ABSTRACT:The 20th century witnessed a period of rapid development of science and technology. Coincidently, the experts on western music and arts, characterized by traditional values at that time, more or less have been influenced by many social factors like political and cultural movement, which therefore resulted in the springing up of varieties of music styles, such as, Nationalism, Expressionist, Neoclassicism, Serialism and so forth. Enriched the music genres as well as shocked the world music markets, the emergence of various music styles not only proved the successful revolution and breakthrough of the traditionally unitary music before the 20th century, but also indicated the sounds and furies from the public to the whole world.

　　To Human beings, it goes without saying that their purposes, manifested in pursuing for a better life, standing up against aggression and longing for peace and unity, were reflected in a more evident way—Rock Music. The foundations of rock music are in rock and roll, which originated in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, and quickly spread throughout much of the rest of the world. It is indubitable that rock music, to some degree, has a far-reaching influence on the change of American society in the 1960s, no matter from different classes of people or from different aspects of social values, culturally and historically. This paper will employ the phenomenon of rock music, combined with the background of United States in the 1960s, to analyze the influence that rock music brought about on American society. 

　　The peculiar social situation and culturally economic development set the scene for the burgeoning of rock music, with young people, the possessors of this spiritual product, subsequently becoming the intoxicated fans and the mad-brained consumers in the 1960s. Coalesced with worldwide appeal of rock music, the first distinctive ‘youth music’, this paper tentatively classifies the social influence of rock music into political and cultural perspectives. Furthermore, political movement can be divided into Civil Rights Movement, Black Power and Anti-Vietnam War Campaign, while cultural movement mainly discusses the Hippie and youth culture under a broader title ‘Counterculture’. The end of paper concludes by listing the main changes of rock music during 1960s and further summing up the significance and enlightenment that rock music brought about to the American Society, especially to the young. 

　　By and large, the blooming development of rock music depends more on its symbolic meaning of culture and spirit that mirrored by specific social circumstance rather than on its innovative styles and forms. Only by observing and studying the evolution of rock music in the 1960s via historical background and cultural specialty can we objectively evaluate the importance of rock music as an expression of alienation, group consciousness and revolt.

Key words:  Rock Music   Civil Rights Movement   Counterculture Moment

中文摘要:20世纪是科学技术迅猛发展的时期。传统意义上的西方音乐及其艺术创作者都不约而同的受到了战争、经济、文化等方面巨大的影响。民族主义音乐、表现主义音乐、新古典主义音乐、微分音乐、序列音乐等风格大量出现，使音乐风格更加丰富，同时也创造出了新的音乐市场。这不仅仅是对20世纪之前传统音乐的变革与突破，更是艺术创造者们对于其生存时代的一声声有力的呐喊。

　　人们对美好生活的追求、对战争的不满、对和平与光明的期盼是不言而喻的，这种精神在另一种音乐道路上也得到了体现—摇滚音乐。摇滚音乐的发展起源于20世纪四五十年代的美国，接着其流行风潮快速席卷了整个世界。某种程度上来说，从历史和文化的角度分析，不论是不同阶层的社会人群还是美国社会价值体系各个层面，摇滚乐的发展对于20世纪60年代的美国社会都有着深远的影响。本文旨在通过结合20世纪60年代摇滚乐现象以及美国社会背景，进一步分析摇滚乐对于当时整个美国社会各个层面的影响。

20世纪六十年代美国特有的社会环境和文化经济发展，为摇滚乐的形成创造了条件。当时青少年一代是摇滚乐这一特殊文化精神产物的拥有者，成为该音乐最狂热的追求者和最强盛的消费主体。本文通过描述风靡全球的摇滚乐的发展，将摇滚乐对于20世纪美国社会的影响分为两部分来阐述，一方面是政治运动的影响，另一方面是文化运动的影响。其中，政治运动细分为民权运动、黑人权利、反越战运动。而文化运动则是围绕反文化这一特定主题对嬉皮文化和青年文化进一步细述。文章的最后将重点阐述20世纪60年代摇滚乐的主要发展变化，同时着重强调摇滚乐在20世纪60年代在美国社会的影响和其重要性。

　　摇滚乐的兴起不仅仅是单纯依赖于它的音乐风格和新颖性，更是归结于它由于特定坏境而产生的文化以及精神象征与效应。只有通过特定的历史背景以及文化特殊性，并客观的评价摇滚乐对于美国社会的影响，我们才能够对摇滚乐有进一步深刻的认识。

关键词：摇滚乐  民权运动 反文化运动