Quote: Frank Sinatra denounces rock n roll in 1957

[Garson O'Toole]

Point of clarification: I do assume that list members already
understood the term "cretinous goons".

The excerpt shows that the article author or newspaper editor thought
that his readers might not understand the term "cretinous goons". This
is a single datum of evidence about the level of reader sophistication
assumed by newswire writers/editors in 1957.

On Sat, Jul 14, 2012 at 12:39 AM, Garson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Quote: Frank Sinatra denounces rock n roll in 1957
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Wilson Gray wrote about SInatra's critique of rock:
>>
>> Once upon a time, a person with "only" a high-school diploma also had
>> an education, as Mr. Sinatra's remarks clearly indicate.;-)
>
> The vocabulary is interesting. The article from INS news service
> detailing the Elvis response included the following prefatory comment
> explaining one Sinatra's words. Of course, the Sinatra article may
> have been ghost-written.
>
> Cite: 1957 October 30, Augusta Chronicle, "Frankie rags Rock 'n' Roll;
> Presley's sideburns bristle" [INS News Service: Dateline Hollywood],
> Page 1A, Column 5 and 6, Augusta, Georgia. (GenealogyBank)
>
> [Begin excerpt]
>
> Elvis Presley's ample sideburns bristled today in defense of his Rock
> 'n' Roll cult against a blast from Frank Sinatra.
>
> Sinatra, in a Paris magazine article, said rock 'n' rollers were
> "cretinous goons" - in the class of idiots, according to Webster.
>
> [End excerpt]
>
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