Rock Music

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Elvis Presley became rock's first superstar. His tough, rebellious manner and suggestive movements are apparent in this scene from the film Jailhouse Rock (1957).

Rock music is one of the world's most popular and adaptable musical forms. When it originated in the United States in the early 1950's, rock music was known as rock n' roll (also spelled rock and roll). From the start, party music, dance music, and music that apply to young listeners. It often celebrated the joys of being young, and it occasionally expressed the frustration of youth. It rapidly spread and became an international expression of youth culture.

Many adults dismissed rock n’ roll as a passing fad or condemned it as a threat to society. By the mid – 1960’s, however, rock 'n' roll had earned wide respect as a legitimate art form. By the end of the 1960’s, the music had moved far from its roots in blues and country music, it became known simply as rock.

Since then, rock has not only dominated the music industry, but has also influenced everything from film to fashion to politics. Rock music has continued to defy musical barriers and has drawn much of its strength international musical influences.

Characteristics of rock music

At first, rock music generally followed a 4/4 beat and used only two or three chords in its melody. The songs were simple, repetitive, and easy to remember. Most of them were only two or three minutes long. The simplest rock continues to rely on a basic beat and a few chords. But some rock songs are more complex and sophisticated. Traditional musical elements from Africa, Ireland, South America, and other places have become more widely used in rock music.

Many rock groups feature a vocal soloist, with other group members performing as a chorus. Early rock music featured electric guitar or a blues-style boogie-woogie piano and drums. Today, musicians may use computers and electronic instruments called synthesizers as well as guitars, pianos, and drums. Some record include electronic drum machines. Many studio recordings rely heavily on computer technology.

Beginnings of rock music

Musical roots. Rock developed from a variety of dif­ferent popular music styles. The roots of rock can be Heard in the lyrics and electric guitar of the blues, in the rhythms of a form of blues known as rhythm and blues, and in the spirit of American country music. The squawking saxophone of dance-band jazz, and the melo­dies, choruses, and harmonies of popular (pop) music also added to the rock sound.

Many of the elements of rock music had been around long before rock developed as a musical form. In the 1950's, musicians combined these musical elements and created the revolutionary form of music called rock 'n' roll. It was louder and faster than the forms from which it drew. Its lyrics contrasted sharply with the sentimental lyrics of earlier pop songs. And it was generally per­formed in a wild and spontaneous manner with a more primitive and raw display of emotions.

The emergence of rock 'n' roll. Before rock 'n' roll became a musical category, such rhythm and blues hits as "Rocket '88" (1951) by Jackie Brenston had the spirit of rock 'n' roll. This and other similar records became in­creasingly popular with both black rhythm and blues au­diences and white country music audiences.

The major rock 'n' roll explosion began with Elvis Presley. The popularity of his sound combined with his hip-shaking live performances and frequent radio play quickly made Presley a superstar. His first major success came with his 1956 recording of "Heartbreak Hotel" for RCA Victor.

Another important influence on rock music was St Louis blues artist Chuck Berry. He was the first of the great rock songwriters. His lyrics effectively expressed the feelings and problems of youth. Berry's first hit rec­ord was a country-styled tune titled "Maybellene" (1955).

Richard Penniman, known as Little Richard, helped in­fluence rock performance styles. His vigorous and flam­boyant stage performances provided a model for per­formers who followed. His first major success came in 1955 with "Tutti Frutti."

Bill Haley and the Comets became the first famous rock band. Their recording of "Rock Around the Clock" was the first international rock hit It was used as the theme song for The Blackboard Jungle, a 1955 film about juvenile delinquents. The song contributed to rock "n" roll's reputation as music of rebellion.

Crowing popularity. Radio played an important role in spreading rock music during the mid-1950’s. Televi­sion had replaced radio as the chief producer of drama and variety entertainment, and many radio stations began to play rock to capture an audience.

Though the United States was racially divided, rock 'n' roll featured black and white artists, who appealed to black and white audiences alike. Most important for its young listeners, rock n' roll was the first music that was all their own. Rock n' roll proclaimed that being a teen­ager was special. Although rock 'n' roll was extremely popular, its lyrics and the performance style that went with it were still considered indecent by many adults.

