Commercial trends Reflecting on developments that occurred in rock music in the early 1970s,
Robert Christgau wrote in ''
Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981): From the mid-1960s,
the Left Banke, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys, had pioneered the inclusion of
harpsichords,
wind, and
string sections on their recordings to produce a form of
Baroque rock and can be heard in singles like
Procol Harum's "
A Whiter Shade of Pale" (1967), with its
Bach-inspired introduction.
The Moody Blues used a full orchestra on their album
Days of Future Passed (1967) and subsequently created orchestral sounds with synthesizers. Instrumentals were common, while songs with lyrics were sometimes conceptual, abstract, or based in fantasy and science fiction.
The Pretty Things'
SF Sorrow (1968), the Kinks'
Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (1969), and
the Who's
Tommy (1969) introduced the format of
rock operas and opened the door to
concept albums, often telling an epic story or tackling a grand overarching theme.
King Crimson's 1969 debut album,
In the Court of the Crimson King, which mixed powerful guitar riffs and
mellotron with
jazz and
symphonic music, is often taken as the key recording in progressive rock, helping the widespread adoption of the genre in the early 1970s among existing blues-rock and psychedelic bands, as well as newly formed acts. The French group
Magma around drummer
Christian Vander almost single-handedly created the new music genre
zeuhl with their first albums in the early 1970s. performing at
Old Trafford,
Manchester, in 2007 Pink Floyd also moved away from psychedelia after the departure of
Syd Barrett in 1968, with
The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time. There was an emphasis on instrumental virtuosity, with
Yes showcasing the skills of both guitarist
Steve Howe and keyboard player
Rick Wakeman, while
Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP) were a supergroup who produced some of the genre's most technically demanding work.
Renaissance, formed in 1969 by ex-Yardbirds Jim McCarty and Keith Relf, evolved into a high-concept band featuring the three-octave voice of
Annie Haslam. Most British bands depended on a relatively small cult following, but a handful, including Pink Floyd, Genesis, and Jethro Tull, managed to produce top ten singles at home and break the American market. The American brand of progressive rock varied from the eclectic and innovative
Frank Zappa,
Captain Beefheart and
Blood, Sweat & Tears, to more pop rock orientated bands like
Boston,
Foreigner,
Kansas,
Journey, and
Styx. Their synthesiser-heavy "
krautrock", along with the work of
Brian Eno (for a time the keyboard player with
Roxy Music), would be a major influence on subsequent
electronic rock. Many bands broke up, but some, including Genesis, ELP, Yes, and Pink Floyd, regularly scored top ten albums with successful accompanying worldwide tours.
Jazz rock of
Weather Report in 1980 In the late 1960s, jazz-rock emerged as a distinct subgenre out of the blues-rock, psychedelic, and progressive rock scenes, mixing the power of rock with the musical complexity and improvisational elements of jazz.
AllMusic states that the term jazz-rock "may refer to the loudest, wildest, most electrified fusion bands from the jazz camp, but most often it describes performers coming from the rock side of the equation." Jazz-rock "...generally grew out of the most artistically ambitious rock subgenres of the late '60s and early '70s", including the singer-songwriter movement. and the
Graham Bond and John Mayall spin-off
Colosseum. From the psychedelic rock and the Canterbury scenes came Soft Machine, who, it has been suggested, produced one of the artistically successfully fusions of the two genres. Perhaps the most critically praised fusion came from the jazz side of the equation, with
Miles Davis, particularly influenced by the work of Hendrix, incorporating rock instrumentation into his sound for the album
Bitches Brew (1970). It was a major influence on subsequent rock-influenced jazz artists, including
Herbie Hancock,
Chick Corea and
Weather Report. but acts like
Steely Dan,
Roots rock Roots rock is the term now used to describe a move away from the psychedelic scene to a more basic form of rock and roll that incorporated its original influences, particularly blues, country and folk music, leading to the creation of country rock and Southern rock. In 1966, Bob Dylan went to
Nashville to record the album
Blonde on Blonde. Other acts that followed the back-to-basics trend were the Canadian group
the Band and the California-based
