On March 18, the music world lost another of its brightest stars: the unforgettable "Chuck" Berry . A founding father of rock 'n' roll and one of the greatest guitarists of all time, Berry was also the first to narrate youthful rebellions , telling through his songs the stories of those adolescents who, in their attempt to seek freedom, fought against their parents and the prevailing morality. The "devil's music" soon became the favorite soundtrack of a series of social movements, one above all that of the Rockers.
The Hollister Facts
In 1947, when the American Motorcycle Association organized its fourth annual motorcycle rally in California, it certainly hadn't imagined that all hell would break loose in Hollister during that first weekend in July . The town of about 4500 residents saw the rally as a festive opportunity to gain visibility and, above all, financial return, but on July 3rd, when the festivities began, the residents had to change their minds. A crowd of about 4000 motorcyclists , mostly former war veterans looking for adventure, invaded the town, faced with only seven law enforcement officers. Despite attempts at repression and the arrest of as many drunks as possible engaged in acts of vandalism , brawls , and street racing , the town was only liberated at the end of the rally, when the motorcyclists left. The press obviously didn't miss the opportunity to report these incredible facts and so, when Life magazine published a photo of a biker riding his motorbike with two beers in his hand, the legend was born.
Meanwhile, the AMA immediately distanced itself from the incident, declaring that 99% of its riders were honest citizens, while only 1% were dissidents. The Onepercenters , as the bikers who felt the need to oppose the AMA's tiresome rules called themselves, then decided to distinguish themselves by founding outlaw clubs that later became known as the Hells Angels . The motorcycle, a consumer good easily obtainable thanks to the greater economic availability of the postwar period, thus became a true symbol of distinction and individualistic expression.
The influence of 1950s icons
The image of the chubby biker, with his hat askew and his shirt open to the navel, however, did not appeal to the rebel bikers. An idea was desperately needed to transform this drunken figure into a totally different icon. The first step toward creating a stylish image came when Frank Rooney wrote about the events at Hollister in a story called " Cyclists Raid ," a story that so impressed Hollywood director and producer Stanley Kramer that he decided to make a film about it. "The Wild One ," a cornerstone of rocker subculture, was released in American theaters in 1953, and from that moment on, Marlon Brando as Johnny, the charismatic leader of the Black Rebels Motorcycle Club, became a legend to be imitated. James Dean himself was so taken with Brando's look that he began styling himself like Johnny. Dean's performance in Rebel Without a Cause , and especially his tragic and premature death, made his character another role model, an immortal romantic figure to identify with, the personification of a true motto: " live fast, die young ." Finally, among the icons from which bikers drew inspiration was Elvis Presley . The King of Rock 'n' Roll, though not a niche figure, became a countercultural figure, a symbol of that musical genre that made its way into the music world among young people and beyond the segregation between blacks and whites.
Escape from reality beyond all limits
While in the US, young bikers had formed gangs, in the UK the situation was more difficult, so much so that "The Wild One" was even banned until 1967 to prevent teenagers from identifying with the rebellious characters. Despite various precautions, even in England , young people began investing their savings in motorcycles to use as objects of intimidation and virility. Thus, a two-wheeled subculture was born, seeking freedom from family and work ties, in the name of adventure and breaking speed limits in races from one gas station to another. They nicknamed themselves Ton Up Boys (ton up is an expression for exceeding 100 miles per hour) or café-racers , and in fact the name Rocker was only later adopted by the Mods , their archenemies, to distinguish themselves.
The Rockers and the Mods, often involved in violent brawls, differed from each other in several social and aesthetic aspects: the former were children of the working class , rode Triumph motorcycles , wore black leather jackets with patches, studs and symbols of death, wore aviator glasses and scarves to protect themselves from the dust, with hair and a passion for rock 'n' roll; the Mods, on the other hand, were children of the middle class , preferred Italian scooters , had a more elegant style and listened to jazz and rock. The Rockers' look became so popular that it influenced the hard rock and punk rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s, but it was precisely during that period that the subculture disintegrated, transformed under the influence of two opposing movements: on one side the peaceful hippies , on the other the bellicose Hells Angels. But this chapter is part of another story.
Subculture Universe
1) Subcultures and new tribes: the need to stand out
2) Teddy Boys: Between the Desire to Stand Out and Violence
3) Rave Parties: When Music Becomes Ecstasy
Alice Porracchio
" If there's not a rebellious youth culture, there's no culture at all. It's absolutely essential. It is the future ."
