Portal:Rock music

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The Rock Music Portal

Rock is a broad genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles from the mid-1960s, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, a style that drew directly from the genres of blues, rhythm and blues, and from country music. Rock also drew strongly from genres such as electric blues and folk, and incorporated influences from jazz and other musical styles. For instrumentation, rock has centered on the electric guitar, usually as part of a rock group with electric bass guitar, drums, and one or more singers. Usually, rock is song-based music with a ⁴
₄ time signature using a verse–chorus form, but the genre has become extremely diverse. Like pop music, lyrics often stress romantic love but also address a wide variety of other themes that are frequently social or political. Rock was the most popular genre of music in the U.S. and much of the Western world from the 1950s to the 2010s.

Rock musicians in the mid-1960s began to advance the album ahead of the single as the dominant form of recorded music expression and consumption. Their contributions lent the genre a cultural legitimacy in the mainstream and initiated a rock-informed album era in the music industry for the next several decades. By the late 1960s "classic rock" period, a number of distinct rock music subgenres had emerged, including hybrids like blues rock, folk rock, country rock, Southern rock, raga rock, and jazz rock, which contributed to the development of psychedelic rock, influenced by the countercultural psychedelic and hippie scene. New genres that emerged included progressive rock, which extended artistic elements, and glam rock, which highlighted showmanship and visual style. In the second half of the 1970s, punk rock reacted by producing stripped-down, energetic social and political critiques. Punk was an influence in the 1980s on new wave, post-punk and eventually alternative rock.

From the 1990s, alternative rock began to dominate rock music and break into the mainstream in the form of grunge, Britpop, and indie rock. Further fusion subgenres have since emerged, including pop-punk, electronic rock, rap rock, and rap metal. Some movements were conscious attempts to revisit rock's history, including the garage rock/post-punk revival in the 2000s. Since the 2010s, rock has lost its position as the pre-eminent popular music genre in world culture, but remains commercially successful. The increased influence of hip-hop and electronic dance music can be seen in rock music, notably in the techno-pop scene of the early 2010s and the pop-punk-hip-hop revival of the 2020s. (Full article...)

General images - load new batch

The following are images from various rock music-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Aerosmith performing at Quilmes Rock in Buenos Aires, Argentina on April 15, 2007 (from Hard rock)
Image 2Kiss onstage in Boston in 2004 (from Hard rock)
Image 3Foo Fighters performing an acoustic show in 2007 (from Hard rock)
Image 4Chuck Berry in 1957 (from Rock and roll)
Image 5Led Zeppelin live at Chicago Stadium, January 1975 (from Hard rock)
Image 6The Who on stage in 1975 (from Hard rock)
Image 7Bill Haley and his Comets performing in the 1954 Universal International film Round Up of Rhythm (from Rock and roll)
Image 8Wolfmother, 2007 (from Hard rock)
Image 9Nirvana were at the forefront of the 1990s grunge era. (from Hard rock)
Image 10Rush on stage in Milan, Italy, 2004 (from Hard rock)
Image 11Drum notation for a backbeat (from Hard rock)
Image 12Baker, Bruce and Clapton of Cream, whose blues rock improvisation was a major factor in the development of the genre (from Hard rock)
Image 13Golden Earring receives a gold record in 1970. (from Hard rock)
Image 14Little Richard in 1957 (from Rock and roll)
Image 15Big Joe Turner and Pete Johnson's record "Roll 'Em Pete" is regarded as a precursor to rock and roll. (from Rock and roll)
Image 16Buddy Holly and his band, the Crickets (from Rock and roll)
Image 17"There's No Romance in Rock and Roll" made the cover of True Life Romance in 1956. (from Rock and roll)
Image 18Poison, seen here in 2008, were among the most successful acts of the 1980s glam metal era. (from Hard rock)
Image 19Elvis Presley in a promotion shot for Jailhouse Rock in 1957 (from Rock and roll)
Image 20Tommy Steele, one of the first British rock and rollers, performing in Stockholm in 1957 (from Rock and roll)
Image 21Sign commemorating the role of Alan Freed and Cleveland, Ohio, in the origins of rock and roll (from Rock and roll)
Image 22Original member Izzy Stradlin' on stage with Guns N' Roses in 2006 (from Hard rock)

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Godsmack in concert at the Charter One Pavillion Chicago IL June 15, 2007.

Godsmack is an American rock band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Sully Erna, bassist Robbie Merrill, lead guitarist Tony Rombola and drummer Shannon Larkin. Since its formation, Godsmack has released eight studio albums, one EP (The Other Side), four DVDs, one compilation album (Good Times, Bad Times... Ten Years of Godsmack), and one live album (Live & Inspired).

The band has released three consecutive number-one albums (Faceless, IV and The Oracle) on the Billboard 200. The band also has 25 top ten rock radio hits, including 18 songs in the top five, and 12 at #1. The band's seventh album, When Legends Rise was released on April 27, 2018. Their eighth and final album Lighting Up the Sky was released on February 24, 2023.

Since its inception, Godsmack has toured with Ozzfest on more than one occasion and has toured with many other large tours and festivals, including supporting its albums with its own arena tours. In honor of the band's success and the release of their sixth studio album, 1000hp, Mayor Marty Walsh declared August 6 as "Godsmack Day" in the city of Boston. (Full article...)

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John Anthony Frusciante (/fruːˈʃɑːnteɪ/ ; born March 5, 1970) is an American musician and the guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He has released 11 solo albums and 7 EPs, ranging in style from acoustic guitar to electronic music. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2012. Rolling Stone named Frusciante among the greatest guitarists of all time.

