “How Rock and Roll Became White.” The Rolling Stones’ continuous glorification of black blues artists left them to be seen as a band that was “not properly white” (in the beginning of their career) and the negative attention payed to the band can be compared to the all too familiar language and imagery of racial threat. However, once accepted by the white youth, they became socially acceptable. The youth admired the music that the band had made, but what set them aside from previous black rockers was that they were able to be seen by their listeners as just another one of their white friends. So even with The Rolling Stones, the black roots of their music were ignored. Black artists are constantly referenced as early inspirations for white artists, never as individuals, while white artists are celebrated for their individuality and talent. Black artists were rather seen as a “vessel to confirm white heroism,” as put by Hamilton. This gave the illusion of a forward thinking culture, but, in reality, any recognition of black artists was just an embellishment to the overall appreciation of white artists. The development of rock into a white genre is extremely apparent with Jimi Hendrix. As a black artist, Hendrix was often seen as an outsider in a white music scene, whereas initially The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were seen as outsiders in a black music scene. This shows a gradual but extremely effective change over time of the music scene in racial makeup.
By introducing black music into popular culture, some black artists, such as Little Richard and Smokey Robinson, say white rock bands paved the way for black artists and positively influenced them. But, while they may have credited black musicians for their influence, white bands never did not actively accept them into the popular music scene, making their musical appreciation seem more like appropriation. The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were never shy when discussing their respect and inspiration from black blues artists like Chuck Berry. They were obsessed with black American music and culture in a way that American teens were not, but even as they engaged in black music, they left black musicians at arm's length. While they were able to introduce black music to a public that would overlook it, their listeners paid little to no attention to them and these artists were cast aside. This blatant racism in a such a ‘forward thinking’ scene was most apparent in the tragic murder of a young black boy at the Altamont Free Concert, the violently notorious counterpart to the highly celebrated Woodstock Festival. The murder shows that even while watching a white band that idolized black music, a black boy was still an outsider in a white scene and racial acceptance was still extremely limited. The music that inspired the public’s favorite groups were admired but racial stigmas were still high and the public was not ready to accept the original black roots that came with rock and roll.