Rock America

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Rock America

JOURNEY THROUGH 1'500 ROCK SONGS

ROCK  ∙  ROCK AMERICA  ∙  rock UK  ∙ rock Europe  ∙  rock Australia  ∙[/bg_collapse]

ROCK AMERICA  ∙  1940s  ∙  50s  ∙  60s  ∙  70s  ∙  80s  ∙  90s  ∙  2000s  ∙

 

ROCK AMERICA

 

Rock AMERICA 40s

The first tracks of rock music were recorded in the USA in 1945-47 as outspreads from boogie-woogie, blues, swing-jazz and country-music. While some of those tracks carry the seeds for Bill Haley’s future hit 'Rock around the clock' (1955), others are precursors of rockabilly and RnB rock.

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Rock AMERICA 50s

Rock America 50s

RnB rock launched in the late 1940s continued to grow through the 50s and achieved mass popularity during the decade, most notably by superstars Ray Charles, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry and James Brown & the Famous Flames. But at the end of the 1950s, it was the rockabilly genre that had established itself as the international symbol of rock'n'roll with the advent of Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and their likes.

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Rock AMERICA 60s

Rock America 60s

While Elvis Presley's 17-hit streak ended in 1962, "Let's twist again" (1961, Chubby Checker) and "Oh, pretty woman" (1964, Roy Orbison) were the two iconic classic-rock songs of the 60s. Hailing from the West Coast, surf rock reached world fame in 1963 with the Beach Boys and Dick Dale. But the frenzy for the Beatles and the Rolling Stones gripped the USA in early 1964 and sparked both the "British Invasion" of the US charts and the influence of British beat on American rock.

Progressive rock started in the mid-60s and became mainstream in 1967. Although folk singer Bob Dylan came under heavy criticism when he turned to electric rock in 1964, the following years spawned wide acceptance of many new styles of progressive rock. These include garage rock and its vibrant protopunk scene (The Fugs, The Monks, The Sonics, Iggy & the Stooges, Captain Beefheart), underground rock (the Mothers of Invention, the Velvet Underground), art rock (the Byrds, Grateful Dead), psychedelic rock (Jefferson Airplane, the Doors, Jimmy Hendrix, Iron Butterfly), hard rock (Steppenwolf, Rare Earth), jazz rock (Chicago Transit Authority, Blood Sweat & Tears), latin rock (Santana) as well as innovative forms of country rock (Buffalo Springfield, Creedence Clearwater Revival), blues rock (Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Canned Heat) and soul rock (Janis Joplin, Tommy James & the Shondells, Mother Earth).

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Rock AMERICA 70s

Rock America 70s

Along with RnB Soul, rock dominated the American music scene in the 70s. Punk rock and new wave also took hold during the decade notably with the advent of Patti Smith, Iggy & the Stooges and the Ramones for the earlier, the Talking Heads and B-52's for the latter.

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Rock AMERICA 80s

Rock America 80s

Traditional rock and hard rock gained maturity and momentum in the 80s, delivering stunning rock anthems. New wave developed and reached its peak notably with Prince, The Motels and The Cars. New forms of alternative rock emerged over the decade under the leadership of R.E.M. and produced puzzling gems such as the now cult songs 'Plateau' (1984) by Meat Puppets,  'Where is my mind' (1988) by the Pixies and 'Barnaby, hardly working' (1989) by Yo La Tengo.

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Rock AMERICA 90s

Rock America 90s

During the 90s, the Red Hot Chili Peppers went mainstream, female musicians released great rock and trip hop matured and flourished. Meanwhile, the worldwide success of Nirvana and the grunge genre in late 1991 changed rock music forever. Countless new forms of alternative rock emerged, reached wide audiences and spawned the indie rock wave along with new genres of psychedelia, power pop and metal music.

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Rock AMERICA 2000s

Rock America 2000s

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Rock America

JOURNEY THROUGH 1'500 ROCK SONGS

ROCK AMERICA  ∙  1940s  ∙  50s  ∙  60s  ∙  70s  ∙  80s  ∙  90s  ∙  2000s  ∙