Editing Teen idol (section)

===1950s–1960s===
[[File:1950s in retrospect - Modern Screen, Jan. 1960.jpg|thumb|Teen idols of the 1950s include Elvis Presley, [[Fabian Forte]], [[Tommy Sands (entertainer)|Tommy Sands]], and [[Ricky Nelson]], as pictured.]]
Although he had only three major movie roles, [[James Dean]] earned two Oscar nominations. He also had the image of a rebellious youth, something that was popular among girls and young women. His performance in ''[[Rebel Without a Cause|Rebel Without A Cause]]'' (1955) and his untimely death in a road collision in 1955 cemented his status as an icon. Contemporary teenagers still wear white T-shirts and jeans in his style.<ref name=":3">{{cite web|date=2008|title=James Dean - Top 10 Teen Idols|url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1853419_1853382_1853363,00.html|access-date=May 20, 2021|website=Time Magazine}}</ref>

Selected by [[Walt Disney]] in 1955 for his new show ''[[The Mickey Mouse Club]]'', [[Annette Funicello]] became popular among viewers by the end of the first season.<ref>{{cite web|date=2008|title=Annette Funicello - Top 10 Teen Idols|url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1853419_1853382_1853364,00.html|access-date=May 20, 2021|website=Time Magazine}}</ref> [[Elvis Presley]] made his debut in the mid-1950s and became a sensation. Deemed too dangerous to be filmed except from the waist up because of his sexually suggestive dance moves, he became popular among teenagers.<ref name=":2" /> The success of young rock stars like Presley, film stars like [[Marlon Brando]], [[Paul Newman]], [[James Dean]], [[Tab Hunter]], and [[Sal Mineo]] in the 1950s, as well as the wider emergence of [[youth subculture]]s, led promoters to the deliberate creation of teen idols such as singers [[Frankie Avalon]], [[Frankie Valli]], [[Frankie Lymon]], [[Fabian Forte]], [[Bobby Rydell]] and [[Connie Stevens]]. Even crooners like [[Frank Sinatra]] were still considered idols and rather handsome. Actors [[Edd Byrnes]] and [[Troy Donahue]] and other artists deliberately cultivated a (safer) idol image, like Canadian musician [[Paul Anka]].

{{blockquote|Anka initially modelled himself on a particular generic type, the teen idol [who] carried on the process ... of ''changing the image of male youth ... from wild to mild'', by providing a cleaner, more wholesome image of masculinity than that of the previous era's rebellious rockabilly heroes [and ([[working-class]]) so-called [[Juvenile delinquency|juvenile delinquents]], like those in [[West Side Story (musical)|West Side Story]]]....|<ref>Jim Leach, Jeannette Sloniowski, ''Candid eyes: essays on Canadian documentaries''. University of Toronto Press, 2003, pp.50–60. [Emphasis mine]</ref>}}

[[File:Gramofon z czterema predkosciami ubt.jpeg|thumb|left|Portable phonograph]]
Post-war teens were able to buy relatively inexpensive phonographs — including portable models that could be carried to friends' houses — and the new [[Single (music)|45-rpm singles]]. Rock music played on 45s became the soundtrack to the 1960s as people bought what they heard on the radio. The great majority of the music being marketed to 1950s teens was being written by adults, but 1960s teens were increasingly appreciating and emulating artists closer to their own age, to teen fashion, and to lyrics which addressed their own concerns. Their parents worried about their attraction to artists (and DJs) who were edgy and rebellious. Faces on magazines fed fans; fans buy records, see films, watch TV and buy fashions.

{{blockquote|Marketing of the teen idol generally focuses on the image.... The teen idol is structured to appeal to the pre-teen and young teen female pop audience member and children in general.... [They] are commodified in forms and images that are relatively non-threatening to this young audience and to the ancillary market of parents... The teen idol never appears to be autonomous and therefore never appears to be threatening as an adult; he remains, as long as he is popular, perpetually childlike and dependent.|<ref name="dmarsh">P. David Marshall, ''Celebrity and power: fame in contemporary culture''. U of Minnesota Press, 1997
p.168ff. {{ISBN|0-8166-2725-8}}</ref>}}
Some marketers turned to film and TV for fresh, 'safe' faces. [[Tommy Sands (entertainer)|Tommy Sands]]'s debut in a [[television film]] about the phenomenon, ''The Idol'', made a teen idol out of Sands himself.

Teen idol [[Ricky Nelson]] rose to stardom on the hit show [[The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet|''<u>The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet</u>'']] and the show was successfully used to promote his songs, making him one of the biggest stars in music. His wholesome image was a stark contrast to the uproar caused by Elvis Presley, with parents often approving of Nelson. 

