Rock (music)

:For other uses of "Rock", see Rock.

Birth of a counterculture (1967-1974)

Main article: Counterculture

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As part of the societal ferment in North America and Europe, rock changed and diversified in a number of subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

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As early as the mid-1960s, the image of rock and roll became less like previous musical forms. The Rolling Stones are credited with being the first band to dispense with band uniforms; band members simply wore whatever clothes they wished, and these clothes were often outlandish or controversial. Hair styles also became longer and less tamed. As trivial as these changes may sound today, this break from tradition was shocking to audiences used to clean-cut musical groups in matching suits.

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But in 1967, one album forever changed the course of rock and roll. The Beatles' groundbreaking album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, was unlike any album or song that had come before, with a sound unlike anything The Beatles (or any other band or solo artist) had performed. After the climactic final chord of A Day In The Life, it was clear that rock and roll was about to move in different directions, such as the following:

Related Topics:
The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - A Day In The Life

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Psychedelic rock

Main article: Psychedelic rock

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The music took on a greater social awareness; it was not just about dancing and smooching anymore, but took on themes of social justice. The counterculture that was emerging (partly as a reaction to the Vietnam War) adopted rock and roll as its defining feature, and the music began to be heavily influenced by the various drugs that the youth culture was experimenting with. In America, psychedelic rock influenced and was influenced by the drug scene and the larger psychedelic lifestyle. It featured long, often improvised jams and wild electronic sounds. Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, Iron Butterfly, and the Grateful Dead were leading practitioners of psychedelia. Rock supergroup Cream followed in the footsteps of The Beatles and took charge of the psychedelic movement emerging in Britain with the album Disraeli Gears. A more esoteric form of British psychedelia and the Canterbury Sound is exemplified by the Soft Machine, who accompanied Hendrix on his first U.S. tour. Pink Floyd found their roots in British psychedelia, moving on to becoming more of a progressive rock, and arena rock band later in their careers.

Related Topics:
Vietnam War - Drugs - Psychedelic rock - Jimi Hendrix - Jefferson Airplane - Iron Butterfly - Grateful Dead - Cream - Disraeli Gears - Canterbury Sound - Soft Machine - Pink Floyd

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The culmination of rock and roll as a socially-unifying force was seen in the rock festivals of the late '60s, the most famous of which was Woodstock which began as a three-day arts and music festival and turned into a "happening", as hundreds of thousands of youthful fans converged on the site.

Related Topics:
Rock festival - Woodstock

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Progressive rock

Main article: Progressive rock

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The music itself broadened past the guitar-bass-drum format; while some bands had used saxophones and keyboards before, now acts like The Beach Boys and The Beatles (and others following their lead) experimented with new instruments including wind sections, string sections, and full orchestration. Many bands moved well beyond three-minute tunes into new and diverse forms; increasingly sophisticated chord structures, previously limited to jazz and orchestrated pop music, were heard.

Related Topics:
Guitar - Bass - Drum - The Beach Boys - The Beatles

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Dabbling heavily in classical, jazz, electronic, and experimental music resulted in what would be called progressive rock (or, in its German wing, krautrock). Progressive rock could be lush and beautiful or atonal and dissonant, highly complex or minimalistic, sometimes all within the same song. At times it was hardly recognizable as rock at all. Some notable practitioners include King Crimson, Genesis, Gentle Giant, The Nice, Yes, Gong, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Magma, Can, Pink Floyd, Rush, and Faust.

Related Topics:
Progressive rock - Krautrock - King Crimson - Genesis - Gentle Giant - The Nice - Yes - Gong - Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Magma - Can - Pink Floyd - Rush - Faust

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German prog

Main article: Krautrock

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In the mid-1960s, American and British rock entered Germany, especially British progressive rock bands. At the time, the musical avant-garde in Germany were playing a kind of electronic classical music, and they adapted the then-revolutionary electronic instruments for a progressive-psychedelic rock sound. By the early 1970s, the scene, now known as krautrock, had begun to peak with the incorporation of jazz (Can) and Asian music (Popol Vuh). This sound, and later pioneers like Neu! and Kraftwerk, were to prove enormously influential in the development of techno and other genres later in the century.

Related Topics:
Electronic - Classical music - Can - Popol Vuh - Neu! - Kraftwerk - Techno

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Italian prog

In Italy progressive rock had a great success in the 1970s and some bands played prog at the same level of the more famous American groups and went in tour in the States.

Related Topics:
Italy - 1970s

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Some Italian progressive rock bands were Premiata Forneria Marconi, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso and Area International Popular Group.

Related Topics:
Premiata Forneria Marconi - Banco del Mutuo Soccorso - Area International Popular Group

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Birth of heavy metal

Main article: Heavy metal music

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A second wave of British bands and artists gained great popularity during this period dominant; these bands typically were more directly steeped in American blues music than their more pop-oriented predecessors but their performances took a highly amplified, often spectacular form. These were the bands that were led by the guitar; Cream and Led Zeppelin were early examples of this blues-rock form and were followed by heavier rock bands including Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. This style of rock would come to be known as heavy metal music.

Related Topics:
Cream - Led Zeppelin - Blues-rock - Black Sabbath - Deep Purple - Heavy metal music

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