Editing 1950s (section)

==Popular culture==
<gallery widths="190" perrow="5">
File:PEZ-Candies.jpg|[[Pez]] candies were released in the 1950s, and became well known in pop culture. 
File:1950s Lewis Leathers Bronx label.jpg|In the 1950s [[poodle skirt]]s were popular with women, as were [[leather jackets]] with men. Pictured is a 1950s leather jacket label. 
File:Rock around the Jukebox 2003 Manfred Kohrs.JPG|The [[jukebox]] was particularly popular in the 1950s
, and was used as entertainment in public establishments such as diners and [[soda shop|malt/soda shops]]. 
File:I Love Lucy title.svg|TV shows like ''[[I Love Lucy]]'', ''[[The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet]]'', and ''[[Father Knows Best]]'' were popular during the original [[Golden Age of Television]] era.
File:Elvis_Presley_promoting_Jailhouse_Rock.jpg|The 1950s were the true birth of the [[rock and roll]] music genre, led by figures such as [[Elvis Presley]] (pictured), [[Chuck Berry]], [[Buddy Holly]], [[Jerry Lee Lewis]] and others.
File:Paavo Nurmi enters the Olympic Stadium in 1952.jpg|Four [[Olympic Games]] were held in the 1950s, [[1952 Winter Olympics|Oslo]] and [[1952 Summer Olympics|Helsinki in 1952]], [[1956 Winter Olympics|Cortina d'Ampezzo]] and [[1956 Summer Olympics|Melbourne in 1956]] (all during the Cold War).
File:1950's Motorcycle with site-car pic2.JPG|[[Motorcycle club]]s became more prominent in the 1950s. Pictured is a vintage 1950s motorcycle toy. 
File:1950's television.jpg|The 1950s was the beginning period of rapid television ownership. In their infancy, television screens existed in many forms, including round.
File:McDonalds and A&W Root Beer Sign -The Henry Ford - Engines Exposed Exhibit 2-22-2016 (4) (32003643582).jpg|The creation and expansion of many multinational restaurant chains still in existence today, including the likes of [[McDonald's]], [[IHOP]], [[Pizza Hut]], [[Denny's]] and [[Burger King]], all occurred in the 1950s.
File:WhiteHouseTheCatintheHat2003.jpg|Many famous children's books released in the 1950s, including ''[[The Cat in the Hat]],'' ''[[Charlotte's Web]]'' and ''[[Harold and the Purple Crayon]].''
</gallery>

===Music===
{{Further|1950s in music|Rock and roll|Timeline of musical events#1950s|First rock and roll record|List of acts who appeared on American Bandstand}}
[[File:Elvis Presley Jailhouse Rock2.jpg|200px|thumb|[[Elvis Presley]] was the best-selling musical artist of the decade. He is considered as the leading figure of the [[rock and roll]] and [[rockabilly]] movement of the 1950s.]]

[[Popular music]] in the early 1950s was essentially a continuation of the crooner sound of the previous decade, with less emphasis on the jazz-influenced big band style and more emphasis on a conservative, operatic, symphonic style of music. [[Frank Sinatra]], [[Tony Bennett]], [[Frankie Laine]], [[Patti Page]], [[Judy Garland]], [[Johnnie Ray]], [[Kay Starr]], [[Perry Como]], [[Bing Crosby]], [[Rosemary Clooney]], [[Dean Martin]], [[Georgia Gibbs]], [[Eddie Fisher]], [[Teresa Brewer]], [[Dinah Shore]], [[Kitty Kallen]], [[Joni James]], [[Peggy Lee]], [[Julie London]], [[Toni Arden]], [[June Valli]], [[Doris Day]], [[Arthur Godfrey]], [[Tennessee Ernie Ford]], [[Guy Mitchell]], [[Nat King Cole]], and vocal groups like the [[Mills Brothers]], [[The Ink Spots]], [[The Four Lads]], [[The Four Aces]], [[The Chordettes]], [[The Fontane Sisters]], [[The Hilltoppers (band)|The Hilltoppers]] and the [[Ames Brothers]]. [[Jo Stafford]]'s "[[You Belong to Me (1952 song)|You Belong To Me]]" was the #1 song of 1952 on the Billboard Top 100 chart.

