How useful is Richard A. Peterson's Production of culture perspective of Rock and Roll?

Richard A. Peterson suggested six factors for the emergence of Rock and Roll. These are law, technology, industry structure, organisation structure, occupational career and market. Peterson believed that the emergence of a group of creative artists, i.e. Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry in the 1950s was responsible for the birth of Rock and Roll. Additionally, the baby boom after World War 2 created a teenage audience that demanded new types of music. However the baby boom cannot account for the explosion of teenage demand, as baby boom children would only have been 9. This perspective of Rock and Roll allows us, the audience, to see the development of Rock and Roll. Furthermore, Rock and Roll music most commonly includes three chords, thus meaning that young children could learn how to play these songs on the guitar, and in doing so appealing to a new audience. However, Peterson never actually addresses music, there is no focus on how it is made or how it sounded. Therefore his theory is not very reliable, as it never includes analysis of actual Rock and Roll music.

What is Popular Music?

Popular music can be defined in many different ways. According to Anahid Kassabian (1999: pp.116), “when invoked in this way, popular music often means home-made”. In this respect this could relate to anything from singing happy birthday to singing in a church choir. Additionally, popular does not always indicate a synonym for good, as artists such as Mr Blobby and Bob the Builder had number one hits. However does that mean that the music is good? No it doesn’t. Popular music can be analysed in relation to its accessibility. When looking at artists such as T-Rex, and the song ‘Strange Orchestra’ it is not accessible as it is not easy to understand, you can barely hear the lyrics. Popular music is what ‘lots’ of people like, for example Luciano Pavarotti sung ‘Nessun Dorma’ at the World Cup, therefore more people liked it and it became a number one hit in the charts. Although there might not be a definitive answer for what popular music is, it can be seen as something that is popular with a lot of people, even if it doesn’t necessarily appeal to you.