Richard A. "Pete" Peterson, R.I.P.

I am sorry to learn about the recent death of one of my favorite professors and mentors, Dr. Richard A. “Pete” Peterson, Professor of Sociology Emeritus at Vanderbilt University. Although I was an English/Philosophy major in college, I took every course I could from Dr. Peterson because he was the first person I ever knew who applied serious study to the music industry. This was not dry academia; his classes were a lot of fun. Sometime later, he published a fascinating book called “ Creating Country Music: Fabricating Authenticity”. Somehow, with Dr. Peterson’s influence, I was able to take my fascination with music, my future training in law and my understanding of the structure of the music business, and figure out how to make some sort of a career for myself and for that I remain forever grateful.