The middle of the decade saw a change in the popular music landscape as [[classic pop]] was swept off the charts by rock-and-roll. Crooners such as [[Eddie Fisher]], [[Perry Como]], and [[Patti Page]], who had dominated the first half of the decade, found their access to the pop charts significantly curtailed by the decade's end.<ref>R. S. Denisoff, W. L. Schurk, ''Tarnished gold: the record industry revisited'' (Transaction Publishers, 3rd edn., 1986), p. 13.</ref>
[[Doo-wop]] entered the pop charts in the 1950s. Its popularity soon spawns the parody "[[Who Put the Bomp (in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)]]".

[[Rock-n-roll]] emerged in the mid-1950s with [[Little Richard]], [[Elvis Presley]], [[Chuck Berry]], [[Sam Cooke]], [[Jackie Wilson]], [[Gene Vincent]], [[Fats Domino]], [[James Brown]], [[Bo Diddley]], [[Buddy Holly]], [[Bobby Darin]], [[Ritchie Valens]], [[Duane Eddy]], [[Eddie Cochran]], [[Brenda Lee]], [[Bobby Vee]], [[Connie Francis]], [[Neil Sedaka]], [[Pat Boone]], [[Ricky Nelson]], [[Tommy Steele]], [[Billy Fury]], [[Marty Wilde]] and [[Cliff Richard]] being notable exponents. In the mid-1950s, [[Elvis Presley]] became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of [[rock and roll]] with a series of network television appearances and chart-topping records. [[Chuck Berry]], with "[[Maybellene]]" (1955), "[[Roll Over Beethoven]]" (1956), "[[Rock and Roll Music (song)|Rock and Roll Music]]" (1957) and "[[Johnny B. Goode]]" (1958), refined and developed the major elements that made rock and roll distinctive, focusing on teen life and introducing [[guitar solo]]s and [[Guitar showmanship|showmanship]] that would be a major influence on subsequent rock music.<ref name="Campbell2008p168">M. Campbell, ed., ''Popular Music in America: And the Beat Goes on'' (Cengage Learning, 3rd edn., 2008), pp. 168–9.</ref> [[Bill Haley (musician)|Bill Haley]], Presley, [[Jerry Lee Lewis]], [[The Everly Brothers]], [[Carl Perkins]], [[Johnny Cash]], [[Conway Twitty]], [[Johnny Horton]], and [[Marty Robbins]] were [[Rockabilly]] musicians. [[Doo-wop]] was another popular genre at the time. Popular Doo Wop and Rock-n-Roll bands of the mid to late 1950s include [[The Platters]], [[The Flamingos]], [[The Dells]], [[The Silhouettes]], [[Frankie Lymon]] and [[The Teenagers]], [[Little Anthony and The Imperials]], [[Danny & the Juniors]], [[The Coasters]], [[The Drifters]], [[The Del-Vikings]] and [[Dion and the Belmonts]].

[[File:Harry Belafonte singing 1954.jpg|thumb|left|155px|[[Harry Belafonte]] in 1954, whose breakthrough album ''[[Calypso (album)|Calypso]]'' (1956) was the first million-selling LP by a single artist.]]
The new music differed from previous styles in that it was primarily targeted at the teenager market, which became a distinct entity for the first time in the 1950s as growing prosperity meant that young people did not have to grow up as quickly or be expected to support a family. Rock-and-roll proved to be a difficult phenomenon for older Americans to accept and there were widespread accusations of its being a communist-orchestrated scheme to corrupt the youth, although rock and roll was extremely market-based and capitalistic.

[[Jazz]] stars in the 1950s who came into prominence in their genres called [[bebop]], [[hard bop]], [[cool jazz]] and the [[blues]], at this time included [[Lester Young]], [[Ben Webster]], [[Charlie Parker]], [[Dizzy Gillespie]], [[Miles Davis]], [[John Coltrane]], [[Thelonious Monk]], [[Charles Mingus]], [[Art Tatum]], [[Bill Evans]], [[Ahmad Jamal]], [[Oscar Peterson]], [[Gil Evans]], [[Jerry Mulligan]], [[Cannonball Adderley]], [[Stan Getz]], [[Chet Baker]], [[Dave Brubeck]], [[Art Blakey]], [[Max Roach]], the [[Miles Davis Quintet]], the [[Modern Jazz Quartet]], [[Ella Fitzgerald]], [[Ray Charles]], [[Sarah Vaughan]], [[Dinah Washington]], [[Nina Simone]], and [[Billie Holiday]].

