Man didn't know about a rock and roll show, and all that jive
The white man had the schmaltz
The black man had the blues
No-one knew what they was gonna do, but Tchaikovsky heard the news (he said...)
Let there be sound! And there was sound
Let there be light! There was light
Let there be drums! There was drums
Let there be guitar! There was guitar
LET THERE BE ROCK!
Rock is one of the three main American forms of music, along with Jazz and Hip-Hop, though it quickly became a global phenomenon. It was one of the dominant forms of pop music in the Anglosphere from the 1960s through the 2000s, and is still widely popular around the world.
So what exactly is Rock music? It typically includes electric guitar and percussion (most often with drumming in Common Time), but beyond that is hard to nail down — and there are even rock songs that don't use guitar and percussion. See the list of associated tropes below to get an idea.
Rock has its roots in The Blues and was influenced by early 20th century artists, but really got its start in The '50s, when pioneering artists like Chuck Berry and Little Richard took R&B, added a little country, and created Rock & Roll. White artists like Elvis Presley helped take rock music mainstream, and by the late 1950s had taken over youth culture and was outraging parents, the first instance of The New Rock & Roll.
In the 1960s, The British Invasion signified the globalization of rock, as British artists inspired by American R&B took the world by storm. This led to a period of innovation that sowed the seeds for most of rock's subgenres, birthing a number of them including Blues Rock, Garage Rock, Folk Rock, Power Pop, Psychedelic Rock, Surf Rock, and Protopunk.
Rock continued to evolve in the following decades, producing a wide variety of subgenres, including the distinct variants Heavy Metal (although many metalheads view metal as a separate genre) and Punk Rock. A complete list can be found below.
See also Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Rock genres
- Alternative Rock
- Art Rock
- Blues Rock
- Christian Rock
- Folk Rock
- Funk Rock
- Garage Rock
- Glam Rock
- Goth Rock
- Hard Rock
- Heavy Metal
- Indie Rock
- Industrial
- Jazz Fusion
- Krautrock
- New Wave Music
- Pop Rock
- Power Pop
- Progressive Rock
- Protopunk
- Psychedelic Rock
- Punk Rock
- Rap Rock
- Rockabilly
- Rock & Roll
- Roots Rock
- Shock Rock
- Ska
- Surf Rock
- Visual Kei
Other rock musicians
- Alt-J
- Angels & Airwaves
- Anohni and the Johnsons
- Aurora
- Be-Bop Deluxe
- The Blue Nile
- Blue October
- David Bowie
- 1967 - David Bowie
- 1969 - Space Oddity
- 1970 - The Man Who Sold the World
- 1971 - Hunky Dory
- 1972 - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
- 1973 - Aladdin Sane
- 1973 - Pin Ups
- 1974 - Diamond Dogs
- 1975 - Young Americans
- 1976 - Station to Station
- 1976 - Changesonebowie (Greatest Hits Album)
- 1977 - Low (David Bowie Album)
- 1977 - "Heroes" (David Bowie Album)
- 1979 - Lodger
- 1980 - Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)
- 1983 - Let's Dance
- 1984 - Tonight
- 1987 - Never Let Me Down
- 1989 - Tin Machine (with Tin Machine)
- 1993 - Black Tie White Noise
- 1993 - The Buddha of Suburbia
- 1995 - 1. Outside
- 1997 - Earthling
- 1999 - 'hours...' (David Bowie Album)
- 2002 - Heathen
- 2003 - Reality
- 2013 - The Next Day
- 2016 - ★
- Kate Bush
- 1978 - The Kick Inside
- 1980 - Never for Ever
- 1982 - The Dreaming
- 1985 - Hounds of Love
- 1989 - The Sensual World
- 2005 - Aerial
- 2011 - 50 Words for Snow
- David Byrne
- 1981 - My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (with Brian Eno)
- 1989 - Rei Momo
- 1992 - Uh-Oh (David Byrne Album)
- 1994 - David Byrne (Album)
- 1997 - Feelings
