1950's Popular Culture

Databases

EasyBib and KnightCite - citation creators

30 specific points in U.S. History

Encyclopædia Britannica* and Online School Edition* and Annals of American History*

Literature Resource Center*
"...up-to-date biographical information, overviews, full-text literary criticism...
130,000 writers...all disciplines, from all time periods and from around the world."

Musicians and Composers of the Twentieth Century
from Arthur Fiedler to 50 Cent to Aretha Franklin to B. B. King to Serge Koussevitzky to K. D. Lang to Queen Latifah...

Pop Culture Collection *
"...over two million articles found in over 100 subject appropriate, full-text periodicals including: Advertising Age, American Theatre, Billboard, Cosmopolitan, Daily Variety, Hollywood Reporter..."

Decades in America 1950's and 20th Century, 1941-1970

 U.S. History Collection*  and  U.S. History in Context*

* Brought to you by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and Massachusetts Library System with state funds and federal Institute of Museum and Library Services funds.

General Websites

DigitalDreamDoor.com

Outstanding site that gives you the music and links to biographies and images.

Fifties Web - Classic TV

Lots of information about 1950s television with a link to television show listings plus much more information about the 1950s.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Find artists of the 1950s and their music.

Smithsonian: National Museum of African American History & Culture

Smithsonian: National Museum of American History

Outstanding site with information on just about any aspect of the 1950s. Key in specific subject.

Coco Chanel
Learn why Coco Chanel is such an icon in the fashion industry and how her influence can still be seen today. On this web site, you will learn about how Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, who was raised in an orphanage, became a famous fashion designer and how her clothing revolutionized styles for women. Find out why her simple designs were so liberating and how she became successful at a time when few women were running their own businesses. Learn why she was shunned for a time, living for fifteen years in Switzerland, and how she made a comeback in the 1950s.  
Topic: Chanel, Coco,--1883-1971  http://www.webwombat.com.au

Guitars Baroque to Modern - The Electric Guitar 1950s - 2000
The Museum of Musical Instruments presents a history of the electric guitar. This solid-bodied instrument uses electronic pickups to amplify the sound, instead of relying on the hollow body of earlier guitars. The Fender Telecast was the world's first mass-produced electric guitar. It simplified construction, used the latest technology, and eliminated much of the feedback from amplifying hollow-bodied instruments. The Fender Stratocaster was among the earliest with sports car colors and curves. Psychedelic designs, angular shapes, and new designs and materials could soon be found. Inventors experimented with double-necked guitars, and the Manzar Pikasso had 3 necks and 42 strings!
Topic: Electric guitar, Electric guitars http://www.themomi.org

1955 Cadillac Series 62
Travel back in time to learn about one of the classic cars of the twentieth century, the 1955 Cadillac Series 62. Peruse exterior and interior photographs of this timeless car. In addition, discover how it expanded upon previous models, while utilizing the newest automotive innovations. For a fun, and well-illustrated comparison, and to learn about the standard features of other cars introduced during the 1950s, browse the chart of other classic convertibles of this era.
Topic: Automobiles--Models http://auto.howstuffworks.com

Can a Car Run on Nuclear Power?
The idea of a nuclear-powered car was conceived in the 1950s. The Ford Nucleon design included a nuclear power capsule but this concept car was never built. Explore the benefits and risks of nuclear-powered automobiles. One of the great benefits would be driving for years between refuelings. Unfortunately, the weight required for proper shielding of radioactive materials makes the nuclear-powered car impractical for travel. Other dangers include accidents and the security risk of having nuclear materials available to the public.
Topic: Nuclear propulsion http://auto.howstuffworks.com

Comic Book Cultures
Explore comic books, their history, and their role in 20th century American culture at this online exhibit from Duke University. Be there when comics were born in the 1930s and see why they were originally created. Meet the superheroes of the 1940s and the comic topics that brought about censorship in the 1950s. The new superheroes of the 1960s and the socially conscious comics of the 1970s are introduced. Find out what the 1980s and 1990s brought to the comic book world. All cover shots of comic books can be enlarged with the click of the mouse.
Topic: Comic books, strips, etc. http://library.duke.edu

Elia Kazan at Filmbug
Elia Kazan was an American director of theater and film. A list of his films and awards are available. His credits include directing "The Glass Menagerie" and "A Streetcar Named Desire," both written by Tennessee Williams. These two plays by Arthur Miller, "All My Sons" and "Death of a Salesman" Kazan directed. In 1999, Kazan received an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement. Many years had passed since the House Un-American Committee of the 1950's, but this decision is still controversial today.
Topic: Kazan, Elia http://www.filmbug.com

On This Day: Peanuts Comic Strip Debuts
The year was 1950 when the comic strip known as "Peanuts" first appeared in newspapers. Cartoonist Charles Schulz had called the cartoon by a different name and never really liked the name "Peanuts." From "Good Ol' Charlie Brown" to "A Charlie Brown Christmas," audiences loved the Peanuts gang. The comic strip eventually appeared in more than 2,600 newspapers. Discover what made "A Charlie Brown Christmas" unique. Analyze how the cartoons reveal a lot about Schulz's life.
Topic: Schulz, Charles M. http://www.findingdulcinea.com