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Rock and Roll
Late 1940s /early 1950s USA
Combination of black music (rhythm and blues, gospel, blues, jazz) with elements of country led to a music genre with an interracial audience
Splintered into the subgenres: rockabilly (combination of rock and roll with "hillbilly" country music) and doo wop (multi-vocal harmonies and nonsensical background lyrics)
Musicians: Bill Haley and His Comets, Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Chuck Berry -
British Invasion
Began in the 1960s.
Involved British rock bands who used the conventions of American rock and roll music but also used a high energy beat
Popular in both Britain and the USA, which is how it gained its name of the British Invasion
Contained catchy melodies but often had an aggressive, sexual or anti-establishment tone
Musicians: The Beatles, The Animals, Them, The Rolling Stones, and The Yardbirds -
Surf Music
Emerged in the early 1960s
It got its name from the ‘wet’ sound of the music
Acoustic
Influenced by Middle Eastern and Mexican music
Surf music originated in Southern California
Musicians: The Del-Tones, The Beach Boys and The Bel-Airs -
Garage Rock
Developed in North America in the mid 1960s
Gained name from the sound being as if it had been rehearsed in a suburban garage
Sound was aggressive, incoherent and repetitive
Musicians: the Sonics, the Hunted, Unrelated Segments, and Paul Revere and the Raiders. -
Christian Rock
Rock has frequently been criticised by Christian groups and accused of being Satanic and anti-Christian
As a response to this, Christian rock was developed
Influenced by pop music and gospel
Musicians included Cliff Richard and some of the music of Elvis Presley -
Pop Rock
Popular music with a rock sound
Softer tone than rock and roll to attract a wider audience, allowing this genre to become mainstream thus more commercial
Aimed at young people
Contrasted to previous genres as it avoided being countercultural to enable it to have a larger audience
Musicians: The Everly Brothers, Michael Jackson, Coldplay, Prince, Elton John, Paul McCartney, and Rod Stewart -
Classic Rock
Rock music focused on a wider context
Included extended works
Focused on artistic values, live performance
Progressive rather than commercial as it didn’t follow trends
Included a range of subgenres
These included blues rock, folk rock (traditional and acoustic), psychedelic rock (experimental and arty), progressive rock (experimented structure and instruments) and glam rock (flamboyant clothing and makeup) -
Roots Rock
Marked a move away from perceived ‘excesses’ of classic rock
More ‘stripped back’
Back to the basics of rock and roll with influences of country and folk
Bands included the Byrds, Lynrd Skynrd and the Eagles -
Mainstream
As a result of becoming more mainstream, rock divided into subgenres: soft, hard, and heavy metal
Soft rock included musicians such as Cat Stevens, Billy Joel and Fleetwood Mac
Hard rock included AC/DC, Aerosmith, Thin Lizzy, and Black Sabbath
Heavy metal included Judas Priest, UFO, and Mötorhead -
Punk
Developed in the 1970s and 1980s
Heavily associated to a subculture involving distinctive clothing and an alternative ideology
Emphasis on rebellion
Stripped down in terms of instruments, industrial, DIY and anti-establishment
Became less aggressive and more artistic, allowing it to be more commercial
Musicians: the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, and the Clash. the Police and the Pretenders
Post-punk emerged as a more artistic and emotional alternative