The [[American folk music revival]] became a phenomenon in the [[United States in the 1950s]] to mid-1960s with the initial success of [[The Weavers]] who popularized the genre. Their sound, and their broad repertoire of traditional folk material and [[topical song]]s inspired other groups such as [[the Kingston Trio]], the [[Chad Mitchell Trio]], [[The New Christy Minstrels]], and the "collegiate folk" groups such as [[The Brothers Four]], [[The Four Freshmen]], [[The Four Preps]], and [[The Highwaymen (folk band)|The Highwaymen]]. All featured tight vocal harmonies and a repertoire at least initially rooted in folk music and topical songs.

On 3 February 1959, a chartered plane transporting the three American [[rock and roll]] musicians [[Buddy Holly]], [[Ritchie Valens]] and [[The Big Bopper|J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson]] goes down in foggy conditions near [[Clear Lake, Iowa]], killing all four occupants on board, including pilot [[Roger Peterson (pilot)|Roger Peterson]]. The tragedy is later termed "[[The Day the Music Died]]", popularized in [[Don McLean]]'s 1971 song "[[American Pie (song)|American Pie]]". This event, combined with the conscription of Presley into the US Army, is often taken to mark the point where the era of 1950s rock-and-roll ended.

In late 1950s also emerged [[surf rock]], which became more popular in early 1960s.

===Television===
[[File:Family watching television 1958.jpg|thumb|An American family watching television together in 1958.]]

The 1950s are known as the [[Golden Age of Television]] by some people. Sales of TV sets rose tremendously in the 1950s and by 1950 4.4 million families in America had a television set. Americans devoted most of their free time to watching television broadcasts. People spent so much time watching TV, that movie attendance dropped and so did the number of radio listeners.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kallen|first=Stuart|title=A Cultural History of the United States|year=1999|publisher=Lucent|location=San Diego}}</ref> Television revolutionized the way Americans see themselves and the world around them. TV affects all aspects of American culture. "Television affects what we wear, the music we listen to, what we eat, and the news we receive."<ref>''American History''. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.</ref>

Some of the most popular shows in the 1950s included ''[[I Love Lucy]]'', ''[[This Is Your Life (American franchise)|This Is Your Life]]'', ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'', ''[[Howdy Doody]]'', ''[[The Lone Ranger (TV series)|The Lone Ranger]]'', ''[[The Mickey Mouse Club]]'', ''[[Disney anthology television series|Disneyland]]'', ''[[Lassie (1954 TV series)|Lassie]]'', ''[[The Huckleberry Hound Show]]'', ''[[The Honeymooners]]'', ''[[The Tonight Show]]'', and ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]''.

===Film===
{{Further|1950s in film}}
[[File:North by Northwest movie trailer screenshot (6).jpg|thumb|[[Cary Grant]] as Roger O. Thornhill in ''[[North by Northwest]]'' (1959)]]

[[European cinema]] experienced a renaissance in the 1950s following the deprivations of World War II. Italian director [[Federico Fellini]] won the first [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|foreign language film]] [[Academy Award]] with ''[[La Strada]]'' and garnered another Academy Award with ''[[Nights of Cabiria]]''. [[Sidney Poitier]] became the first Black actor to receive an Academy Award nomination [[Academy Award for Best Actor|for Best Actor]] for the 1958 film ''[[The Defiant Ones]]'' (an award he later won in the 1960s).

Similarly with the mid-1950s rush of [[Rock and roll|Rock and Roll]] and teenage rebellion, the films of [[Marlon Brando]] and [[James Dean]] had a profound effect on American culture.

In [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]], the epic ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]]'' grabbed a record 11 [[Academy Awards]] in 1959 and its success gave a new lease of life to [[motion picture]] studio [[MGM]].

Beginning in 1953, with ''[[Shane (film)|Shane]]'' and ''[[The Robe (film)|The Robe]]'', [[widescreen]] motion pictures became the norm.

The "Golden Era" of [[3D film|3D cinematography]] transpired during the 1950s.