- 2001 - Look into the Eyeball
- 2004 - Grown Backwards
- 2008 - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (with Brian Eno)
- 2012 - Love This Giant (with St. Vincent)
- 2018 - American Utopia
- John Cale
- Cardiacs
- Nick Cave
- 1994 - Let Love In
- 1996 - Murder Ballads
- Jarvis Cocker
- Dead Can Dance
- Deerhunter
- Elbow
- Everything Everything
- Failure
- The Fatima Mansions
- The Fireman
- 2008 - Electric Arguments
- Florence + the Machine
- Foals
- Franz Ferdinand
- 2004 - Franz Ferdinand (2004)
- Peter Gabriel
- Grizzly Bear
- Guniw Tools
- Julia Holter
- Hurt
- King Missile
- mewithoutYou
- Muse
- The National
- Nautilus Pompilius
- Nico
- A Perfect Circle
- Iggy Pop
- 1977 - The Idiot
- 1977 - Lust for Life
- Pulp
- Lou Reed
- 1972 - Transformer
- 1973 - Berlin
- Sigur Rós
- 1999 - Ágætis byrjun
- Silverchair
- Sparks
- 1974 - Kimono My House
- 2002 - Lil' Beethoven
- Spoon
- St. Vincent
- 2012 - Love This Giant (with David Byrne)
- Suede
- Moses Sumney
- Talk Talk
- 1988 - Spirit of Eden
- 1991 - Laughing Stock
- 1998 - Mark Hollis
- Talking Heads
- 1977 - Talking Heads: 77
- 1978 - More Songs About Buildings and Food
- 1979 - Fear of Music
- 1980 - Remain in Light
- 1981 - "Once in a Lifetime"
- 1983 - Speaking in Tongues
- 1984 -Stop Making Sense
- 1985 - Little Creatures
- 1986 - True Stories
- 1988 - Naked
- These New Puritans
- Thrice
- Unextraordinary Gentlemen
- Midge Ure
- The Velvet Underground
- 1967 - The Velvet Underground & Nico
- 1968 - White Light/White Heat
- 1969 - The Velvet Underground
- 1970 - Loaded
- 1973 - Squeeze (1973)
- Wild Beasts
- Women
- Xiu Xiu
- XTC
- Yeasayer
- Adam And The Couch Potatoes
- Ryan Adams
- Alt-J
- Analog Rebellion
- Animal Collective
- 2009 - Merriweather Post Pavilion
- The Antlers
- 2009 - Hospice
- The Apples In Stereo
- Arcade Fire
- 2004 - Funeral
- 2010 - The Suburbs
- Arctic Monkeys
- 2006 - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
- 2013 - AM
- Augie March
- Bastille
- Baustelle
- Beach House
- Best Coast
- Big Red Machine
- Andrew Bird
- The Black Keys
- 2010 - Brothers
- Bloc Party
- Blossoms
- Bôa (UK)
- Phoebe Bridgers
- Bright Eyes
- Broken Iris
- Broken Social Scene
- Jake Bugg
- Built To Spill
- Cage the Elephant
- Cake
- Calexico
- Camper Van Beethoven
- Car Seat Headrest
- Cat Power
- 1998 - Moon Pix
- Cheer Up, Charlie Daniels
- Codeine
- Coeur Machant
- Lloyd Cole
- Jonathan Coulton
- Covey
- 2021 - Class Of Cardinal Sin
- Creature Feature
- Crowded House
- 1993 - Together Alone
- Custard
- Daniel Amos (initially)
- 1981 - Horrendous Disc
- 1981 - ¡Alarma!
- Dave Matthews Band
- Death Cab for Cutie
- The Dead Milkmen
- The Decemberists
- Deerhoof
- Deerhunter
- DeVotchKa
- Dr. Carmilla
- Driftless Pony Club
- Editors
- Eels
- 1996 - Beautiful Freak
- Efterklang
- Empires
- Father John Misty
- Sam Fender
- Sky Ferreira
- Florence + the Machine
- Foals
- Franz Ferdinand
- 2004 - Franz Ferdinand (2004)
- The Fratellis
- Freelance Whales
- The Front Bottoms
- fun.
- Galaxie 500
- The Gaslight Anthem
- Gotye
- Grandaddy
- Grizzly Bear
- Guided by Voices
- Happy Mondays
- PJ Harvey
- 1992 - Dry
- 1993 - Rid of Me
- 1995 - To Bring You My Love
- 1998 - Is This Desire?
- 2000 - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
- 2004 - Uh Huh Her
- Havalina Rail Co.
- The Heavy
- The Hold Steady
- The Horrors
- Hot Hot Heat
- Hozier
- IDLES
- Idlewild
- Interpol
- Jellyfish
- Jim's Big Ego
- Joyce Manor
- Kaiser Chiefs
- Kasabian
- Keane
- The Killers
- 2004 - Hot Fuss
- 2020 - Imploding the Mirage
- King Black Acid
- Klaxons
- Lady Lamb
- Lassie Singers
- Lemon Demon
- Jenny Lewis
- The Libertines
- Lifter Puller
- Lord Huron
- Lovejoy
- Low
- Lydia
- The Mae Shi
- Man or Astro-man?
