History of Rock Music

Rock music

• A wide-ranging genre of music blossomed from blues music in the U.S.
• Known for a rebellious streak.
• Rock musicians cause a stir using electric guitars, drums, and vocals.
• The Rolling Stones performed for the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in 1965.
• In the 1960s, traveling between the U.S. and Europe became easier, creating a "British Invasion".
• British rock bands, like The Rolling Stones, gained popularity in the U.S.
• This popularity led to garage rock in the country.

How did it start?

• Rock-and-Roll emerged in the 1950s.
• Rock-and-Roll is a combination of country, gospel, and R&B.
• Stars such as Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard led this new style of music.

Blues rock

• Bands such as Led Zeppelin and The Jimi Hendrix Experience transformed music with electric guitar solos.
• Transformation introduced blues rock to the world.
• Led Zeppelin experimented with various styles, including acoustic and country music.

Distortion

• Rock musicians wanted to play as loudly as possible, driving guitarists to push their amplifiers to the limit.
• This broken, edgy sound from overloaded circuitry was labeled distortion.
• Distortion became a signature for all types of rock.

Progressive and punk

• The 1970s saw the rise of progressive rock and punk rock.
• Progressive rock artists, such as Pink Floyd and David Bowie, recorded abstract songs with multiple instruments.
• Punk rock bands, such as The Clash, wrote short, simple songs that disapproved of the world's social and political state.

Heavy Metal

• Pioneered by British band Black Sabbath, heavy metal music bands play songs loudly.
• Bands tune their instruments down to create even more impact.
• Appreciation is shown as fans "headbang" to the music.
• Sepultura is one popular group and are from Brazil.

Stadium Rock

• Rock and pop music linked more closely over the decades.
• Artists, such as Foo Fighters and The Kings of Leon, write relatable songs and perform in arenas.
• B'z Japanese duo, combines rock and pop.

Post-Punk

• The movement lasted only a few years.
• Artists like Blondie expanded the "do-it-yourself" philosophy.
• Introduction of synthesizers added new textures to the standard rock sound.

Grunge

• Grunge music came about in the 1990s as a counter to the clean-cut pop music.
• Name taken from the muddy-sounding guitars and appearance of the musicians.
• Nirvana achieved commercial success with their album Nevermind.

How to write a rock song?

• Pop Punk band Green Day became famous with their simple four-chord songs.
• Electric Guitar creates riffs using two-note power chords.
• Electric Guitar instrumental sections play fast, complex solos using guitar pedals to alter the sound.
• Bass Guitar plays constant low notes to tie the band together.
• Drums keep a steady beat in 4/4 time.
• Drums emphasize the beat in 2nd and 4th with a snare drum.

Rap Rock

• Pioneers Rage Against the Machine combined guitar riffs.
• Zach de la Rocha explosive MCing.
• They have performed at several protests and consider music an important part of activism.

Symphonic Metal

• Popular mostly in Europe.
• Combines instruments from classical music with gothic metal.
• Classical sounds are often keyboards, and are sometimes performed with an orchestra.

Adventurous Afropop

• Afropop is the term to describe African popular music.
• Music originated mid-20th century onward.
• Styles have emerged across the continent.
• Combines traditional music with Latin, American, and European influence.

Fela Kuti

• (1938-1997), Nigeria
• During the 1970s, Kuti was a pioneer of Afrobeat music.
• The style fused West African chants and Yoruba drumming rhythms with jazz and funk.
• Instruments include horns and multiple guitars

Soukous dancer

• The Soukous Dancer performed in Kenya in 2008.
• Soukous dancing came about in Congo during the 1930s.
• Fast, upbeat musical style inspired by Congo traditional music and Cuban and Latin dances.

Manu Dibango

• (1933-2020), Cameroon
• Saxophonist and vibraphone player.
• Developed musical style known as makossa,
• Fuses traditional dance of the Duala people with jazz and Latin American music.

Thomas Mapfumo

• (1945-), Zimbabwe
• Created the popular chimurenga music.
• Based on traditional Shona mbira music
• Now played on electric instruments,
• Lyrics about Zimbabwe's social and political struggle.

