The 70's, 80's & 90's Rock Music Era

Rock music has become a changeable and unpredictable creature that has continually redefined and rediscovered itself since its appearance in the late 1940s. Not surprisingly, it is very difficult to apply definitions directly to anxious music format.But while people may make specific excuses, rock music can generally be described as loud music that is played with an electric guitar, bass and drums and is usually accompanied by lyrics sung by a vocalist.Sounds simple enough, but a closer look at the evolution of rock shows how diverse styles and influences have shaped its development so far. Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as ‘rock and roll’ in the United States in the early 1950s, and developed into a range of different styles in the 1960s and later, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom.It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, a style which drew heavily from the genres of blues, rhythm and blues, and from country music. In the late 60s and early 70s, rock music developed into several types. Mixed with folk music (folk music in America) to folk rock, with blues to blues-rock and with jazz, to jazz-rock fusion. In the 70s, rock combined influences from soul, funk and Latin music. Also in the 70s, rock developed into various subgenres (sub-categories) such as soft rock, glam rock, heavy metal, hard rock, progressive rock, and punk rock. Rock sub categories that stick out in the 80s include New Wave, hardcore punk and alternative rock. In the 90s there were grunge, Britpop, indie rock and nu metal.

Rock music is an abbreviation of the name of the type of rock ‘n roll music which was first brought up in the 1950s to the United States public by Alan Freed in a radio broadcast that broadcasts rhythm and blues (R&B) music programs routinely.

According to Collins Cobuild, Rock Music is a genre of music that has a simple tone and a fast beat, played and sung by a group of people with an electric guitar and drums. But there are also many styles of rock music that use musical instruments such as organs, pianos, or synthetisizers.

As rock music became the dominant form of popular music, the new band built on the strength of its predecessors while branching out into new sonic territory. Led Zeppelin gave a darker and heavier color, becoming one of the most popular bands of the 70s and helping kick the new genre known as hard rock or heavy metal. Around the same time, Pink Floyd added psychedelic elements and complex arrangements, creating a concept album that was bound by one theme and intended to be absorbed in one position. Albums like ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ are credited with spawning progressive rock movements. In the late 70s, in response to what they considered to be a magnificent ‘hippie’ band like Pink Floyd, groups such as Sex Pistols and the Clash simplified rock to its main ingredients: loud guitar, rough attitude and angry singing. Punk was born. And while the three movements enjoyed different levels of reception, a fourth unknown force began to form. Highlighting atonal sounds and unconventional rock instruments such as drum machines, groups such as Pere Ubu are pioneers of industrial rock, abrasive subgenres that do not enjoy wide popularity but will inspire future rock bands.

When the 80s began in a stagnant creative environment, subgenres begin to assert their dominance. Inspired by the status of outsiders punk and eclectic instrumentation of the industry, keyboard-based bands such as Depeche Mode show a more introverted songwriting style, creating postpunk, which is also described as a new wave. Meanwhile, American groups such as R.E.M. playing with postpunk elements, balancing introspective lyrics with traditional rock band arrangements. These bands were dubbed college rock because of their popularity on the college radio station. By the end of the 80s, college rock had become a lucrative alternative to mainstream rock so it got a new moniker, alternative rock. It is also referred to as indie rock because the bands often enter independent small labels. Significantly, alternative rock strengthened its cultural position when the music magazine Billboard created a new chart in 1988 specifically for alternative rock, publications classified as modern rock. For most music fans, terms like modern rock, alternative and indie are synonymous ways to describe this popular subgenre.

With Nirvana’s rise in ‘Nevermind’ in 1991, alternative rock became the dominant popular music. But while other bands soon emerged as part of the grunge movement (merging hard rock and punk), other groups, such as Soundgarden, outperformed the world of alternative and mainstream rock music. Exaggerated by the suicide of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, alternative music began to lose its fragrance in the middle of the decade, which set the stage for the reemergence of mainstream rock. One of the first bands to take advantage of the return of mainstream rock was Limp Bizkit, who united hard rock and rap into a new rap rock rap. Groups such as Staind and Gendle of Mudd followed the launch of Limp Bizkit, although these bands focused on hard rock melodies rather than integrating rap into the mix. At the same time, bands that had developed during the heyday of grunge but did not easily enter alternative subgenres, such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, continued to find audiences throughout the 90s. In addition, groups that rise from grunge ashes, such as Foo Fighters, include energy outside alternative music to re• energize mainstream rock. When rock music entered the 21st century, the most successful act had the same passion as its predecessors in the 1960s, even if it sounded very different. Linkin Park brings together hip-hop and metal, while 3 Doors Down emulates the traditions of hard rock in the past while providing a contemporary touch. No doubt, rock music will continue to flourish in the future, drawing on its rich history while continuing to open ears for the next sonic discovery.

Here’s some sharacteristics of Rock music that really showed that they are different from another kind of musics :

• Broad pitch from low notes to high notes
• Has a hard beat
• Emphasizing the dynamics of the arrangement
• The harmony of rock music is relatively complicated
• In many songs, the guitar sound is more prominent
• Tempo use can be slow or fast
• Song lyrics are more expressive and free (dark)
• The most commonly used instruments are guitar, bass and drums
• Guitar playing is dominated by feedback effects
• There is a melody solo game session, with short or long duration
• Complex song structure
• The dominance of keyboard musical instruments in the song, such as organs, harpsichords or mellotron.