Music recorded in 1957
The year 1957 saw the post-World War II international order accelerate along multiple axes: military and science, integration and independence, and mass consumption and popular culture. The launch of Sputnik 1 by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (October 4, 1957) symbolized the Cold War technological race, heralding an era in which artificial satellites would directly impact real-world politics, the military, and industry. Furthermore, Sputnik 2 launched the dog Laika (date of birth and death unknown) into Earth's orbit, signaling to the world that space exploration had entered a phase involving life itself. Similarly, on the scientific front, the International Geophysical Year (IGY) began on July 1, 1957, significantly expanding the framework for international cooperation in observing the Earth, the Sun, and the atmosphere, despite the tensions of East-West conflict.
In Europe, the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community and the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community were signed in Rome on March 25, 1957, clearly establishing a solid institutional framework for "integration" to prevent the recurrence of war. Regarding nuclear energy, the Charter of the International Atomic Energy Agency came into force on July 29, 1957, laying the foundation for the modern era in which the peaceful use and management of nuclear technology is an agenda item for international organizations. Meanwhile, the Windscale fire in the UK in October 1957 demonstrated that while the use of nuclear energy offers hope for security and industry, it also carries serious risks.
The surge of independence was also an important feature of 1957. Ghana achieved independence on March 6, 1957, with Kwame Nkrumah (1909–1972) declaring the beginning of the new nation. In Southeast Asia, the Federation of Malaya also achieved independence on August 31, 1957, with Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Alhaj (1903–1990) declaring independence. These redrawings of the political map also affected resources, trade, immigration, and media distribution, bringing about long-term changes in the conditions for where, to whom, and how music and film could be delivered.
In terms of internal social changes, the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 in the United States on September 9, 1957, marked a turning point in strengthening the federal government's institutional framework for dealing with civil rights. The conflict over the integration of Little Rock Central High School in September of the same year made federal intervention visible, with television and newspapers amplifying the tension both domestically and internationally. In terms of health, the 1957–1958 influenza pandemic (also known as the Asian flu) spread globally, highlighting how infectious diseases spread in an era of jet engines, urbanization, and mass mobility.
In popular culture, rock and roll became closely linked to the film, radio, and record industries, further amplifying the mutual interaction between the "star's body" and "reproduction media." Elvis Presley's (1935–1977) "Jailhouse Rock," released as a single in September 1957, typified the circuit in which music and video were consumed as a single. Around the same time, Buddy Holly (1936–1959) and the Crickets' "That'll Be the Day" became a hit, furthering the trend toward guitar-based band sounds becoming the "standard language of young people." In the UK, The Cavern Club opened in January 1957, quietly laying the groundwork for what would become a global experimental venue for popular music in the underground spaces of postwar port cities. The year 1957 marks a turning point when the world began to take on a "contemporaneous" nature, as nations, science, health, rights, and entertainment all seemed to operate independently, but were in fact reconnected by the same communication and transportation networks and the expansion of mass media.