- Mansun
- Laura Marling
- Johnny Marr
- Mashrou' Leila
- Maxïmo Park
- The Mechanisms
- Meg and Dia
- The Megas
- The Menzingers
- Mercury Rev
- Metric
- Mew
- mewithoutYou
- MGMT
- 2008 - Oracular Spectacular
- The Microphones
- 2001 - The Glow Pt. 2
- Miracle of Sound
- Mission of Burma
- Mitski
- Modest Mouse
- Morrissey
- the Mountain Goats
- Murder by Death
- My Brightest Diamond
- Mystery Jets
- Nada Surf
- The National
- The Neighbourhood
- Neon Trees
- Neutral Milk Hotel
- 1996 - On Avery Island
- 1998 - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
- Never Shout Never
- The New Pornographers
- Of Monsters and Men
- Of Montreal
- Ogre You Asshole
- The Oh Hellos
- OK Go
- The Olivia Tremor Control
- Panchiko
- Pato Fu
- Panda Bear
- Pavement
- Peace
- Perfume Genius
- Liz Phair
- 1993 - Exile in Guyville
- Pinguini Tattici Nucleari
- Joel Plaskett
- Pleaserock: The independent collective best known for collaborating with The Brothers Chaps.
- Poets of the Fall
- Pop Will Eat Itself
- Pretty Balanced
- Radical Face
- Rasputina
- Red House Painters
- 1996 - Songs for a Blue Guitar
- Red Vox
- The Reign of Kindo
- Remo Drive
- Damien Rice
- Rilo Kiley
- Daniel Romano
- Jeff Rosenstock
- Said The Whale
- Sakanaction
- Les Savy Fav
- Say Anything...
- Screaming Females
- The Script
- Sea Power
- Sea Wolf
- Paul Shapera
- The Shins
- Shorthand Phonetics
- Silver Jews
- Juliet Simms
- Sleater-Kinney
- Sloan
- Slowdive
- Elliott Smith
- The Smiths
- 1986 - The Queen Is Dead
- Sodagreen
- SOUND HOLIC (709sec.)
- Sparklehorse
- Sasha Spielberg
- The Spin Room
- Spoon
- St. Vincent
- Sufjan Stevens
- 2005 - Illinois
- 2010 - The Age of Adz
- 2015 - Carrie & Lowell
- The Strokes
- 2001 - Is This It
- Stuck in the Sound
- Moses Sumney
- Sun Kil Moon
- Superchunk
- Super Furry Animals
- Teenagers in Tokyo
- Titus Andronicus
- 2010 - The Monitor
- Tocotronic
- Trophy Scars
- TV on the Radio
- 2006 - Return to Cookie Mountain
- Two Door Cinema Club
- Typhoon
- Ugly Casanova
- Walk the Moon
- The Walkmen
- The War On Drugs
- White Lies
- The White Stripes
- 2001 - White Blood Cells
- 2003 - Elephant
- Wild Beasts
- Wolf Alice
- The Wombats
- Women
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs
- Yo La Tengo
- Young the Giant
- Yuuhei Satellite
- Brian Zaharias
- The 77s
- 883
- Bryan Adams
- America
- The Beach Boys
- 1962 - Surfin' Safari
- 1963 - Surfin' USA
- 1963 - Surfer Girl
- 1963 - Little Deuce Coupe
- 1964 - Shut Down Volume 2
- 1964 - All Summer Long
- 1964 - The Beach Boys' Christmas Album
- 1965 - The Beach Boys Today!
- 1965 - Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
- 1965 - Beach Boys' Party!
- 1966 - Pet Sounds
- 1967 - Smile
- 1967 - Smiley Smile
- 1967 - Wild Honey
- 1968 - Friends
- 1969 - 20/20
- 1970 - Sunflower
- 1971 - Surf's Up
- 1972 - Carl and the Passions – "So Tough"
- 1973 - Holland
- 1976 - 15 Big Ones
- 1977 - The Beach Boys Love You
- 1977 - Adult/Child
- 1977 - Merry Christmas From The Beach Boys
- 1977 - M.I.U. Album
- 1979 - L.A. (Light Album)
- 1980 - Keepin' The Summer Alive
- 1985 - The Beach Boys
- 1989 - Still Cruisin'
- 1992 - Summer in Paradise
- 1996 - Stars and Stripes Vol. 1
- 2012 - That's Why God Made the Radio
- The Beatles
- 1963 - Please Please Me
- 1963 - With the Beatles
- 1964 - A Hard Day's Night
- 1964 - Beatles for Sale
- 1965 - Help!
