
Takin' Care of Business
A History of Working People's Rock 'n' Roll
George Case(Author)
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 3. August 2021
Book
Hardback
216 pages
978-0-19-754881-3 (ISBN)
Description
By the early 1970s, practically everyone under a certain age liked rock music, but not everyone liked it for the same reasons. We typically associate the sounds of classic rock 'n' roll with youthful rebellion by juvenile delinquents, student demonstrators, idealistic hippies, or irreverent punks. But in this insightful and timely book, author George Case shows how an important strain of rock music from the late 1960s onward spoke to - and represented an idealized self-portrait of - a very different audience: the working-class 'Average Joes' who didn't want to change the world as much as they wanted to protect their perceived place within it. To the extent that "working-class populism" describes an authentic political current, it's now beyond a doubt that certain musicians and certain of their songs helped define that current.
By now, rock 'n' roll has cast a long shadow over hundreds of millions of people around the world - not just over reckless kids, but over wage-earning parents and retired elders; not just over indignant youth challenging authority, but over indignant adults challenging their own definition of it. Not only have the politics of rock fans drifted surprisingly rightward since 1970; some rock, as Case argues, has helped reset the very boundaries of left and right themselves. That God, guns, and Old Glory can be understood to be paid fitting tribute in a heavy guitar riff delivered by a long-haired reprobate in blue jeans - but that #Me Too, Occupy Wall Street or Black Lives Matter might not - hints at where those boundaries now lie.
By now, rock 'n' roll has cast a long shadow over hundreds of millions of people around the world - not just over reckless kids, but over wage-earning parents and retired elders; not just over indignant youth challenging authority, but over indignant adults challenging their own definition of it. Not only have the politics of rock fans drifted surprisingly rightward since 1970; some rock, as Case argues, has helped reset the very boundaries of left and right themselves. That God, guns, and Old Glory can be understood to be paid fitting tribute in a heavy guitar riff delivered by a long-haired reprobate in blue jeans - but that #Me Too, Occupy Wall Street or Black Lives Matter might not - hints at where those boundaries now lie.
Reviews / Votes
The author's forte is pop culture, and the interesting tidbits about the various artists are what make this book tasty, especially to rock enthusiasts. Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and general readers. * R. J. Powell, SUNY Cortland, CHOICE * Booksmart and streetsmart, with a rock & roll heart and keen understanding of class culture, Case crafts a compelling argument tying protest music to social class and aesthetics. Drawing from a wide variety of scholarly and popcult references, Takin' Care of Business is an invaluable resource for music fans, activists, scholars, critics and students to get schooled - and validated. On my Spring reading list already! * Donna Gaines, author of Teenage Wasteland, A Misfit's Manifesto and Why the Ramones Matter * Finally! An appreciation of those massively popular blues-influenced songs delivered by deliciously loud guitars celebrating testosteroned teenage freedom. Packing arenas as industry in the West was rusting out, fans celebrated the now with odes to the power and vitality that should have been their future. Freebird! * Deena Weinstein, Professor of Sociology, DePaul University *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
-
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
408 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-754881-3 (9780197548813)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
03/2021
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€14.99
Available for download

E-Book
03/2021
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€14.99
Available for download
Person
George Case is the author of several books on music and popular culture, including Jimmy Page: Magus, Musician, Man, Calling Dr. Strangelove, and Here's To My Sweet Satan. Originally from the steel city of Sault Ste. Marie, he now lives in Ottawa, Canada.
Content
Introduction: Dream On
Salt of the Earth
Wrote A Song For Everyone
Free For All
Workin' Man Blues
Swamp Music
British Steel
For Those About to Rock
Youngstown
One In a Million
Conclusion: Subdivisions
Further Reading
Notes
Salt of the Earth
Wrote A Song For Everyone
Free For All
Workin' Man Blues
Swamp Music
British Steel
For Those About to Rock
Youngstown
One In a Million
Conclusion: Subdivisions
Further Reading
Notes