Know the history of rock
Rock had its origins in blues, folk, rhythm and blues, boogie woogie and, although it also has elements of jazz, its harmony is extremely simple, since originally it only contained 3 chords. In addition, the first style that was known was rock and roll, thanks to artists such as Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, among others.
the origins of rock
This musical genre originated from rock and roll, specifically, in the 1950s. It was inspired by various musical genres of the time such as country, blues, R&B, gospel, jazz, and traditional pop. Likewise, it adopted a fast, danceable and very popular rhythm, so that at the parties of the time it was common for a rock and roll group to play. Of course, not everyone could hire a band, so when the record player became popular, people played rock and roll albums to liven up their parties.
Rock and roll in its origins was only composed of three chords, normally, tonic, subdominant and dominant. However, it was not very easy to play because of the riffs, solos and improvisations that the pianists and guitarists added to it. Also, among the hallmarks of the original rock and roll was that fast, flashy drum beat that we can still hear on Bill Halley’s recordings, especially “Rock the Joint” (1952). Another main quality of rock and roll was the ” walking bass “, in English “walking bass”, which was actually a jazz technique.
In addition to this, when talking about the origin of rock, we cannot forget the influence that cinema had, since many American films of the time promoted rock and roll. The flashy dance of Elvis Presley and the rest of the cast in his films was a trigger for many parts of the world to receive rock and roll.
After rock and roll became popular, different types of rock appeared internationally. For example, hard rock groups like AC/DC and Guns N’ Roses were inspired by rock and roll. Also, alternative rock groups became famous, including Nirvana and REM
Alternative rock also became widely known with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Linkin Park. However, like most rock groups, these bands not only made use of the alternative style, but also took advantage of pop rock, rap rock, funk rock, among other genres. That is one of the main characteristics of rock, which can be merged with other musical genres. In fact, it was for this reason that so many styles of rock were derived, including symphonic and experimental rock.
Major rock and roll artists
Among the main rock and roll artists, Bill Haley stands out, as it is believed that he was the first to compose a song of this type. However, according to the Rolling Stones magazine, the first recorded rock and roll song was Elvis Presley’s “That’s Alright Mama”. This is another iconic rock and roll character, since he not only shone in concerts, but was also an excellent movie actor.
Also, we must mention Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Eddie Cochran, as they were singers who sold thousands of records.
Lastly, we mention Frankie Lymon and Chuck Berry. The latter has always been considered one of the pioneers of rock and roll and the Rolling Stones magazine gave him the fifth position in his list “The Immortals”.
Musical groups of the 60s and 70s
Many British groups stood out in the 1960s and 1970s, including The Beatles. This band was inspired by skiffle, rock and roll and beat music of the 50’s. Also, in the beginning their music had a bit of traditional pop and classical music. Later, The Beatles made use of other musical styles such as hard rock and ballads. Unfortunately, this group dissolved in 1970, so we could not continue enjoying their excellent live performances.
Another outstanding group in these decades and that is still active is The Rolling Stones, originally from the United Kingdom. This is the longest-running rock group of all time, with twenty-five studio albums. Their music has a mixture of various styles, including rock and roll, pop rock and psychedelic rock.
80’s rock music
From the 80s we can highlight many rock groups such as Metallica, Guns N’ Roses and The Police. All of them sold thousands of albums in the decade and the first two are still active. Also, you should know that in this decade groups like Bon Jovi and Aerosmith stood out. The latter had a lot of influence on the development of hard rock, a style harder than rock and roll.
90’s rock music
Alice in Chains and Nirvana were one of the main grunge groups in the 90s. Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that is itself inspired by punk, noise rock, classic pop rock, and heavy metal. Another famous group of the decade was Green Day, which is still active and whose main genre is punk rock. Similarly, we mention Pearl Jam, an American alternative rock and grunge group.
The best songs in rock history
Without a doubt, “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry is one of the best guitar songs belonging to the rock and roll genre. In addition, the song “Bohemian Rhapsody” by the acclaimed British group Queen is one of the best, thanks to its touch of classic rhapsody and, above all, the spectacular interpretation of Freddie Mercury.
Another of the songs that marked the history of rock was “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones. This song is from 1965 and is based on the rock and roll and blues rock of the time.
Likewise, we must mention songs like “November Rain” and “Don’t Cry” by the American band Guns N’ Roses. Likewise, the group The Beatles has left us a great legacy of songs like “Hey Jude”, “Don’t Let Me Down” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand”.
In addition to this, Elvis Presley delights us with “Can’t Help Falling In Love”, a slow and romantic song composed by Hugo Peretti, George David Weiss and Luigi Creatore in 1961. It should be noted that this song was recorded for the movie “Blue Hawaii” starring Elvis himself.
On the other hand, if you want to listen to all these songs while you train, we recommend buying an electric treadmill with an MP3 player.
