Rock lives on

The+Beatles+were+at+the+forefront+of+the+British+Invasion+in+the+mid+1960s.+The+Beatles+went+on+to+become+possibly+the+biggest+band+of+all+time.+Courtesy+of+Wikimedia+Commons

The Beatles were at the forefront of the British Invasion in the mid 1960s. The Beatles went on to become possibly the biggest band of all time. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Rock and roll has been a staple of American culture since Chuck Berry released “Johnny B. Goode” in 1958. Rock and roll came out of genres such as blues jazz and gospel which were very popular in African-American culture. Berry’s hit came over into white culture, as Berry and other blues performers inspired early rock and roll musicians such as Elvis Presley and Led Zeppelin, even crossing over to Britain to inspire the Beatles and Rolling Stones.

Presley is the frontman when it comes to early rock and roll. Presley was the biggest musician in the late 50s and early 60s. He attracted audiences from across the nation developing a subgenre called rockabilly. With Elvis songs such as “Jailhouse Rock” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love with You,” rockabilly spawned around the nation, influencing another subgenre called punk rock. In the 1960s, British rock and roll bands came to America for a bigger opportunity. Some of these bands included The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and Led Zeppelin. When The Beatles hit American soil, Beatlemania began with their early hits such as “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” and “All You Need is Love,” girls from all over the nation freaked out and the band became an instant sensation. The Stones and Led Zeppelin became some of the greatest bands of all time as well. The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger was such an inspiration with his singing and dancing, that current band Maroon 5 even wrote a song “Moves Like Jagger” based on the 60s and 70s rocker.

The 70s also popularized the subgenre punk rock. The punk rock philosophy was all about the stripped down hard rock and roll, heavy guitar. The Ramones were one of the first punk bands to come out of the punk rock genre. Although the Ramones popularized the subgenre, they became more pop in the early 80s, ending the short lived subgenre. They did, however, inspire one of the biggest bands in recent years, Green Day back in the 90s and 2000s.

Around the late 70s and 80s, pure rock and roll started to become more mainstream with Billy Joel and even Stevie Wonder being considered rock and roll. While each one of those musicians were inspired by the different subgenres of rock – such as doo-wop-rock and roll started to take its toll. The 90s brought in a new form of rock and roll. Seattle became a prominent birthplace of a subgenre called grunge which was inspired by alternative rock and punk rock. Nirvana was the ringleader of the new form of rock. With songs like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Lithium,” Nirvana became a force in the music world. Thanks to them, bands out of Seattle such as Soundgarden and Pearl Jam were even more successful.

What brought the genre down was when Nirvana’s lead singer Kurt Cobain and Soundgarden’s lead singer Chris Cornell both committed suicide and suffered strong drug addictions. But the genre lives on as an inspiration. Pearl Jam still tours and Nirvana’s drummer Dave Grohl moved on to join The Foo Fighters. Grunge inspired performers like Imagine Dragons, Kanye West and Rihanna to make music.
But rock and roll may not be how it was then as it is today. Some rock bands have been popular like Linkin Park and John Mayer back in the 2000s.

Rock and roll has been a genre close to American’s hearts, making the recent deaths of Tom Petty, Malcolm Young and Chester Bennington it seem like they lost a loved one. Rock and roll is still alive, and will continue to change every generation.

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