Animated films in the 1950s presented by Walt Disney included ''[[Cinderella (1950 film)|Cinderella]]'', ''[[Alice in Wonderland (1951 film)|Alice in Wonderland]]'', ''[[Peter Pan (1953 film)|Peter Pan]]'' and ''[[Lady and the Tramp]]'', followed by ''[[Sleeping Beauty (1959 film)|Sleeping Beauty]]''. [[Duck Dogers]] first appeared in 1953.

===Comics===
The long-running comic strip ''[[Peanuts]]'' made its debut in this decade, becoming the most successful comic strip of all time, until its end in 2000, along with the death of creator [[Charles M. Schulz]].

Other comic book characters that debuted in this decade included [[Martian Manhunter]], [[Barry Allen|The Flash (Barry Allen)]], [[Asterix]], [[Marmaduke]], [[Dennis the Menace (U.S. comics)|Dennis the Menace]], [[Dennis the Menace and Gnasher|Dennis and Gnasher]], the [[The Smurfs|Smurfs]], and [[Astro Boy]].

===Art movements===
In the early 1950s [[abstract expressionism]] and artists [[Jackson Pollock]] and [[Willem de Kooning]] were enormously influential. However, by the late 1950s [[Color Field]] painting and [[Barnett Newman]] and [[Mark Rothko]]'s paintings became more in focus to the next generation.

[[Pop art]] used the [[iconography]] of television, photography, comics, cinema and advertising. With its roots in [[dadaism]], it started to take form towards the end of the 1950s when some European artists started to make the symbols and products of the world of [[advertising]] and [[propaganda]] the main subject of their artistic work. This return of [[figurative art]], in opposition to the abstract expressionism that dominated the aesthetic scene since the end of World War II was dominated by Great Britain until the early 1960s when [[Andy Warhol]], the most known artist of this movement began to show Pop Art in galleries in the United States.

===Fashion===
{{See also|1945–1960 in Western fashion}}
[[Image:Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell at Chinese Theater.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Marilyn Monroe]] and [[Jane Russell]] in 1953, showing American fashions and popular hairstyles of the era]]
[[File:Elizabeth Taylor, late 1950s.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Liz Taylor]] in the 1950s, a fashion icon of the era]]

The 1950s saw the birth of the [[teenager]] and with it [[rock n roll]] and youth fashion dominating the fashion industry. In the UK the [[Teddy boy]] became both style icons and anti-authoritarian figures. While in America [[Greaser (subculture)|Greaser]]s had a similar social position. Previously teenagers dressed similarly to their parents but now a rebellious and different youth style was being developed. This was particularly noticeable in the overtly sexual nature of their dress. Men wore tight trousers, leather jackets and emphasis was on slicked, greasy hair.

New ideas meant new designers who had a concept of what was fashion. Fashion started gaining a voice and style when Christian Dior created “[[The New Look (style)|The New Look]]” collection. The 1950s was not only about spending on luxurious brands but also the idea of being comfortable was created. It was a time where resources were available and it was a new type of fashion. Designers were creating collections with different materials such as: taffeta, nylon, rayon, wool and leather that allowed different colors and patterns. People started wearing artificial fibers because it was easier to take care of and it was price effective.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.fashion-era.com/1950s_glamour.htm|title=1950s Fashion History 50s Glamour, Dior New Look|last=Thomas|first=Pauline|website=www.fashion-era.com|access-date=2016-10-31}}</ref> It was a time where shopping was part of a lifestyle.

Different designers emerged or made a comeback on the 1950s because as mention before it was a time for fashion and ideas. The most important designers from the time were:

'''[[Christian Dior]]:''' everything started in 1947 after World War II was over. Christian Dior found that there were a lot of resources in the market. He created the famous and inspirational collection named [[The New Look (style)|“The New Look.”]] This consisted on the idea of creating voluminous dresses that would not only represent wealth but also show power on women. This collection was the first collection to use 80 yards of fabric.<ref name=":0" /> He introduced the idea of the hourglass shape for women; wide shoulders, tight waistline and then voluminous full skirts. Dior was a revolutionary and he was the major influence for the next collections. He is known for always developing new ideas and designs, which led to a rapid expansion and becoming worldwide known.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Fashion: A Visual History from Regency & Romance to Retro & Revolution: A Complete Illustrated Chronology of Fashion from the 1800s to the Present Day.|last=Stevenson|first=N. J.|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|year=2012|location=New York City}}</ref> He had pressure to create innovative designs for each collection and Dior did manage to provide that to the consumers. He not only made the hourglass shape very famous but he also developed the H-line as well as the A and Y-Lines. Dior was a very important designer, he changed the way fashion was looked on the world but most importantly he reestablished Paris as a fashion capital.<ref name=":1" />

