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Women in Rock and Roll's First Wave

Branstetter, Leah Tallen
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2606-6780
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1555003265733456

Abstract Details

2019, Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Musicology.
Conventional wisdom dictates that women did not perform rock and roll during the 1950s: standard narratives often portray women as performers of pop music rather than rock and roll; they focus on the white, male teenage delinquent as the most visible archetype of the rock star; and they downplay the involvement and potential influence of women who did not have major hit records. This dissertation examines the origins and impact of those dominant narratives. Through analysis of interviews with performers, trade journal and popular press reports, newspaper coverage, archival documents from the music industry, and musical recordings, I offer alternative ways to frame rock and roll history to make the voices of women more audible. These include returning to the more heterogeneous musical definition of “rock and roll” common in the 1950s, employing more varied models of rebellion, and emphasizing “everyday” rock and roll performances alongside the biggest stars and hits. I also survey current scholarship in feminist historiography to argue that digital technologies and publishing platforms offer new methods of changing the conversation about women in rock and roll. Through a kaleidoscopic array of archival materials and multimedia-enhanced analysis, a digital appendix to this dissertation (www.womeninrockproject.org) strives to place different counter-narratives about early rock and roll into dialogue with one another.
Georgia Cowart (Committee Co-Chair)
Daniel Goldmark (Committee Co-Chair)
Francesca Brittan (Committee Member)
William Deal (Committee Member)
111 p.
Gender; Music
rock and roll; women musicians; digital humanities

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Branstetter, L. T. (2019). Women in Rock and Roll's First Wave [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1555003265733456

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Branstetter, Leah. Women in Rock and Roll's First Wave. 2019. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1555003265733456.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Branstetter, Leah. "Women in Rock and Roll's First Wave." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1555003265733456

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

case1555003265733456
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© 2019, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.