Rick’s popularity continued to grow as Elvis and the [[The Everly Brothers|Everly Brothers]] were in the military, [[Chuck Berry]] was imprisoned, and [[Buddy Holly]] and [[Ritchie Valens]] died. However his popularity declined as the [[British Invasion]] hit the United States. when [[the Beatles]] arrived in 1964.<ref name=":2" /> They had already been famous in the United Kingdom.<ref name=":18" /> But after making their debut in the U.S. on ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'' on February 9, 1964, the Beatles soon became the most successful and influential band in modern musical history,<ref name="bbc41012" /> staying at the top of Billboard charts for a grand total of 58 weeks between 1964 and 1970. Adolescent hysteria was so loud that the band had trouble performing at concerts.<ref>{{cite web|date=2008|title=The Beatles - Top 10 Teen Idols|url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1853419_1853382_1853377,00.html|access-date=May 20, 2021|website=Time Magazine}}</ref> The level of stardom they achieved in the U.S.—dubbed [[Beatlemania]]—was never before seen in that country, not even during the heyday of Elvis Presley.<ref name=":2" /> Many teenage girls waited outside the hotels the Beatles were staying at, hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite musicians.<ref name=":17">{{Cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Mark |date=November 26, 2024 |title=Intimate documentary captures the Beatles goofing around as they take America by storm in 1964 |url=https://apnews.com/article/1964-beatles-sullivan-documentary-b8ce82825d00317907f33d1df0e82ec2 |access-date=November 28, 2024 |work=Associated Press}}</ref> It is believed that a part of their success in the U.S. was because they brought hope and joy to a nation that was still recovering from the shock of the assassination of President [[John F. Kennedy]].<ref name=":17" /><ref name=":8">{{Cite news |last=Leopold |first=Todd |date=January 31, 2014 |title=Beatles + Sullivan = Revolution: Why Beatlemania could never happen today |url=https://www.cnn.com/2014/01/30/showbiz/celebrity-news-gossip/beatles-ed-sullivan-50-years-anniversary/ |access-date=October 19, 2024 |work=CNN}}</ref> Another possible reason was that the Beatles were young, energetic, good-looking, and witty, which made it easy for them to become famous in the age of television.<ref name=":18">{{Cite news |last=Wareing |first=Dan |last2=Long |first2=Chris |date=November 29, 2024 |title=Did JFK's assassination help The Beatles break the US? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c86qx7gep86o |access-date=November 30, 2024 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

Some young TV stars were being hustled into studios to make recordings; for example, ex-Mousketeer Annette Funicello became one of the first big female idols as well as [[the Lennon Sisters]] whom had cut out dolls and were always on the covers of the gossip magazines; another, [[Johnny Crawford]] of ''[[The Rifleman]]'', had five Top-40 hits.<ref name="gtrps" /> In 1963, [[Luke Halpin]] made a big splash as a teen idol in the television program ''[[Flipper (1964 TV series)|Flipper]]''. After ''[[Bye Bye Birdie (1963 film)|Bye Bye Birdie]]'' was released in 1963, [[Bobby Rydell]] became an instant teen idol.

In the 1960s as situation comedies and dramas on television using child actors became more popular, actors [[Paul Petersen]], [[Patty Petersen]], and [[Shelley Fabares]] from ''[[The Donna Reed Show]]'', [[Dwayne Hickman]] from ''[[The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis]]'', [[Sally Field]] of ''[[Gidget (TV series)|Gidget]]'', [[Jon Provost]] of ''[[Lassie (1954 TV series)|Lassie]]'', [[Jay North]] from ''[[Dennis the Menace (1959 TV series)|Dennis the Menace]]'', and [[Keith and Kevin Schultz]] known as the "Schultz Twins" on ''[[The Monroes (1966 TV series)|The Monroes]]'' all became younger preteen idols and grew into being teen idols.

[[Herman's Hermits]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hermanshermits.com/articles/misc/flashback10_p2.html |title=Herman's Hermits – Magazine Articles |publisher=Hermanshermits.com |access-date=31 October 2011 |archive-date=14 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060514091742/http://www.hermanshermits.com/articles/misc/flashback10_p2.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[the Rolling Stones]], and [[the Beach Boys]] were teen idols, especially during the earlier part of their careers, although they quickly grew out of that status. The Rolling Stones did it through a more rebellious image, [[the Beatles]] did it through their more developed (or "grown up") music. Similarly, [[Neil Sedaka]] had two distinct eras of his career, with about a decade in between: one as a teen idol in the 1960s, and a later career in [[adult contemporary music]]. [[Roy Orbison]] was known for his songs "[[Oh, Pretty Woman]]," "[[Only the Lonely]]," and "[[Crying (Roy Orbison song)|Crying]]." From the family band [[the Cowsills]], [[Susan Cowsill]], [[John Cowsill]] and [[Barry Cowsill]] became teen idols.  Many of the teen idols of the era were the sons of older, established stars; [[Dino, Desi & Billy]] were active as teen idols during the mid-sixties. The group included [[Dean Paul Martin]] (son of singer [[Dean Martin]]), and [[Billy Hinsche]] (a mutual friend whose parents were not famous). [[Gary Lewis (musician)|Gary Lewis]], son of comedian [[Jerry Lewis]], fronted [[Gary Lewis and the Playboys|the Playboys]] during this era.

All of [[the Monkees]] became instant teen idols in the late 1960s after [[The Monkees (TV series)|their TV show]] became an overnight success, especially for [[Micky Dolenz]] and [[Davy Jones (actor)|Davy Jones]]. The British-born Monkee [[Davy Jones (actor)|Davy Jones]] was regularly featured in [[Teen magazine|teen fan magazines]]. In 2008, ''[[Yahoo Music]]'' named Jones the number one teen idol of all time,<ref>{{cite web|last=O'Connor |first=Rob |url=http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/listoftheday/104315/the-top-25-teen-idols-of-all-time/ |title=The Top 25 Teen Idols Of All-Time |work=New.music.yahoo.com |date=1 December 2008 |access-date=4 June 2014}}</ref> and in 2009 he was ranked second in a list compiled by ''[[Fox News]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/then-now-10-best-teen-idols-of-all-time |title=Then & Now: 10 Best Teen Idols of All Time |publisher=Fox News |date=1 January 2009 |access-date=4 June 2014}}</ref>

Teen fan magazine ''[[TeenSet]]'' began publishing in 1964, focusing on youthful bands and musicians. ''[[Tiger Beat]]'' magazine began competing for the same audience in 1965.