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Eras of rock
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Rock music has gone through several changes since its original popularity in the 1950s, when it was called rock n roll. Generally, music from rock's beginnings to the British Invasion (1955-1964) is called "rock n roll", music from the British Invasion to hair metal (1965-1991) "classic rock" and music from Grunge to the present "alternative" or "modern" rock, the latter being used because it is still the current rock era. Rock n roll (1955-1964) Rock and roll evolved from electric blues in the late 1940s and early 1950s. By 1955 it exploded into the mainstream as Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, and Bill Haley and His Comets became popular among teenagers. By 1960, the original craze of rock and roll had faded, to come back later with the Beatles in 1963. Popular artists: *The Beatles *Elvis Presley *Chuck Berry *Bill Haley and His Comets *Little Richard Classic Rock (1965-1991) British Invasion and Acid Rock (1964-1969) In the mid 1960s, rock took a somewhat "modern" form, becoming heavier, more distorted, and about partying, sex, and drugs. Bands like The Rolling Stones and Steppenwolf would define a style that would last until the 1980s. In the late 1960s, acid rock, a genre of rock influenced by LSD and defined by dreaminess and guitar distortion was popular and related to the hippie movement. By 1970, acid rock was in its final years as three of its main innovators, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison of The Doors, and Janis Joplin died in overdoses in 1970 and 1971. Popular artists: *The Animals *Cream *Jimi Hendrix *The Beatles *The Guess Who *Janis Joplin *The Fifth Dimension *The Rolling Stones *The Doors Progressive rock and the height of the Classic rock era (1970-1973) After the hippie movement ended, rock had an image of mixed psychedelic values and materialism, defined best in 1973's Dark Side of the Moon, by Pink Floyd. This is considered the peak of rock music by critics, as bands like Led Zeppelin, The Who and Pink Floyd were at their creative peaks and bands from this era continue to be very popular today. Popular artists: *Alice Cooper *Deep Purple *Led Zeppelin *The Who *Pink Floyd Arena rock and later progressive rock (1974-1980) Though not as critically adored, rock from the mid and late 1970s was as popular as early 1970s rock, and is still considered just as classic by many. Glam rock was popular in the early and mid 1970s, and this period was when Queen, Boston and AC/DC were at their peaks. In the late 1970s punk rock began, which led the way for the alternative rock and indie rock of the turn of the century . Popular artists: *AC/DC *ELO *Sex Pistols *Foreigner *Genesis *Styx *Boston *Queen Hair Metal, New Wave and early Alternative (1981-1990) By 1981 the glory days of classic rock had ended, and hair metal became the most common type of rock. In response to this, many rock bands from the post-punk era began using synthesizers and drum machines, joining the New Wave music movement of the 1980s. Others were more directly influenced by punk and would lead to the grunge movement of the early 1990s. Popular artists: *Van Halen *U2 *Bon Jovi *The Cure *Sonic Youth *Def Leppard *Guns N Roses *INXS *The Smiths *Talking Heads *Huey Lewis *Duran Duran *The B-52's *Metallica Alternative Rock (1991-present) Grunge, Britpop and Post-Grunge (1991-1997) At the end of the 1980s, hair metal was losing popularity as alternative rock bands like REM and U2 became more popular. This led to the Grunge movement of the early 1990s and the classic sound becoming obsolete. In the mid 1990s, Britpop had taken some of Grunge's popularity, though when this faded, post-grunge, rap metal and numetal dominated the rock scene until about 2003. Popular artists: *Nirvana *Alice in Chains *Pearl Jam *Soundgarden *REM *Blur *Oasis *Radiohead *Counting Crows *Alanis Morissette Nu metal and Shock Rock (1998-2003) The rock of the late 1990s and early 2000s was defined by a hip hop influence, shock rock and an "Angry White Male" image. The Weird Al song "Angry White Male Polka", from the end of this era (2003), parodies nu metal bands. Popular artists: *Linkin Park *Creed *Papa Roach *Korn *Marilyn Manson *Limp Bizkit *Blink 182 *Green Day *System of a Down Emo Era (2004-present) In the very late 1990s, pop-punk and emo slowly became popular, bands like Lit and Blink 182 being early examples. These acts would by about 2004 become more popular than the coexisting numetal acts as criticism over their machismo lyrics and aging of their fanbase made the bands less popular. In 2005 some pop-punk bands began to draw influence from emo, a late 1980s and 1990s genre of indie rock, and as a result some pre-emo pop-punk bands like Simple Plan were later labeled emo. In the years from 2005 to 2008, emo became something of a pop culture phenomena, mostly being criticized but also popular among millions, mostly teenagers in middle school and high school. Popular artists: *Coldplay *Fall Out Boy *Weezer *Muse *The White Stripes *Foo Fighters *Paramore *Nickelback *All-American Rejects *My Chemical Romance *Hinder *Panic At The Disco See Also
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