Looking at Peterson's cultural perspective “Why 1955?” he discusses six elements which came together in what some believe to be the birth of rock and roll. His work also dismisses some common myths attributed to the rise of rock and roll, the impact of the post war baby boom or that it was sparked by artists; but it fails to consider many other significant social factors, and why in particular it was rock and roll that was born.
One of the major factors Peterson does not discuss is sex, the term 'rock and roll' is a synonym for sex and a relaxing social attitude towards sex in the 50s amongst teenagers surely must have had an impact.
He does discuss the technologies involved in distributing the music but does not consider those such as the microphone and amplifier, without which any of this movement would be possible.
Some good analysis. The sexual element is interesting in that is raises the question of whether RnR was a symptom of the relaxation of sexual attitudes or one of the causes?
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