Rock music has evolved over the years to include a lot of different musical directions. It started out as an amplified mix of blues and rockabilly. The term "rock and roll" was mentioned as far back as the 1930s in r&b songs. The electric guitar-based music became popular in the mid-fifties by Cleveland DJ Alan Freed and by the MGM motion picture Blackboard Jungle, which featured the song "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets. Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Elvis Presley followed with the wild dance music that would define a new era. Rock elevated the artistic status of albums with Beatles releases such as the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which was highly acclaimed for its studio experimentation. Bands began to mix rock with many other styles, leading to a development of freeform music. In the 1970s Pink Floyd took studio experimentation to untouchable levels with Dark Side of the Moon. Meanwhile, other top rock artists of the 70s, such as Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Aerosmith, Santana, Deep Purple and Van Halen built their sound on rocked up blues. Meanwhile, countrified rock came from The Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Eagles. Arena rock became big biz from the late seventies on. AC/DC helped usher in harder rock music, which opened the door for bands like Def Leppard, Motley Crew and Metallica. New wave and modern rock helped expand the sound of rock in the 70s, 80s and 90s. The Seattle sound of the 90s produced groundbreaking bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam. A lot of 90s modern rock had its roots in 60s and 70s rock. New harder electronic sounds emerged from Nine Inch Nails, Ministry and White Zombie. 1950s Rock 1960s Rock 1970s Rock 1980s Rock 1990s Rock 2000s Rock © Playlist Research. All rights reserved. |