Creedence Clearwater Revival, both of which mixed basic rock and roll with folk, country and blues, to be among the most successful and influential bands of the late 1960s. The same movement saw the beginning of the recording careers of Californian solo artists like
Ry Cooder,
Bonnie Raitt and
Lowell George, and influenced the work of established performers such as the Rolling Stones' ''
Beggar's Banquet'' (1968) and the Beatles'
Let It Be (1970). during their 2008–2009
Long Road Out of Eden Tour In 1968,
Gram Parsons recorded
Safe at Home with the
International Submarine Band, arguably the first true
country rock album. Later that year he joined the Byrds for
Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1968), generally considered one of the most influential recordings in the genre. Some performers also enjoyed a renaissance by adopting country sounds, including: the Everly Brothers; one-time
teen idol Rick Nelson who became the frontman for the Stone Canyon Band; former Monkee
Mike Nesmith who formed the
First National Band; and
Neil Young. The founders of Southern rock are usually thought to be the Allman Brothers Band, who developed a distinctive sound, largely derived from
blues rock, but incorporating elements of
boogie, soul, and country in the early 1970s. Visually, it was a mesh of various styles, ranging from 1930s
Hollywood glamor, through 1950s pin-up sex appeal, pre-war
Cabaret theatrics,
Victorian literary and
symbolist styles, science fiction, to ancient and occult
mysticism and
mythology; manifesting itself in outrageous clothes, makeup, hairstyles, and platform-soled boots. Glam is most noted for its sexual and gender ambiguity and representations of
androgyny, beside extensive use of theatrics. It was prefigured by the showmanship and gender-identity manipulation of American acts such as
the Cockettes and
Alice Cooper. The origins of glam rock are associated with
Marc Bolan, who had renamed his folk duo to
T. Rex and taken up electric instruments by the end of the 1960s. Often cited as the moment of inception is his appearance on the BBC music show
Top of the Pops in March 1971 wearing glitter and satins, to perform what would be his second UK Top 10 hit (and first UK Number 1 hit), "
Hot Love". From 1971, already a minor star,
David Bowie developed his Ziggy Stardust persona, incorporating elements of professional make up, mime and performance into his act. These performers were soon followed in the style by acts including Roxy Music,
Sweet,
Slade,
Mott the Hoople,
Mud and
Alvin Stardust. In the UK the term glitter rock was most often used to refer to the extreme version of glam pursued by
Gary Glitter and his support musicians
the Glitter Band, who between them achieved eighteen top ten singles in the UK between 1972 and 1976. A second wave of glam rock acts, including
Suzi Quatro,
Roy Wood's
Wizzard and
Sparks, dominated the British single charts from about 1974 to 1976. and in R&B crossover act
Prince.
Chicano rock performing in 1976 at the
Cow Palace in San Francisco After the early successes of Latin rock in the 1960s,
Chicano musicians like
Carlos Santana and
Al Hurricane continued to have successful careers throughout the 1970s. Santana opened the decade with success in his 1970 single "
Black Magic Woman" on the
Abraxas album. From 1973 to 1978 he released a series of four albums that all achieved gold status:
Welcome,
Borboletta,
Amigos, and
Festivál. Al Hurricane continued to mix his rock music with
New Mexico music, though he was also experimenting more heavily with
jazz, which led to successful singles, especially on his
Vestido Mojado album.
Los Lobos gained popularity at this time, with their first album
Los Lobos del Este de Los Angeles in 1977.
Soft rock, hard rock, and early heavy metal performing at
Chicago Stadium in 1975 From the late 1960s, it became common to divide mainstream rock music into soft and hard rock. Soft rock was often derived from folk rock, using acoustic instruments and putting more emphasis on melody and harmonies. It reached its commercial peak in the mid- to late 1970s with acts like
Billy Joel,
America and the reformed
Fleetwood Mac, whose
Rumours (1977) was the best-selling album of the decade. In contrast, hard rock was more often derived from blues-rock and was played louder and with more intensity. Hard rock-influenced bands that enjoyed international success in the late 1970s included
Queen,
Thin Lizzy,
Aerosmith,
AC/DC, The term was first used in music in
Steppenwolf's "
Born to Be Wild" (1967); the term began to be associated with bands like San Francisco's
Blue Cheer, Cleveland's
James Gang and Michigan's
Grand Funk Railroad. By 1970, three key British bands had developed the characteristic sounds and styles which would help shape the subgenre.
