History Of Rock Music

HISTORY OF ROCK MUSIC

Rock is a genre of pop (popular) music that started as “rock and roll” in the US in the early 50s, which has developed into an enormous range of styles ever since then. The roots of its style come from the African American blues and country music. This drew a number of other genres like electric blues and folk. Regularly Rock is based on a 4/4 time signature using a verse chorus form, but the genre is so wide it varies a lot. The commonly used instruments in rock are electric guitars; basses (which pioneered on jazz music in the same era) and drums and one or more singer, pianos and keyboards are also used a lot. Rock music is defined by rhythm not melody with the heavy beats being 2 and 4 in the time. Rock bands are

Alan Freed (1921- 1965) was the first one to begin playing with different rhythms and mixing genres creating, then called race music, rock for a multi-racial audience. Jimmy Preston’s “Rock the Joint” is consider the first rock and roll record after this. With Elvis’ “That’s all right Mama” Rock and Roll became major in the US and Europe and artists like Little Richard, Jerry lee Lewis and Gene Vincent exploded to the masses and became extremely popular. The era saw the growth in popularity of the electric guitar and the mix of active components. It is believed that with the death of Buddy Holly and Richie Valens the rock and roll era was dead too and established to a point of no revival. In the 1960s pop music or softer alternative rock music started. In this era the genre was all about black people and women on the contrast to rock and roll, which was mainly, white dudes, also really significant for the advent of soul music. At the end of 1962 the “British invasion” started and every one was talking about it. With groups like Gerry and the Pacemakers, The searchers, the Hollies, the Rolling Stones and of course the biggest band of them all: The Beatles. The Beatles were an English band from Liverpool in 1964. It was composed of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ring Starr. These groups were composing their own material, combining US forms with a really high beat. They tended to do “bouncy

This was the era of drugs and parties and colors. Jimi Hendrix was Huge with his headbands and extended distorted, feedback. Filled jams. His guitar solos were legendary and he claimed that it was because of “how groovy and loose he was” The Beatles also released in 1967 a psychedelic statement record “Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band” and the rolling stones responded that year with their satanic Majesties Request. Its climax was at 1969 at the Woodstock festival were all the major bands played. This was one of the longest era for rock. Progressive rock or Art rock replaced all the psychedelic stuff, although it was believed that for it to be made, you had to be high on drugs. Instrumentals were very common and songs with lyrics were either conceptual or abstract. Everything had to had a deeper meaning and an extremely rear reference. The Bands varied from electric and innovative like Frank Zappa and Blood Sweat and Tears and other were more pop rock orientated like Foreigner, Journey and Styx. This was the era of break ups. Every single band that started here did not last long, except for a few exceptions like Genesis, Yes and Pink Floyd who lasted for a really long time, more than expected. Then there were Jazz and roots rock, but they did not make it as big as the other ones. Glam rock till this day has been the biggest genre of rock of all times. People like David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Kiss and Twisted Sister came thanks to it. Musically it