Artistic decline. As rock n' roll continued to grow in popularity, the major record companies and profes­sional songwriters who had ignored the music started to recognize rock n' roll's profitability. By the late 195ffs, much of what record companies released as rock n' roll was no longer wild, spontaneous, and rebellious. The music was much tamer than it had been.

Rock 'n' roll also lost many of its stars and creative forces toward the end of the 1950's. In 1958, Elvis Presley was drafted into the United States Army and rocking pianist Jerry Lee Lewis caused a scandal by marrying his 13-year-old cousin. Then in 1959, Chuck Berry was ar­rested. In the same year, songwriter-guitarist Buddy Holly and singer-guitarist Ritchie Valens died in an aero­plane crash, and Little Richard left music to study for the ministry.

British Influence and rock's revival

The Beatles. The Beatles, a group from Liverpool, England, returned excitement to rock 'n' roll in the early 1960's. They made the music more popular than ever and more respected artistically. Their witty and sophisti­cated music made the sentimental rock of the time seem tame and old-fashioned.

The Beatles consisted of George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr. Their first hit was "Love Me Do" in 1952. Lennon and McCartney eventually established themselves as the most popular songwriting team in rock's history.

Beatlemania was the term generally used to describe the excitement generated by the Beatles. It affected soci­ety in a number of ways. Teenage boys began growing their hair longer to copy the Beatles. Teenage girls screamed so loudly during the band's concerts that it was impossible to hear the music. At first, many parents feared the effects of Beatlemania. But the personal charm and musical appeal of the band soon conquered older listeners.

The Beatles turned rock n' roll from an American- dominated musical style into an international phenome­non. Soon after the Beatles hit the United States, popular music charts became filled with songs by British bands that wrote and played their own music.

The Rolling Stones were another of the groups that contributed to the British domination of rock music. They represented a scruffier, more rebellious alternative to the more widely accepted Beatles. Their music also was more faithful to its roots in the blues. Other British bands that became popular included The Who, the Kinks, and the Animals.         

Expanding styles and sounds. Another major force in the rock of the 1960's was the American singer- songwriter Bob Dylan. The strong social message of Dylan's songs influenced many musicians.

Dylan began his musical career in the early 1960's as a solo folk singer. Music fans turned to Dylan for his "pro­test songs." These songs protested about what many people considered the wrongs of society, such as racial prejudice, poverty, and war. Dylan's protest songs in­clude "Blowin' in the Wind" (1962) and "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" (1963).

Dylan had his first and biggest rock hit in 1965 with 'Like a Rolling Stone." An American group, the Byrds, also interpreted Dylan's ambitious, poetic lyrics set to a rock beat. This style became known as folk rock.

The mid-1960's became a time of peak creativity for rock music. Rock artists explored new possibilities in lyrical content and form. Some began to examine the meaning of dreams in their lyrics. One such artist was Jim Morrison, lead singer of the Doors. Songwriters began to use free-verse poetry that did not rhyme. Some musicians also began to produce concept albums, which linked their songs together by story line or theme. One such album was Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) by the Beatles.

The 1960's also found instrumentalists exercising more creative freedom. American guitarist Jimi Hendrix, working in England, extended the range of the electric guitar by using electronic effects to create new sounds.

In addition, such instrumentalists as Hendrix and British guitarist Eric Clapton played extended solos inspired by blues and jazz traditions. The music played by such bands as the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Clapton's Cream was sometimes categorized as progressive rock. Some of their music was also called acid rock, after the illegal drug LSD, or "acid," which was popular among some rock fans.

Growing social significance. The growing influence and popularity of rock music affected society in a num­ber of ways. It produced new fashions, such as Beatle boots and longer hairstyles. Some rock music inspired public protest against such social and political problems as racial prejudice and the Vietnam War.

Toward the end of the 1960's, rock's various styles came together at massive outdoor rock festivals. These festivals showed how popular and diverse the music had become. The most significant rock festival was the 1969 Woodstock Music and Arts Festival in New York State. Woodstock was a musical, communal celebration of the alternative "hippie" culture. It was dedicated to world peace. The event drew more than 300,000 fans and featured three days of top rock talent. It included such performers as the Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Jef­ferson Airplane, and blues singer Janis Joplin.