N'Faly Kouyaté

• Active from the 1990s, Guinea
• Born into a respected family of Mandinka griots.
• Master performer of the kora
• Performs with Afro Celt Sound System and Dunyakan.

Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia

• (1954-) and (1958-) Mali
• Musical duo created after meeting at Mali's Institute for the Young Blind
• Their music, known as Afro-blues.
• Mixes traditional Mali sound with multicultural instruments and sounds.

Etran Finatawa

• Formed 2004, Niger
• Has five members from ethnic groups
• Combines the two groups' music to produce hypnotic style.
• Also known as nomad blues.

Wiyaala

• (1986-), Ghana
• Noella Wiyaala's brand of Afropop is a blend of African and Western pop influences.
• Sings in four languages, as well as several Ghanaian dialects.
• Music contains a message of female empowerment.

Wizkid

• (1990-), Nigeria
• Born in Lagos, Wizkid introduced Afrobeats to a new audience.
• Nonpolitical pop music contains lyrical phrases using English and West African languages.

Hip-Hop

• Rhythmic, vocal style of music associated with rap.
• Began in the Bronx area of New York City in the 1970s.
• Set against a background of beats sampled from other songs.
• The performer speaks rather than sings the lyrics.
• Sometimes the lyrics are prewritten poetry; some performers improvise.

How did it happen?

Hip-hop grew out of block parties.

• DJ's used the turntable to create beats that could be rapped over.

• Scratching is a technique that uses two turntables and an audio mixer.

Creating beats

• DJs such as Kool Herc used a turntable to create beats that could be rapped over.
• Events took place at venues such as 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx
• Organizers tapped into power supplies for their equipment.

Break dancing

• A new style of dancing evolved as hip-hop developed.
• "Breaking" is street slang for "getting excited" or "acting energetically."

Rapping

• Rapping began as a solo performance.
• Eventually included DJs and M.C.s.
• The DJ and MCs would add calls and responses, like a chorus

The term "hip-hop"

• Coined by Keith Cowboy Wiggins, a rapper with Grandmaster Flash.
• Inspired by a friend's "hip-hop" marching rhythm in the army .

Digital technology

• Digital technology enabled DJs to try techniques. Sections of songs could be sampled and combined into loops.
• Beatboxing performers imitate percussion instruments using their mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.

Rap and melody

• In the 1990s, MCs became popular.
• Tracks combined a chorus and rapped verses.
• I'll Be Missing You, performed by Puff Daddy and sung by Faith Evans and 112, is an example.

New sounds

• Starting in the mid-1990s, hip-hop artists Missy Elliott and Timbaland added new sounds.
• Timbaland and Elliot changed game.
• Hip-hop was influenced by contemporary R&B, a genre combining pop, soul, and funk.
• Artists like Kendrick Lamar have developed MCing as an art form.
• He is famous for releasing albums with overarching themes.

Rapping techniques

• MCs developed ways to keep rapping fresh.
• The rhyme scheme changes.
• Different rhythmic patterns are used.

Cultural Impact

• Early hip-hop combined music and break dancing with graffiti art and street parties.
• Many aspects of "urban" fashion have been championed by hip-hop stars.
• Aspects include jewelry and sportswear.

Nu-Metal

• Genre combines heavy metal's instrumentation with facets of hip-hop.
• Mixing singing, rapping, and turntable scratching to make their sound.

Grime

• Influenced by hip-hop's success, this UK genre was developed in the 2000s.
• Grime artists are from Stormzy.
• Mix garage and jungle beats with rapped lyrics in London style.

Trip-Hop

• A psychedelic genre uses slowed down hip-hop beats.
• Replaces rapping with jazz-style singing.
• The band Massive Attack is spiritual and from Bristol, UK.

Explore the evolution of rock music, from the British Invasion and blues rock to progressive rock and grunge. Discover key events, innovations like distortion, and the blending of genres. Learn about the impact of stadium rock and the distinctions between punk and post-punk.