What Hath Rock Wrought?: Blues, Country Music, Rock'n'Roll and Istanbul
Keywords:
rock music, blues, country music, vernacular cultures, global youth cultureAbstract
This article explores the global impact of rock music as a cultural phenomenon, tracing its origins to the fusion of African American blues and Anglo-Irish-Scottish country traditions. It questions the adaptability of this fundamentally American musical discourse in non-Western contexts, particularly in predominantly Muslim societies such as Turkey. By comparing rock’s rise with the earlier dominance of Tin Pan Alley songs, the article demonstrates how rock became a global lingua franca for youth, surpassing jazz in popularity. It examines the resilience of vernacular cultures in shaping rock and considers whether such music can be integrated into non-Western traditions without becoming merely exotic. The study draws on examples from Turkish folk music to illustrate possible parallels.
(The abstract and keywords were prepared retrospectively for indexing purposes using AI-assisted tools and editorial review, based on the original article. They did not appear in the original publication.)
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