Atomic Cocktail: Music of the Cold War Era

Great anxiety about nuclear war and communism permeated American culture from the time we dropped the atomic bomb in 1945 until Glasnost in 1991. The fear and anxiety were addressed in many popular songs.

This week on Music 101, we’ll examine some of those songs.

Slim Gaillard | “Atomic Cocktail”
Elton Britt | “Uranium Fever”
Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup | “I’m Gonna Dig Myself A Hole”
Pete Seeger | “Midnight Special”
Bo Diddley | “Mr. Krushchev”
Sam Hinton | “Old Man Atom”
Roosevelt Sykes | “Sputnik Baby”
The Tornadoes | “Telstar”
Johnny Rivers | “Secret Agent Man”
David Bowie | “Heroes”
Modern English | “I Melt With You”