Merkaba

Rock is an extraordinarily diverse area of music. It is widely established that Rock ‘n’ Roll was first defined in the very early 1950’s but small pieces can be traced back as early as the 1920’s through the “father of rock”, the Blues. The main reason Rock is so diverse today is that it has always been a large blend of genres right from the word go. When Rock ‘n’ Roll was first classed in the 1950’s it already had many roots planted deep in the Blues, Jazz, Rhythm and Blues with influences also coming from Gospel, Folk, Western and Country. Rock music is by no means a purebred, more or less a cross of extreme proportions.

The term Rock ‘n’ Roll itself is hard to define, as there is much debate as to how it was actually derived. Some believe it was due to the surfacing of racial tensions in America, and the white folk wanted a title for it that didn’t associate with the black nature of Rhythm and Blues. They’d be devastated if they could see today’s relationship between the genres! Others believe it was because of a Disc jockey called Alan Freed. Freed was the first to introduce such music to white folk in the 1950’s via radio and this is apparently what Freed called it when he first played the stuff.

There is a huge line of debate as to who the first Rock n Roll artist was. Generally accepted pioneers include Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino and Bill Haley. Many believe Chuck Berry was first in 1951, but then we have historians arguing that the first eligible piece of rock came from way back in 1940’s by Fats Domino, though it was heavily encased in other styles of music. Then we have The Press of today such as the Rolling Stone who like to think Elvis Presley was the first artist and he arrived in 1955, a year after Rock ‘n’ Roll had already spread to the rest of America and was just finding it’s feet in Britain. That obviously makes things a little misguided. However, it is Elvis who took Rock ‘n’ Roll to a new level. With Elvis and Rock ‘n’ Roll came a whole new culture and this culture revolted much of society at first. Sexual dancing, the swinging of the hips, sexual four piece beats, emphasis on every second beat created a sexual beat or “thrusting” which back then would have been highly embarrassing for a society who had been accustomed to such mannerisms, that these days would be found only in a family of royalty. However it was this music and attitude to dancing frivolously that began pegging back some of the more outspoken racial tensions of the time. Above all else the people loved Rock ‘n’ Roll because it meant freedom. The lyrics, the music, the attitude, the realism of the artists all provoked a freedom other styles of music had not yet tapped into.

Rock ‘n’ Roll slowed in America at the end of the 50’s with Presley and co losing popularity for their “of late” ballads, but was still going strong none the less. The British scene however was going like a whirlwind and in the early 60’s we saw the beginning of the British Invasion. British teens were going bonkers having been strongly influenced by the recent explosion of Rock ‘n’ Roll in America. In a matter of years The Beatles emerged and took the world by storm. Held in such regard for their musical achievements of the time, they were also held in such high regard for spreading such popular music to most parts of the world. While the Beatles were taking the world by storm out emerged another extremely important band in the Rolling Stones. This band also achieved feats similar to the Beatles but it was their image that they bought to the industry that set them apart. Rough clothes, long shaggy hair and cigarettes for miles were a catalyst for their careers. It was a true bad boy image that coupled with their music made them famous. Many say they were second only to the Beatles but it was American tours that had them being billed as the “Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll band ever” simply because they embodied everything rock should and did stand for, which at the time was freedom to express.

Riding on the crest of the British Invasion wave saw a whole onslaught of break away styles that developed from the basis of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Back in America we saw the emergence of Garage Rock or more commonly referred to these days as Punk Rock. Then we started to see Folk emerge again sporting traces of Rock with the likes of Bob Dylan coming to the front. At first labelling the Beatles as “bubblegum pop” he soon grew on them and experimented a bit, and brought a new form of instrumentation to the masses, in the form of electrical instruments. Lets take a look at the majority of rock genres.

Arena/Stadium Rock

Commonly referred to as Arena Rock, or Stadium Rock, this breed of music more or less is what the name says. It’s designed for artists whose music was particularly suitable to a large arena or open space, and first occured in the 70's as hard rock bands started gaining popularity. This genre is not very definitive as it applies to most bands that could also quite easily fit into another genre of rock. This genre is basically for bands that have fairly mainstream vocals, the likes of Freddie Mercury for example, and the music is fairly simplistic in flow or rhythm. There is some form of guitar, be it electric or acoustic and usually there is some form of drumming. Some music borders on being titled “Metal” but in general is not overly heavy. Note the varying styles of the bands that are in the examples.

Examples: Queen, (some) Metallica, ACDC, REO Speedwagon, Velvet Revolver, Kiss, Van Halen

Avant Rock

This is a style of rock that is usually unique to the artist that attempts to venture into it. It is experimental and has many progressive qualities about it. Unorthodox time signatures, vocal experimentation, crossing with other genres, special instrument effects and so on. Obviously the finish product is unique and not very reminiscent of other artists around at the time.

Examples: Fantomas, Mr Bungle, Frank Zappa, Sonic Youth, The Velvet Underground

Blues Rock

Again is what it says it is. This is basically mixing the lyrical nature of Blues music with a rock n roll style of music usually electric guitar is involved. Canned Heat are well known as pioneering the music in America while early forms of Fleetwood Mac kindled the blues rock fire in Britain.

Examples: Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Cream, The Yardbirds or very early forms of Led Zeppelin.

British Invasion

Does that mean the invasion of the British? Yes. Rock n Roll in Britain took off like a spark to Liquid Nitrogen. The British Invasion saw many British artists gain huge appraisal in foreign countries such as America, Australia, Canada and many parts of Europe. Cliff Richard sort of opened the Flood Gates by claiming some early recognition in America but it was The Beatles who opened the gates and proceeded to blast away the entire Dam in the process. Their music pretty much went to the top of charts in every place it reached and it set the stage for almost all other bands to build off of. The Rolling Stones lose a fair bit of recognition to the Beatles, but it was these guys that made being a musician look “cool”.

Examples: The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Kinks, Gerry and the Pacemakers.

Celtic Rock

A very European style of music derived from the musical composition of Folk Music. This music is most commonly found around Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are a few bands that dabble close to the definition of Celtic rock but cannot be truly classified as it, such as Thin Lizzy, The Pogues, Flogging Molly.

Examples: Fairport Convention, Tempest, Sweeneys Men, Lenahan, Wolfstone

Classic Rock

Classic Rock is basically early forms of rock that still had their feet firmly planted in the origins of Rock n Roll. Today Classic Rock is moving on as even some music from the early 1990’s is starting to come under scrutiny for Classic rock status. Classic Rock originally came from a bunch of Radio Stations who as they entered into the 80’s, started looking back into the 60’s when rock really found it’s feet and pretty much said “hey, I want to play some of the original rock”. So they did and playlists of all this old Beatles music and such became known as Classic Rock. The term has just evolved and evolved to today, and it’s highly likely that in 20 years time the music of today will be known as their Classic Rock.

Examples: Led Zeppelin, Queen, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd.

Comedy Rock

Hardly a recognised and accepted genre but this is rock music with humour as a major lyrical subject. Sometimes sounds add to the humour. Often Comedy Rock is known as music that “takes the piss” out of the topic in discussion, usually it's something to do with everyday society.

Examples: Tenacious D, Adam Sandler, Kevin Bloody Wilson, Frank Zappa, Mojo Nixon, Weird Al Yankovic