Led Zeppelin added elements of fantasy to their riff laden blues-rock,
Deep Purple brought in symphonic and medieval interests from their progressive rock phase and
Black Sabbath introduced facets of the
gothic and
modal harmony, helping to produce a "darker" sound. These elements were taken up by a "second generation" of hard rock and heavy metal bands into the late 1970s, including:
Judas Priest,
UFO,
Motörhead and
Rainbow from Britain;
Kiss,
Ted Nugent, and
Blue Öyster Cult from the US;
Rush from Canada and
Scorpions from Germany, all marking the expansion in popularity of the subgenre. In the 1980s, bands such as
Bon Jovi,
Guns N' Roses,
Metallica,
Mötley Crüe and
Def Leppard saw mainstream success, with hard rock and a
fusion of hard rock and heavy metal with pop. During the 1990s, hard rock saw a slight decline in popularity, save for some major hits like Guns N' Roses' "
November Rain", and Metallica's "
Enter Sandman".
Christian rock taking a bow at
Buckhead Theatre, Atlanta, following a performance in 2014 Rock music has sometimes been criticized by some Christian leaders, who have condemned it as immoral, anti-Christian, and even satanic. However, Christian rock began to develop in the late 1960s, particularly out of the
Jesus movement beginning in Southern California, and it emerged as a subgenre in the 1970s with artists like
Larry Norman, usually seen as the first major "star" of Christian rock. The genre was mostly a phenomenon in the United States. Many Christian rock performers have ties to the
contemporary Christian music scene. Starting in the 1980s, Christian pop performers, as well as hard rock bands like
Stryper, have had some mainstream success. Starting in the 1990s, there were increasing numbers of acts who attempted to avoid the Christian band label, preferring to be seen as groups who were also Christians, including
P.O.D.
Heartland rock performing in
East Berlin in 1988 American working-class oriented heartland rock, characterized by a straightforward musical style and a concern with the lives of ordinary,
blue-collar American people, developed in the second half of the 1970s. The term heartland rock was first used to describe
Midwestern arena rock groups like
Kansas,
REO Speedwagon and Styx, but which came to be associated with a more socially concerned form of roots rock more directly influenced by folk, country and rock and roll. It has been seen as an American Midwest and
Rust Belt counterpart to West Coast country rock and the Southern rock of the American South. Led by figures who had initially been identified with punk and new wave, it was most strongly influenced by acts such as Bob Dylan, the Byrds, Creedence Clearwater Revival and
Van Morrison, and the basic rock of 1960s garage and the Rolling Stones. Exemplified by the commercial success of singer songwriters
Bruce Springsteen,
Bob Seger, and
Tom Petty, it was partly a reaction to post-industrial urban decline in the East and Mid-West, often dwelling on issues of social disintegration and isolation, beside a form of good-time rock and roll revivalism. They created fast, hard-edged music, typically with short songs, stripped-down instrumentation, and often political, anti-establishment lyrics. Punk embraces a
DIY (do it yourself) ethic, with many bands self-producing their recordings and distributing them through informal channels. and guitarist
Steve Jones of the
Sex Pistols performing in
Amsterdam in January 1977 By late 1976, acts such as the
Ramones and
Patti Smith, in New York City, and the
Sex Pistols and
the Clash, in London, were recognized as the vanguard of a new musical movement. In May 1977, the Sex Pistols achieved new heights of controversy (and number two on the singles chart) with the song "
God Save the Queen", which referenced
Queen Elizabeth II during her
Silver Jubilee. For the most part, punk took root in local scenes that tended to reject association with the mainstream. An associated
punk subculture emerged, expressing youthful rebellion and characterized by distinctive
clothing styles and
a variety of ideologies. By the beginning of the 1980s, faster, more aggressive styles such as
hardcore and
Oi! had emerged, which evolved into strains of hardcore punk such as
D-beat (a distortion-heavy subgenre influenced by the UK band
Discharge),
anarcho-punk (e.g.
Crass),
grindcore (e.g.
