The History of Rock Music

Rock music crashed its way into the American music scene in 1955 via AM radio. From then to the early 1970s, rock and roll mirrored and also influenced almost every aspect of American life as there were

many striking parallels between the particular styles of music during those times and the culture of the nation. With higher motivation for scientific progress, new trends, and political influence, rock music served a powerful voice for the youth of nearly three generations.

I’m thinking that Elvis Presley helped out immensely with the rock movement. What he did in his concerts made all the females want him. He had really catchy lyrics, a nice voice that made the girls go wild, and shook his hips that made girls go even wilder. Plus he was on TV and radio everywhere you looked and listened.

What about The Beetles you ask? Well they came all the over from the United Kingdom and made hit after hit over here in the U.S. They had more that forty singles, albums, EP’s that reached number one. That success was repeated in many countries. Their genre of music was more than just rock ‘n roll. So they did not just stick to one type of rock, they broadened their horiozons.

The influence of rock and roll is far-reaching, and has had significant impact worldwide on fashion and film styles. There are many bands that play a helpful role in helping out the environment with charity events such as Live Aid.

There are many different kinds of rock music but they all rely on 4 things. It combines prominent vocal, with one, two, or even 3 guitars, bass guitar, and drums. Some bands have harmonicas, keyboards, keytars, and so on. So, if you can not tell, it is pretty upbeat. Rock music revolves around the guitar. That’s probably why it’s so attractive to most people. Rock music is associated with rebellion. It’s also portrayed everywhere you see an advertisement. From having radio stations, music stations on TV, and commercials on TV.

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you here someone say something about rock music? It is loud, it is the devils music. Most people think, even me, if it is too loud, you are too old. But, I mean, there are other types of rock. There are slow jams, easy listening, and fast guitars like Slayer or Dragonforce. There is psychedelic rock for the hippies to listen to when they trip on acid. There is also surf rock, like the Beach Boys, for the beach bums. Nearly every country has rock bands, so it is all over the world. So it is pretty hard to miss. For some reason old people say its devil music. All because it is loud, fast, and hard. But there are so many different subgenres of rock that you can find something good to listen to real easy. Eric Clapton can make his guitar talk, literally! Not all rock is screaming, and double bass drums. But hey, some people like that. In the mid 70’s, punk rock came out. Punk rock was a big counterculture movement. People started dressing in leather studded jackets, Mohawks, different colored hair. All because there favorite band showed up to a concert dressed that way. It became a uniform for many people; all types of rock music fans. I guess you can say music has a big influence on most people. But like every fan says, it is only music. For most people, music takes them away from the “real world” and it just puts some people in a better mood. It can also give people an energy boost. Oh, the energy, it can go from controlled chaos to sweet calmness. For example, ever been in a mosh pit? Its pretty heavy, you can get out all your energy and aggression out that way, in a good way though.

MTV, VH1, and Fuse helped out in making rock music more mainstream. Thanks guys. Back in the day, MTV used to play music videos all day, so rock started reaching to more people everyday. VH1 used to have pop up videos. Pop up videos were music videos with little bits of information that you probably wouldn’t know about that particular band, it also showed the lyrics to the song. And now on to the lyrics of rock; band members write lyrics that tell it how it is. They don’t care if you like it or not, but they will say it because it is fast and heavy. Bands like Nirvana wrote lyrics that teens all over can relate to. They talk about teen angst, family problems, love troubles; you know normal things teenagers deal with. Then there is emo music. As you can tell by the name, emo lyrics are about depression and even more love troubles.

Oh, how can I forget the internet too? The internet plays a big role in the influence of rock music; from bands on myspace, to downloading music on file sharing programs like Ares, BearShare, and LimeWire. Even after the lawsuit on Napster, file sharing programs haven’t slowed down on downloading. The attraction of rock music is not just about a particular preference for loud music and athletic dancing. Rock music also symbolizes a whole cluster of cultural values concerning self expression, spontaneity, released sexuality, and defiance of the alleged boringness of tradition. Back in the Woodstock days, the hippies would do all kinds of drugs, and they would even have sex right there in the field.

As you can see rock music is pretty influential. It provides a sense of freedom; you’re not tied down to anything. Anybody can listen to rock music. It does not matter if your black, white, a politician (I hope not), or just some neighborhood kid that lives with his parents. With all the facts out there, and in here, it is obvious that people are hooked on this type of music, and it does not look like rock is going away any time soon.