Rock music took the world by storm in the early to mid-twentieth century, beginning with the rock and roll and rockabilly styles and expanding to eventually include an uncountable amount of sub-genres and specialisations. Derived from the blues, country music and R&B (Rhythm and Blues) styles which were already gaining popularity in the 1930s and 1940s, rock developed into a fully-fledged phenomenon which escalated bands like The Beatles and The Rollingstones to previously unseen heights of celebrity.
The typical rock ensemble includes a bass, a guitar, a drum-kit, and a vocalist (who may or may not also play an instrument). Although there are often other additions – extra guitars, a piano, and sometimes even orchestral instruments – the basic set-up tends to remain the same. Popular throughout the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, rock music is renowned for being a representation of the beliefs and structures of the youth that flock to concerts and music stores to spend their ‘expendable’ wages.
The large majority of the world’s most famous or indeed legendary artists and bands can be considered to fall into the ‘rock’ genre. Aside from The Beatles and The Rollingstones, other bands such as The Kinks and The Who experienced early success. The sixties and seventies also saw other success-stories – The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, and many more all reached new heights. In later years, Queen, Led Zepplin, Deep Purple, Cream, Genesis, AC/DC, The Clash, The Police, and plenty more also made use of the rock style. Nowadays it is bands like U2, Greenday, The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Killers and Franz Ferdinand who represent the genre in it’s most ‘popular’ form.
The typical rock ensemble includes a bass, a guitar, a drum-kit, and a vocalist (who may or may not also play an instrument). Although there are often other additions – extra guitars, a piano, and sometimes even orchestral instruments – the basic set-up tends to remain the same. Popular throughout the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, rock music is renowned for being a representation of the beliefs and structures of the youth that flock to concerts and music stores to spend their ‘expendable’ wages.
The large majority of the world’s most famous or indeed legendary artists and bands can be considered to fall into the ‘rock’ genre. Aside from The Beatles and The Rollingstones, other bands such as The Kinks and The Who experienced early success. The sixties and seventies also saw other success-stories – The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, and many more all reached new heights. In later years, Queen, Led Zepplin, Deep Purple, Cream, Genesis, AC/DC, The Clash, The Police, and plenty more also made use of the rock style. Nowadays it is bands like U2, Greenday, The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Killers and Franz Ferdinand who represent the genre in it’s most ‘popular’ form.