History of Rock

Intersession 2013
The Beginning
 Rock and Roll is rock music in its
earliest form.

 Rock and Roll is a combination of

blues, country, jazz, and gospel.

 Early Rock and Roll music was

characterized by saxophone and
piano, later the electric guitar
became more prevalent.

 It is hard to label one song as the

“birth” of Rock and Roll, but two
songs in particular get the most
attention:
 “Rocket 88” by Jackie Brenston and
“Rock Around the Clock” by Bill
Haley and the Comets” Chuck Berry
Hail, Hail Rock and Roll!
 In 1954, Elvis Presley recorded
a song for his mom at a studio
in Tennessee, almost overnight
he is a sensation.
 Also at this time, other
important artists are recording
songs that will become
legendary. Some of these artists
include:
 Chuck Berry
 Little Richard
 Carl Perkins
 Jerry Lee Lewis
 Fats Domino
 Buddy Holly
Elvis
The Day the Music Died
 Rock and Roll’s decline was
triggered by a series of
events in the late 1950s.
 Little Richard gave up singing
and became a preacher.
 Chuck Berry was arrested
 Elvis Presley was drafted into
the army.
 Buddy Holly, Big Bopper, and
Richie Valens all died in a plane
crash.
 Payola Scandal

Buddy Holly
Rock and Roll Travels to England
 The popularity of rock and
roll music did not reach
England until the late 1950s
and early 1960s.
 The music soon exploded
there due to American
artists touring throughout
the U.K.
 Groups began to spring up
everywhere and dominated
the British radio stations.
The Quarrymen
 One group in particular
went by the name of the
Quarrymen. Who are they?
British Invasion
 The Beatles debuted in the United
States in February of 1964.
 It is estimated that 73 million
people watched the debut that
night.
 Following their debut, in April of
1964 the Beatles held the top five
spots on the Billboard charts.
 The Beatles amazing success paved the
way for other British acts to enter the
American music scene during the
1960s.
 Some of these acts include: the Kinks,
the Rolling Stones, the Animals, the The Rolling Stones
Zombies, and the Hollies.
Spotlight: The Beatles
 How and why did the Beatles become the How did
most important band of the 20th century? the
 The Beatles formed in 1960 in Liverpool, Beatles
England. go from
 John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George this,
Harrison, and Ringo Starr.
to…
 They built their reputation through playing
live shows in Liverpool and Hamburg
Germany.
 Their first major hit was a song titled
“Love Me Do”
By 1964 “Beatlemania” had swept up most of the
world.
 The Beatles popularity was hurt a
this?
little bit after a controversial comment
by John Lennon in 1965.
 Following the backlash they refused to tour
and focused more on working in the studio.
Spotlight: The Beatles
 The Beatles studio work quickly
became some of the most ground-
breaking in history of music.
 The albums that pushed the music
scene in particular are:
 Rubber Soul (1965)
 Revolver (1966)
 Sgt. Peppers’ Lonely Hearts Club Band
(1967)
 White Album (1968)
 Abbey Road (1969)
 Their incorporation of different
styles of music and advancements
in songwriting and production
changed music forever.
American Music during the British
Invasion (Early 1960s)
 Although the British invasion
dominated the radio during the
early 1960s, American artists
continued to make important
records.
 Music production began to
The Beach Boys become very important.
 More songs were being made to
listen to on an album rather than at
Bob Dylan a live show.
 Some of the artists that were
important during this period were:
the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, the
“girl groups”, and Phil Spector.
The Ronnettes

Phil Spector
Rock Gets Weird (1965-1972)
 During the mid-1960s, artists
began to experiment with
different types of sounds,
instruments, and drugs.
 The music began to deal with
heavier subjects like the Vietnam
War and psychedelic experiences. Jefferson Airplane
Jimi Hendrix
 The Hippie culture became
popular amongst the youth in
America.
 Some of the dominant artists of
this time were: Jefferson Airplane,
Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, Cream,
the Who, Love, and Santana The Doors

Some Dirty
Hippies
Rock Gets Loud and Bigger
 Rock music became the most
dominant form of music by the 1970s,
artists began to sell out huge stadiums
and arenas for concerts.
 The music began to get louder and
more ambitious as a result.
Led Zeppelin  Some of the artists that were
important during this period were:
Pink Floyd  Led Zeppelin
 The Who
 Pink Floyd
 Queen
 Rush
 Bruce Springsteen
 Elton John
Queen
Bruce Springsteen
Rock Gets Heavy
 Heavy Metal can be traced back to the
early 1970s with bands like Black
Sabbath,Van Halen, and Deep Purple.
 During the late 1970s young artists
began to rebel against the “emptiness”
of pop music and played faster and
louder. (Metallica and Moterhead)
 During the 1980s metal music became
the most popular form of rock music.
 It was characterized by big hair and
decadence. (Motley Crue, Poison, Guns
N’ Roses) Motley Crue
 At the same time that “hair metal”
was gaining in popularity, other
metal artists played a faster and Guns N’ Roses
heavier form of music. (Slayer,
Anthrax, Pantera)
Slayer
Grunge
 In the late 1980s, young musicians began to
rebel against the glamour of hair metal and
played a much heavier and dirtier type of
rock music.
 Nirvana’s song “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
broke onto the music scene in 1991 and
the band’s popularity exploded along with
similar sounding artists.
 Artists who were part of this movement
included:
 Pearl Jam
 Soundgarden
 Alice in Chains
 Mudhoney
 Sadly, Kurt Cobain killed himself in 1994.
Which triggered a decline in the popularity Pearl Jam
of grunge music.

Alice in Chains
Alternative Rock (1990s-Present)
 Grunge rock influenced nearly every rock
band that followed it.
 Many bands have taken the sound created
by bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam and
put their own spin on it. (Bush, Stone
Temple Pilots, Foo Fighters)
 During the late 1990’s there was a
movement to combine hip hop and hard
rock. (Korn, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Rage
Against the Machine)
 In the early 2000s, many bands sought to
bring back the grunge sound. (Nickelback,
Seether)
 Rock music still is one of the top selling
forms of music in the United States. Some
of the main artists of the present include:
 Kings of Leon, Black Keys, Muse, Imagine
Dragons)