One of the enduring identities of the 20th century is the music born from early rock and roll, a movement that wore many names such as pop, rock, and underground. It moved through the latter half of the century and into the early decades of the 21st, leaving an imprint across books, from musical and artistic studies to political and sociological analyses. A recent work by Juan Carlos Fernandez Serrato, Towards a Pop Theory, attempts to merge these perspectives to draw conclusions about how pop music relates to social movements, avant-garde cultures, and the market. The author argues that pop music, in the effort to be seen as art, embodies a particular lifestyle and a stance toward the world that skews toward protest and alternative political currents, including anti racism, antiwar movements, feminism and more.
Because the performers of new music share age with their audiences and reflect their life choices, it is the youth who has long channeled this opposition to the dominant order. This opposition manifests early in postwar times through expressions in clothing, sexual freedom, amusement, and new forms of bodily expression driven by live performances. Artists who had previously been promoted by record labels and media began to redefine the experience of pop as a visual and sonic event, with increasing awe from audiences thanks to advanced sound and lighting technologies.
Pop, from its inception to the present, has grown into countless genres and formats that resist easy classification. It adapts to shifts in generations and the lifestyles in which it is born, and it blends with other cultural fields beyond music. Originating in the United States, pop entered a mode of production and consumption tied to mass culture, mediated by communications industries, the star system of Hollywood, and advertising strategies. Its development drew on a Fordist model of production in which the musician is one element of a larger chain where technology plays a central role. In this light, musicians such as Elvis Presley and Alice Cooper are highlighted not only for their artistry but as parts of a network that includes producers like George Martin and Phil Spector, directors, composers, arrangers, and the technicians who power the sound. The end product is a record produced through a chain of creative and promotional activities.
A distinct focus is placed on the media, which has historically played a key role in spreading rock and roll since the 1950s. Radio, cinema, special-interest magazines, television programs, and video have all contributed to the growth and commodification of pop. Today digital platforms such as on-demand services and streaming outlets expand access to music and reinforce its highly ephemeral nature.
From its emergence, in direct conflict with the dominant order, the market has tended to channel each new pop proposal into consumer products. Each new wave of exploration has given rise to fresh forms of protest with new thematic and aesthetic angles. Rock and roll, underground scenes, psychedelia, punk, glam, heavy metal, hard rock, progressive, symphonic rock, new wave, and gangsta rap each represented a different stance against the system. Once absorbed by the market, these movements often become mainstream, transforming once alternative cultures into new consumer industries.
The golden age of pop. a story
When Bill Haley and the Comets electrified the scene with 24 Hours of Rock in 1956, the closest European Spanish-speaking equivalents included the songs of Enrique Guzmán and Los Temptones. At the time, idols like Antonio Machín and Lucho Gatica shared center stage with Marifé de Triana and Antonio Molina. Musical tastes also drew on Mexican, French, and Italian corridors. In that year Spain saw the birth of TVE, and significant events rattled the world—Soviet tanks in Hungary and the debut of the Seat 600 among others.
Rock and roll did not immediately resonate in Spain as a dominant force. Instead, the country guided new music into what would later be labeled pop, with songs like Diana performed by a then 16-year-old singer. A period followed where artists searched for fresh sounds and the public appetite evolved alongside them.
From the 1950s through the 1960s, Spain gradually modernized its music scene, achieving international visibility through acts like Los Bravos and Miguel Ríos. This evolution is chronicled in Ignacio Faulín’s Hello Mr. Pop, a two-volume work published by Silex Ediciones. The book compiles a thorough history of how music has shifted year by year, providing extensive data, anecdotes, and a deep, broad understanding of the subject. It covers pop as well as rock, flamenco, musical cinema, festivals, and the rhythms and themes that shaped a generation raised on both Spanish and global sounds. The reading experience is described as revealing and immensely satisfying for anyone seeking a comprehensive account of popular music’s growth in Spain and on the international stage, making it a foundational reference for future research on the topic.