- 1965 - Rubber Soul
- 1966 - Revolver
- 1967 - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
- 1967 - Magical Mystery Tour
- 1968 - The Beatles
- 1968 - Yellow Submarine
- 1969 - Abbey Road
- 1970 - Let It Be
- 1988 - Past Masters
- 1995/1996 - The Beatles Anthology
- The Bee Gees
- Pat Benatar
- Andy Biersack
- The Big Three
- Bon Jovi
- Bread
- Ray Brooks
- Jackson Browne
- Jimmy Buffett
- B'z
- Cairokee
- Chas & Dave
- Chicago
- CN Blue
- Daughtry
- Deacon Blue
- Def Leppard
- Divinyls
- The Doobie Brothers
- James Durbin
- Eagles
- 1976 - Hotel California
- Donald Fagen
- 1982 - The Nightfly
- Fleetwood Mac
- 1975 - Fleetwood Mac
- 1977 - Rumours
- 1979 - Tusk
- 1982 - Mirage
- 1987 - Tango in the Night
- Foreigner
- FT Island
- Gacharic Spin
- Leif Garrett (post-1980s output)
- Andy Gibb
- Andy Grammer
- Daryl Hall & John Oates
- George Harrison
- 1970 - All Things Must Pass
- 1971 - The Concert for Bangladesh
- Corey Hart
- Heart
- 1985 - Heart
- Herman's Hermits
- The Hollies
- Hootie & the Blowfish
- The J. Geils Band
- Al Jardine
- 2010 - A Postcard From California
- Bruce Johnston
- 1963 - Surfin' 'Round The World
- 1977 - Going Public
- Tom Jones
- Journey
- Klaatu
- The Leather Nun
- Leevi And The Leavings
- John Lennon
- 1970 - John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
- 1971 - Imagine
- 1973 - Mind Games
- Huey Lewis and the News
- Kenny Loggins
- Mike Love
- 1978 - First Love
- 1978 - Country Love
- 1981 - Looking Back With Love
- 1983 - Rock 'n' Roll City (with Dean Torrance)
- 1996 - Catch A Wave
- 1998 - Salute NASCAR (with David Marks and Bruce Johnston)
- 2001 - Summertime Cruisin'
- 2004 - Mike Love Not War
- 2017 - Unleash The Love
- 2018 - Reason For The Season
- 2019 - 12 Sides Of Summer
- Måneskin
- David Marks
- Matchbox Twenty
- Imelda May
- Mayday
- Paul McCartney
- 1970 - McCartney
- 1971 - RAM
- 1980 - McCartney II
- 1982 - Tug of War
- 1983 - Pipes of Peace
- Miyavi
- The Monkees
- Münchener Freiheit, a.k.a. Freiheit
- Michael Nesmith
- Nickelback
- Stevie Nicks
- 1981 - Bella Donna
- Noah
- Parokya ni Edgar
- Daniel Powter
- Los Prisioneros
- Gerry Rafferty
- Reamonn
- REO Speedwagon
- Rolling Quartz
- The Rolling Stones
- 1964 - The Rolling Stones
- 1965 - The Rolling Stones No. 2
- 1965 - Out of Our Heads
- 1966 - Aftermath (Album)
- 1967 - Between the Buttons
- 1967 - Their Satanic Majesties Request
- 1968 - Beggars Banquet
- 1969 - Let It Bleed
- 1971 - Sticky Fingers
- 1972 - Exile on Main St..
- 1973 - Goats Head Soup
- 1974 - It's Only Rock 'N' Roll
- 1976 - Black and Blue
- 1978 - Some Girls
- 1980 - Emotional Rescue
- 1981 - Tattoo You
- 1983 - Undercover
- 1986 - Dirty Work
- 1989 - Steel Wheels
- 1994 - Voodoo Lounge
- 1997 - Bridges to Babylon
- 2005 - A Bigger Bang
- Mick Jagger
- Brian Jones
- Keith Richards
- Mick Taylor
- David Lee Roth
- Todd Rundgren
- 1972 - Something/Anything?