Frusciante joined the Chili Peppers at the age of 18 after the death of guitarist Hillel Slovak, and first appeared on their album Mother's Milk (1989). His second album with the band, Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991), was their breakthrough success. Overwhelmed by the band's newfound popularity, he quit in 1992. He became a recluse and entered a period of heroin addiction, during which he released his first solo recordings: Niandra LaDes and Usually Just a T-Shirt (1994) and Smile from the Streets You Hold (1997). In 1998, he completed drug rehabilitation and rejoined the Chili Peppers, taking them to major success with their albums Californication (1999), By the Way (2002) and Stadium Arcadium (2006).

Frusciante's solo work encompasses genres including experimental rock, ambient music, and electronica. He released six albums in 2004, each exploring different genres and recording techniques. In 2009, Frusciante released The Empyrean, which features members of the Chili Peppers. Frusciante left the Chili Peppers again in 2009 and rejoined them in 2019. Frusciante also releases acid house under the alias Trickfinger. With the ex-Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer and Joe Lally, Frusciante has released two albums as Ataxia. (Full article...)

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Breakaway is the second studio album by American pop singer Kelly Clarkson, released on November 30, 2004, by RCA Records. The album is the follow-up to her successful debut album, Thankful (2003). Breakaway sees Clarkson collaborating with various producers and songwriters for the first time, primarily Dr. Luke, Max Martin, John Shanks, Kara DioGuardi, Ben Moody, and David Hodges; the latter two are former members of American rock band Evanescence. Despite the established commercial success of Thankful, music critics still continued to typecast Clarkson as an American Idol winner and were also critical of her attempts of establishing a commercial appeal on her own. Wanting to stray from those, she was convinced by Davis to work with Dr. Luke and Martin in Stockholm, and with Moody and Hodges in Los Angeles, in pursuit of a pop rock direction. This also led her to part ways with her manager Simon Fuller and hire the management services of Jeff Kwatinetz before the album's release. Breakaway is primarily a pop rock record with elements of rock and soul music, marking a departure from the R&B-oriented sound of Thankful; its lyrics explore themes of heartbreak, love, and escapism.

Breakaway received a positive response from music critics, with many commending the album's new-found pop rock sound and Clarkson's vocal performances. It received several awards and nominations, including winning two Grammy Awards and receiving a nomination for a Juno Award. The album became a commercial success worldwide. By selling over 12 million copies worldwide, Breakaway is Clarkson's best selling album of her career so far, and one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century and by a female artist. After debuting at number three on the Billboard 200 in the United States, it stayed on the top twenty of the chart for more than a year, eventually being certified 6× multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of more than six million copies.

Breakaway's singles "Since U Been Gone", "Behind These Hazel Eyes", "Because of You", "Walk Away", and "Breakaway" became worldwide hits and have become some of Clarkson's signature songs. Their successes prompted Billboard to credit her for landscaping the core sound of mainstream pop music as an uptempo dance-oriented sound in the 2000s. Furthermore, Breakaway established Clarkson as one of the four highest-selling acts of Sony BMG in the 2000s. Internationally, the album topped the music charts of Ireland and the Netherlands and became the world's 7th biggest-selling release of 2005, eventually being certified platinum in over 17 countries. To promote the album, Clarkson embarked on three international concert tours from 2005 to 2006: the Breakaway Tour, Hazel Eyes Tour, and the Addicted Tour. Billboard placed the album 77th in the Greatest of All Time Billboard 200 Albums. (Full article...)

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"Achilles Last Stand" is a song by the English rock group Led Zeppelin released as the opening track on their seventh studio album, Presence (1976). Guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant began writing the song during the summer of 1975 and were influenced by Eastern music, mythology, and exposure to diverse cultures during their travels. At roughly ten-and-a-half minutes, it is one of the group's longest studio recordings and one of their most complex, with interwoven sections and multiple, overdubbed guitar parts.

The song received mainly positive reviews from music critics, with some comparing "Achilles Last Stand" to other Zeppelin songs such as "Kashmir". The band featured it during concerts from 1977 to 1980, and a 1979 live performance is included on the Led Zeppelin DVD (2003). Page called it his favourite Led Zeppelin song in several interviews, and considers its guitar solo on a par with his "Stairway to Heaven" solo. (Full article...)

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Credit: Henry W. Laurisch (derivative Blutgretchen)

Zachary Barnett of the rock band American Authors.

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Did you know (auto-generated)

... that Skálmöld & Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands documents a symphony orchestra playing heavy metal music?
... that heavy metal led Ossian D'Ambrosio to druidism?
... that raw material waste from the West influenced a generation of rock music in China?
... that the heavy metal band Cradle of Filth released a T-shirt that was so offensive that several people were arrested for wearing it?
... that when rock musician Warren Zevon received a terminal diagnosis of lung cancer, he learned to "enjoy every sandwich"?
... that heavy metal band Judas Priest took their name from Bob Dylan's song "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest"?

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Post-Britpop is an alternative rock subgenre and is the period in the late 1990s and early 2000s, following Britpop, when the media were identifying a "new generation" or "second wave" of guitar bands influenced by acts like Oasis and Blur, but with less overt British concerns in their lyrics and making more use of American rock and indie influences, as well as experimental music. Bands in the post-Britpop era that had been established acts, but gained greater prominence after the decline of Britpop, such as Radiohead and the Verve, and new acts such as Travis, Keane, Snow Patrol, Stereophonics, Feeder, and particularly Coldplay, achieved much wider international success than most of the Britpop groups that had preceded them, and were some of the most commercially successful acts of the late 1990s and early 2000s. (Full article...)