Rock Playlist
Rock ‘n roll, or just plain rock music, arguably started in the 1950’s with Elvis Presley and his singing and guitar music. There was not as much variation or substyles in the genre at the time, so a lot of the music sounded sort of folksy, much like “country” music today, and employed a lot of the same instrumentation and musical ideas.
The style expanded in the 1960’s with the arrival of the Beatles, whose chameleonic sound and prodigious output has made them an all-time favorite in rock history and the hearts of millions of fans. There were still artists with the same sound as Presley, like Bob Dylan, but the style also began to include purely instrumental music, influenced by the west coast beach surfer culture, like the Ventures, and even the Beach Boys. They also included “dark side” Beatles clones, like the Rolling Stones and later Aerosmith and AC/DC, who helped develop the “hard” rock subgenre. Going back to the Beatles, they also helped develop psychedelic rock music, which can still be heard today with bands like MGMT and Foster the People. By the end of the decade, there were even bands like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd around, which were the progenitors of styles like heavy metal and progressive rock music.
Finally, the 1970’s decade was the heyday of rock music. Lots of great bands came on the scene, like the Eagles, Boston, Journey, Van Halen, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Kansas, and Black Sabbath. Notable new styles were progressive rock, heavy metal, and glam rock. Rock music was still the dominant form of pop music, but in the next decade had more competition from New Wave groups influenced by the “Second British Invasion,” who used Moog synthesizers and began to gain popularity in the United States.
Rock Tracks & Album Art
Elvis Presley (1957) - Jailhouse Rock
Beatles (1965) - We Can Work It Out
Bob Dylan (1964) - The Times They Are A Changin'
Ventures (1960) - Walk Don't Run
Rolling Stones (1966) - Paint It Black
Beatles (1967) - Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Led Zeppelin (1969) - Dazed and Confused
Pink Floyd (1968) - Corporal Clegg
Boston (1976) - Rock and Roll Band
Eagles (1976) - Hotel California
Aerosmith (1973) - Dream On
AC/DC (1975) - T.N.T.
Journey (1979) - Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'
Van Halen (1978) - Aint Talkin' Bout Love
Kansas (1974) - Song for America
Black Sabbath (1971) - Iron Man