- The Searchers
- SHAZNA
- Shinedown
- The Small Faces
- Ringo Starr
- 1973 - Ringo
- Sheila on 7
- Steely Dan
- 1973 - Countdown to Ecstasy
- 1977 - Aja
- Al Stewart
- Rod Stewart
- 1988 - Out of Order
- 1991 - Vagabond Heart
- Stolen City
- Harry Styles
- Supertramp
- 1979 - Breakfast in America
- Survivor
- Taxi (Band)
- James Taylor
- Thirsty Merc
- Tokio Hotel
- Toto
- Train
- The Traveling Wilburys
- 1988 - Traveling Wilburys Volume 1
- Tina Turner
- 1984 - Private Dancer
- The Turtles
- Bonnie Tyler
- 1983 - "Total Eclipse of the Heart"
- 1984 - "Holding Out for a Hero"
- Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons
- The Vamps
- Vazelina Bilopphøggers
- Brian Wilson
- 1988 - Brian Wilson
- 1991 - Sweet Insanity
- 1995 - I Just Wasn't Made For These Times
- 1995 - Orange Crate Art (with Van Dyke Parks)
- 1998 - Imagination
- 2004 - Gettin' In Over My Head
- 2005 - What I Really Want For Christmas
- 2008 - That Lucky Old Sun
- 2010 - Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin
- 2011 - In The Key Of Disney
- 2015 - No Pier Pressure
- The Paley Sessions
- Carl Wilson
- Dennis Wilson
- 1977 - Pacific Ocean Blue
- Wings
- 1973 - Band on the Run
- Steve Winwood
- The Zombies
- 1965 - Begin Here
- 1968 - Odessey and Oracle
- ZYTOKINE
Tropes associated with Rock Music
Rock Bands and Musicians:
- All Drummers Are Animals: Being a drummer can really showcase how a musician can go hog wild, both on and off the stage.
- British Rock Star: Although the genre was developed in America, many notable rock acts have come from across the pond.
- Dumb and Drummer: Compared to the training required to play the guitar or bass, it seems simple to play the drums by comparison, though virtuosic drummers have been known to exist.
- Garage Band: Before they get big, many musicians would have their start in this or a similar setting.
- Lead Bassist: Some bassists can get beyond the stereotype, especially if they lead the band or get remembered for the way they play the bass.
- Heävy Mëtal Ümlaut: Mostly in metal or hard rock, because pronunciation be damned the umlaut just looks cool.
- Rock Trio: Sometimes a rock band is stripped down to the essentials: guitar, bass, drumkit.
- Male Band, Female Singer: It is not uncommon for an otherwise all-male band to have a female vocalist that's the face of the band.
- Myspeld Rökband: Can be found in a metal or hard rock act, though it can be found elsewhere too.
- Nobody Loves the Bassist: With a few notable exceptions, being a bassist in a rock band is an unremarkable job.
- Yoko Oh No: Could either be the cause or the scapegoat, but for whatever reason people would blame one for breaking up the band.
Music and Performance:
- Big Rock Ending: What better way to end a song than to have a virtuosic instrumental ending.
- Careful with That Axe: Even outside of metal, there is the possibility of an ungodly-sounding yell in rock music.
- Epic Riff: Rock music has a lot of memorable instrumental flairs over the years, especially if it helps people identify the song.
- Epic Rocking: You can certainly find this in Progressive Rock or an extended jam session.
- The Four Chords of Pop: Some of the more poppier rock genres do go by the four chord convention.
- Heavy Meta: Doesn't have to be metal, but sometimes a rock genre can get referenced in the song.
- Metal Scream: From a low growl to a piercing shriek, there is quite a range of vocalizations, though this is largely associated with metal.
- Microphone Swinging: Back when microphones were still attached to wires, some vocalists would have some fun with their mics
- Miniscule Rocking: Typically used as a breather track, or as a leadup to a bigger one.
- Perishing Alt-Rock Voice: Sometimes a genre doesn't give way to flamboyant vocalization.
- Power Ballad: Slower than the band's usual fare, to showcase the vocalists' talent.
- Rockers Smash Guitars: Not exclusive to guitars, but musicians can break their instruments on stage
- Yarling: Typically associated with 90s rock, especially Grunge and Post-Grunge, where the vocalist artificially darkens their voice.
Rock and Culture
- A Good Name for a Rock Band: Quite a few rock bands would have a creative name attached.
- Air Guitar: Sometimes it is fun to mime along to that awesome rock riff.
- Groupie: Fans that are more devoted than normal, especially in live shows and backstage.
- The Power of Rock: Rock music would often be portrayed as uplifting, and fiction can even take it further by affecting the world around it.
- Rock is Authentic, Pop is Shallow: From time to time, debates between rock and pop would come up. "Rockism" is a viewpoint born of this.
- Rock Me, Asmodeus!: If Rock is the Devil's music, why not get him involved?
- Rockumentary: A look into the lives of a rock band, particularly as they perform.
- Rotten Rock & Roll: Rock has often been used as a motif for a musical villain.
- Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll: Rock has been perceived as having a fair share of hedonistic personalities.