'''[[Cristóbal Balenciaga|Cristobal Balenciaga:]]''' Cristobal Balenciaga a Spanish designer who opened his first couture house in 1915. In 1936, he went to Paris in order to avoid the Spanish Civil War, there he had inspiration for his fashion collections. His designs were an inspiration for emerging designers of the time. His legacy is as important as the one from Dior, revolutionaries.<ref name=":1" /> He was known for creating sack dresses, heavy volumes and balloon skirts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://theredlist.com/wiki-2-23-1249-1255-view-1940s-profile-cristobal-balenciaga-3.html|title=Cristobal Balenciaga : Fashion, History|website=theredlist.com|access-date=2016-10-31|archive-date=2016-11-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161101102234/http://theredlist.com/wiki-2-23-1249-1255-view-1940s-profile-cristobal-balenciaga-3.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> For him everything started when he worked for Marquesa de Casa Torre who became his patron and main source of inspiration. Marquesa de Casa Torre helped Balenciaga enter the world of couture.<ref name=":1" /> His first suit was very dramatic. The suit consisted on cutout and cut-ins the waist over a slim skirt, something not seen before.<ref name=":1" /> Balenciaga was a revolutionary designer who was not afraid to cut and let loose because he had everything under control. In the 1950s and 1960s his designs were well known for attention to color and texture. He was creating different silhouettes for women, in 1955 he created the tunic, 1957 the sack dress and 1958 the Empire styles.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://fashion-history.lovetoknow.com/fashion-clothing-industry/fashion-designers/cristobal-balenciaga|title=Cristóbal Balenciaga|newspaper=LoveToKnow|access-date=2016-10-31}}</ref> He was known for moving from tailored designs to shapeless allowing him to show portion and balance on the bodies.<ref name=":1" /> Showing that his designs evolved with time and maintained his ideologies.

'''[[Coco Chanel]]:''' Her style was well known over the world and her idea of having functional luxurious clothing influenced other designers from the era. Chanel believed that luxurious should come from being comfortable that is why her designers were so unique and different from the time period, she also achieved her looks by adding accessories such as pearl necklaces.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.biography.com/people/coco-chanel-9244165#!|title=Coco Chanel Biography|date=August 12, 2016|website=Biography.com}}</ref> Chanel believed that even though Dior designs were revolutionary for the time period they did not managed to represent the women of the time. She believed women had to wear something to represent their survival to another war and their active roles in society.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/TOAH/hd/chnl/hd_chnl.htm|title=Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel (1883–1971) and the House of Chanel {{!}} Essay {{!}} Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History {{!}} The Metropolitan Museum of Art|last=Krick|first=Jessa|website=The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History|access-date=2016-10-31}}</ref> Coming back from a closed house of fashion was not easy for Chanel and competing against younger designers.<ref name=":2" /> The Chanel suit was known as a status symbol for wealthy and powerful women.<ref name=":2" /> Chanel influenced over the years and her brand is still one of the most influential brands for fashion.
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===Sports===
[[File:Olympiatuli 1952.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Paavo Nurmi]] and the [[Olympic flame]] in the opening ceremony of the [[1952 Summer Olympics]]]]

* Inaugural season of [[Formula One]]

====Olympics====
* [[1952 Summer Olympics]] held in [[Helsinki]], USA SPOTS* [[1952 Winter Olympics]] held in [[Oslo]], Norway
* [[1956 Summer Olympics]] held in [[Melbourne]], Australia
* [[1956 Winter Olympics]] held in [[Cortina d'Ampezzo]], Italy

====FIFA World Cups====
* [[1950 World Cup]] hosted by Brazil, won by [[Uruguay]]
* [[1954 FIFA World Cup|1954 World Cup]] hosted by Switzerland, won by [[West Germany]]
* [[1958 World Cup]] hosted by Sweden, won by [[Brazil]]

The 1958 World Cup is notable for marking the debut on the world stage of a then largely unknown 17-year-old [[Pelé]].

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