Napalm Death), and
crust punk. Musicians identifying with or inspired by punk also pursued a broad range of other variations, giving rise to
new wave,
post-punk and the
alternative rock movement. or American radio airplay (as the radio scene continued to be dominated by mainstream formats such as
disco and
album-oriented rock). Punk rock had attracted devotees from the art and collegiate world and soon bands sporting a more literate, arty approach, such as
Talking Heads and
Devo, began to infiltrate the punk scene; in some quarters the description "new wave" began to be used to differentiate these less overtly punk bands. Record executives, who had been mostly mystified by the punk movement, recognized the potential of the more accessible new wave acts and began aggressively signing and marketing any band that could claim a remote connection to punk or new wave. Many of these bands, such as
the Cars and
the Go-Go's, can be seen as pop bands marketed as new wave; other existing acts, including
the Police,
the Pretenders and
Elvis Costello, used the new wave movement as the springboard for relatively long and critically successful careers, while "skinny tie" bands like
the Knack played chart-topping
power pop, and the photogenic
Blondie began as a punk act and moved into lighter and more eclectic territories. Between 1979 and 1985, influenced by Kraftwerk,
Yellow Magic Orchestra, David Bowie and
Gary Numan, British new wave went in the direction of such New Romantics as
Spandau Ballet,
Ultravox,
Japan,
Duran Duran,
A Flock of Seagulls,
Culture Club,
Talk Talk and the
Eurythmics, sometimes using the synthesizer to replace all other instruments. This period coincided with the rise of
MTV and led to a great deal of exposure for this brand of synth-pop, creating what has been characterised as a
second British Invasion. Some more traditional rock bands were also successful, such as
Dire Straits, whose "
Money for Nothing" gently poked fun at MTV, but in general guitar-oriented rock was commercially eclipsed.
Post-punk performing on
The Joshua Tree Tour in
Brussels in 2017 If hardcore most directly pursued the stripped down aesthetic of punk, and new wave came to represent its commercial wing, post-punk emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s as its more artistic and challenging side. In addition to punk bands, major influences included
the Velvet Underground,
the Stooges and
Captain Beefheart. Early contributors to the genre included U.S. bands
Pere Ubu,
Devo,
the Residents, and
Talking Heads. Similar emotional territory was pursued by Australian acts like
the Birthday Party and
Nick Cave. developed by British bands
Throbbing Gristle and
Cabaret Voltaire, and New York-based
Suicide, using a variety of electronic and sampling techniques that emulated the sound of industrial production and which would develop into a variety of forms of
post-industrial music in the 1980s. The second generation of British post-punk bands that broke through in the early 1980s, including
the Fall,
the Pop Group,
the Mekons,
Echo and the Bunnymen and
the Teardrop Explodes, tended to move away from dark sonic landscapes. Although many post-punk bands continued to record and perform, it declined as a movement in the mid-1980s as acts disbanded or moved off to explore other musical areas, but it has continued to influence the development of rock music and has been seen as a major element in the creation of the alternative rock movement.
Emergence of alternative rock , a successful
alternative rock band in the 1980s and 1990s, performing in 2003 The term alternative rock was coined in the early 1980s to describe rock artists who did not fit into the mainstream genres of the time. Bands dubbed "alternative" had no unified style, but were all seen as distinct from mainstream music. Alternative bands were linked by their collective debt to punk rock, through new wave, post-punk or hardcore. Important alternative rock bands of the 1980s in the US included
R.E.M.,
Hüsker Dü,
Jane's Addiction,
Sonic Youth, and the
Pixies; Artists were largely confined to
independent record labels, building an extensive underground music scene based on
college radio, fanzines, touring, and word-of-mouth. They rejected the dominant synth-pop of the early 1980s, marking a return to group-based guitar rock. Few of these early bands achieved mainstream success, although exceptions to this rule include R.E.M., the Smiths, and the Cure. Despite a general lack of spectacular album sales, the original alternative rock bands exerted a considerable influence on the generation of musicians who came of age in the 1980s and ended up breaking through to mainstream success in the 1990s. Styles of alternative rock in the US during the 1980s included
jangle pop, associated with the early recordings of R.E.M., which incorporated the ringing guitars of mid-1960s pop and rock, and college rock, used to describe alternative bands that began in the college circuit and college radio, including acts such as
10,000 Maniacs and
the Feelies. and what were dubbed
shoegaze bands like
My Bloody Valentine,
Slowdive, and
Ride entered. Particularly vibrant was the
Madchester scene, producing such bands as
Happy Mondays and
the Stone Roses. The next decade would see the success of
grunge in the US and
Britpop in the UK, bringing alternative rock into the mainstream. == 1990s–2000s: Alternative goes mainstream ==