On Strange Shepherds, Golden Microphones, and Electric Guitars: Genre, Scene, and the Rise of Anadolu Pop in the Republic of Turkey

The myriad music styles performed in the Republic of Turkey are a complex amalgam of contemporary and historical elements. Using a mixture of archival and ethnographic methodologies, I examine the process by which Turkish performers domesticated Rock and Roll genre cues in the middle quarter of the 20 th century. My research focused on Anadolu Pop, a localized version of Rock and Roll music performed in Turkey. Anadolu Pop, also referred to as Anadolu Rock, peaked as a commercial genre in the 1970s, but it is still represented in contemporary Turkish music. The purpose of this study is to understand the ways by which cross-cultural influence contributes to the creation of new forms of expression.;Rock and Roll is a multi-region genre, one which, while having a well-documented history, has been effectively detached from any specific locality since its inception. This dissertation aims to outline factors ranging from mass mediation to parallels in subcultural ideology and rhetoric to global networks of exchange, which helped to spread Rock and Roll around the world in a brief period of time. This study of Anadolu Pop also suggests that the accelerated spread of Rock and Roll might signify a rise in transnational empathy.;Starting at the beginning of the 1960s with the earliest examples of Anadolu Pop, this dissertation traces the historical process of the localization of Rock and Roll genre cues into Turkish popular music until the early 1980s. This work contributes to studies on the effects of globalization on local music styles around the world. The history of Anadolu Pop sheds light on questions surrounding issues such as personal agency, mass mediation, and cultural imperialism. 1 draw upon Scene theory as a nuanced explanation of the interplay of power and identity when influence crosses oceans and spans continents. Using recordings as a study object, I also explore intertextual cross-stylistic connections within the genre. Anadolu Pop is an amalgam of local (Turkish) and international (rock) genres, and its performers make intertextual connections both to the past and the present.