Rock music in the 1970's

Rock goes pop. Throughout the 1970's, almost all popular music contained elements of the rock style. The music's audience spanned from preteens to middle- aged adults. As the audience for rock grew, a variety of new musical categories developed. Musicians such as Chick Corea and such groups as Chicago and Weather Report blended rock with the improvisation techniques of jazz to create a form called jazz rock. Heavy metal rock groups, such as Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and Kiss, stressed screaming electric guitars. The glitter rock of David Bowie and others popularized flamboyant on­stage visuals. Musician Frank Zappa and groups includ­ing King Crimson and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer com­bined a rock beat with the more complex melodies of classical music in a form called art rock.

In terms of musical quality, the early 1970's were gen­erally considered rock's lowest point since the pre-Beaties 1960's. Through its attempt to appeal to a wide audience, rock lost much of the youthful energy and spirit of rebellion that had once powered it.

By the mid-1970s, the music started to reclaim some of the inspiration and energy associated with earlier rock. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band attracted an enthusiastic following with "Born to Run" (1975). Springsteen's music reflected the energetic rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues music of the 1950's. He showed how rock might find a future by drawing from its past.

Punk. With the punk rock of the mid-1970s, such Brit­ish bands as the Sex Pistols and the Clash returned to the raw energy of earlier rock. They were fuelled by an anger at the materialism of society and the lack of inspi­ration in much of the early 1970's rock music. Punk had a number of important effects on rock music. It proved that new styles could develop outside the established rock industry. Rather than working for the large record empires, they recorded their music with small, inde­pendent companies.

Such New York City bands as Talking Heads and the Patti Smith Group took an artier approach to punk rock. These groups became categorized as punk's new wave of rock. The music of punk and new wave bands repre­sented an aggressive alternative to the more established musicians who dominated the rock industry.

At first, disco music and punk were considered oppo­sites. But they came together in the late 1970's. Blondie and other groups enjoyed hits that combined disco rhythms with the spirit of new wave rock.

Rock music in the 1980's and 1990's

New directions and old. The most popular new music to emerge from the 1980's was rap music. Rap is spoken rather than sung. Electronic rhythms and sounds of records being scratched (the record is physically pushed backward and forward to create a percussive ef­fect) provide background music. Rap's streetwise rhymes and chants reflect the concerns of urban youths living in a tough world. Public Enemy became one of the most successful rap groups.

Music from the 1960's inspired some of rock's most popular musicians of the 1980's. Among these musicians was the American band R.E.M., which drew heavily from 1960s folk rock. In addition, some bands from the 1960's, such as the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, and the Grateful Dead, were among the leading concert attractions of the 1980's.

Rock videos. During the 1980's, rock videos became popular. They are short films made to accompany the re­lease of new records. In addition to music, these films include acting, dancing, striking visual images, and sometimes excerpts from rock concert performances. Rock videos were shown on commercial and cable tele­vision and at many dance clubs. The rise of rock videos brought widespread exposure and massive popularity to a number of artists. Many songs became as popular for the visual element of the video as they did for the music.

The American singer and dancer Michael Jackson starred in several highly successful videos and became one of the most popular performers in the history of rock music. His Thriller (1982) became the largest-selling record album of all time.

Technological changes. Since 1980, rock has continued to reflect an ongoing technological revolution. Computers, synthesizers, and rhythm machines have often replaced guitars and drums. Even in concert, musicians have mixed live music with preprogrammed computer and synthesizer backing.

Rock and internationalism. During the 1980's, rock displayed a broadening interest in international con­cerns and a reawakening of its social idealism. Several artists, including Peter Gabriel, Talking Heads, and Paul Simon, incorporated the music of Africa into their music.

Rock's idealism and internationalism came together in such events as Live Aid, an all-day concert held in July 1985. Money raised by the event went to help feed starv­ing people in Africa. The concert, held in both Philadelphia and London, was televised throughout the world and featured many of the biggest stars in rock. In the| early 1990's, rock musicians continued to explore international music as a source of inspiration.