History
Greasers were a youth subculture that originated in the 1950's among teenagers in the northeastern and southeastern United States. These teens loved rock 'n' roll, and their style and culture was influenced by music artists such as Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, and Ritchie Valens. The two most prominent figures of this look were Marlon Brando and James Dean. In the 50's and 60's, these teens were also known as "hoods", most likely due to the fact that the greaser subculture was popular among working class neighborhoods that had higher crime rates than the upper-class neighborhoods of the time.
Cultural Componets
Material Culture
- Blue Jeans, often rolled at the ankle
- Leather Jackets
- White T-Shirts or "Daddy-O" style Shirts
- Muscle Cars or "Hot Rods"
- Motorcycles
- Cigarettes
- Rock 'n' Roll
- Pompadour Hairstyle
- Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars
- Vintage leather caps
- Marlon Brando and James Dean
- Diners and Drive-Ins
Non-Material Culture
- Rebellious
- Carefree Attitude
- Not allowed to show that you care about school or girls too much
- Never allowed to be seen being friendly with a member of another "gang"
- If you were a greaser, you weren't to be seen with someone of another group
- Not allowed to mess with another guy's girl
- Spoke using a lot of slang
- They drew on the language of the "hip" jazz men, and military men
- Bopping - Fighting a rival gang
- Debs - The girlfriends of the gang members
- Turf - The territory ruled by a gang
- Marlon Brando and James were symbols of this subculture
Images
This image depicts a group of greasers standing around their car. Greasers found having a fast car to be very important, and their cars meant freedom.
Source : www.retrowaste.com
Source : www.retrowaste.com
This image shows a greaser working on his car, in blue jeans, while smoking a cigarette. Cigarettes were iconic of this subculture, and it was definitely considered the "hip" thing to do. It was also seen as a symbol of rebellion against your parents.
Source : www.rebloggy.com
Source : www.rebloggy.com
This image is of Marlon Brando in The Wild One. Marlon Brando in this film, and James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause were two major symbols of the greaser subculture in pop culture.
Source : www.celialeung.wordpress.com
Source : www.celialeung.wordpress.com
Music
Johnny B. Goode - by : Chuck Berry
Deep down in Louisiana close to New Orleans
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood
Where lived a country boy name Johnny B. Goode
Who never ever learned to read or write so well
But he could play the guitar just like ringing a bell
Go go, go Johnny go go
Go Johnny go go, go Johnny go go
Go Johnny go go, Johnny B. Goode
He used to carry his guitar in a gunny sack
And sit beneath the trees by the railroad track
Oh, the engineers would see him sitting in the shade
Strumming with the rhythm that the drivers made
People passing by, they would stop and say
Oh my, what that little country boy could play
Go go, go Johnny go go
Go Johnny go go, go Johnny go go
Go Johnny go go, Johnny B. Goode
His mother told him someday he would be a man
And you would be the leader of a big old band
Many people coming from miles around
To hear you play your music when the sun go down
Maybe someday your name would be in lights
Saying Johnny B. Goode tonight
Go go, go go Johnny go
Go go Johnny go, go go Johnny go
Go go Johnny go, Johnny B. Goode
Source : www.metrolyrics.com
This song is by Chuck Berry, a big influence on the greaser style and music. Chuck Berry was all Rock 'n' Roll, and this is what the greasers loved. This song has great guitar parts, a strong beat, and an easy to follow chorus that made rock 'n' roll so popular with greasers. Chuck Berry wasn't some superstar whose music didn't make sense, his music was catchy, quick, and they could blast it on the radio in their hot rod.
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood
Where lived a country boy name Johnny B. Goode
Who never ever learned to read or write so well
But he could play the guitar just like ringing a bell
Go go, go Johnny go go
Go Johnny go go, go Johnny go go
Go Johnny go go, Johnny B. Goode
He used to carry his guitar in a gunny sack
And sit beneath the trees by the railroad track
Oh, the engineers would see him sitting in the shade
Strumming with the rhythm that the drivers made
People passing by, they would stop and say
Oh my, what that little country boy could play
Go go, go Johnny go go
Go Johnny go go, go Johnny go go
Go Johnny go go, Johnny B. Goode
His mother told him someday he would be a man
And you would be the leader of a big old band
Many people coming from miles around
To hear you play your music when the sun go down
Maybe someday your name would be in lights
Saying Johnny B. Goode tonight
Go go, go go Johnny go
Go go Johnny go, go go Johnny go
Go go Johnny go, Johnny B. Goode
Source : www.metrolyrics.com
This song is by Chuck Berry, a big influence on the greaser style and music. Chuck Berry was all Rock 'n' Roll, and this is what the greasers loved. This song has great guitar parts, a strong beat, and an easy to follow chorus that made rock 'n' roll so popular with greasers. Chuck Berry wasn't some superstar whose music didn't make sense, his music was catchy, quick, and they could blast it on the radio in their hot rod.