Rock'n'roll was once a working-class occupation. Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Billy Fury and Johnny Hallyday saw music as a way out and up, like sport, hell-fire preaching or trade union politics. That Fury and Hallyday didn't grow up picking cotton or shining shoes mattered very little.

Tags: Billy Fury, Elvis Presley, Hell Fire, Johnny Hallyday, Little Richard, Music, Occupation, Picking Cotton, Rock Culture, Rock N Roll, Rock Roll, Shoes, Trade Union Politics