Rock 'n' Roll had runaway success in the U.S. and quickly brought sanitised rhythm and blues influenced music to an international audience. Original stars such as Elvis Presley were diverted into ballads more in keeping with previous ideas of pop. 'Elvis Presley'.

Surf music exemplified by Dick Dale and The Surfaris, featured faster tempos, innovative percussion, and processed electric guitar sounds with a British equivalent at the same time from groups like The Shadows, which would be highly influential upon future rock guitarists. Other bands, notably The Beach Boys and Jan and Dean, would capitalize on the surf craze.

British Rock

The Beatles rose to the fore, bringing together an appealing mix of image, songwriting, and personality. In late 1963 the Rolling Stones started, as one of a number of groups increasingly showing blues influence such as The Animals and The Yardbirds, and in late 1964 The Kinks, followed by The Who, represented the new Mod style. After their initial success in the UK, The Beatles launched a large-scale US tour to ecstatic reaction, a phenomenon quickly dubbed Beatlemania. 'Here Are the Sonics', 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band', 'I'm Nearly Famous', 'Exile on Main Street', 'Arthur - Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire' and 'Who's Next'.

Development Of Counterculture (1963-1974)

Despite his adolescent musical forays into electric rock 'n' roll, Bob Dylan came to the fore in folk-rock. Before his 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home came out, The Byrds beat him to electric rock with a jangling electric hit single version of 'Mr. Tambourine Man' taken from a preview of an acoustic track on the album. Among Dylan's many disciples Neil Young's lyrical inventiveness and often wailing electric guitar attack presaged grunge, and others including Simon & Garfunkel, The Mamas & the Papas and The Band developed the genre in America. 'Blonde on Blonde', 'Harvest' and 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'.

January 1967 brought the first album from The Doors. As the year went by many other pioneering groups got records out, with Pink Floyd's "Arnold Layne" in March only hinting at their live sound. 'The Doors' and 'Are You Experienced'.

The culmination of rock and roll as a socially-unifying force was seen in the rock festivals of the late '60s, the most famous of which was Woodstock which began as a three-day arts and music festival and turned into a "happening", as hundreds of thousands of youthful fans converged on the site. 'Woodstock: Music from the Original Soundtrack and More'.

Dabbling heavily in classical, jazz, electronic, and experimental music resulted in what would be called progressive rock. At times it was hardly recognizable as rock at all. Some notable practitioners include King Crimson, Genesis, Gentle Giant, The Nice, Yes, Gong, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Magma, Can, Pink Floyd, Rush, and Faust. 'Dark Side of the Moon', 'Velvet Underground & Nico' and 'Moving Pictures'.

These were the bands that were led by the guitar; Cream and Led Zeppelin were early examples of blues-rock form and were followed by heavier rock bands including Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. This style of rock would come to be known as heavy metal music. 'Disraeli Gears', 'Led Zeppelin IV (aka ZOSO)', 'Layla', 'Machine Head' and 'Paranoid'.

Corporate Movements Out Of The Counterculture (The 1970s)

Queen, Pink Floyd and Genesis, paved the way by putting on extravagant live shows drawing a large number of fans. Following in their wake, Boston, Styx, Foreigner, Journey, and many other bands began playing similar music, often less progressive and metal-like. 'News of the World', 'Genesis', 'Boston', 'The Grand Illusion' and 'Departure'

Meanwhile, groups such as AC/DC, Aerosmith, REO Speedwagon, ZZ Top and Van Halen, as well as such solo artists like Peter Frampton were being heard mainly on AM radio and sharing the charts with their soft rock counterparts. 'Back in Black (Deluxe Digipak)', 'Rocks', 'Van Halen', 'Deguello' and 'You Can Tune a Piano, But You Can't Tuna Fish'.

Disco, Punk And New Wave (1973-1981)

The Disco format was propelled by such groups as K.C. and the Sunshine Band, MFSB, The Three Degrees, The O'Jays, Barry White, Gloria Gaynor, Chic, and The Trammps. The group most associated with the Disco era was The Bee Gees, whose music for the 1977 Paramount film Saturday Night Fever marked the pinnacle of the era. 'Ost' and 'Disco Inferno'.

Punk rock started off as a reaction to the lush, producer-driven sounds of disco, and against the perceived commercialism of progressive rock that had become arena rock. The Sex Pistols paved the way for The Clash, whose approach was less nihilistic but more overtly political and idealistic. The Ramones reigned as the kings of the New York punk scene, which also included Richard Hell and Television. 'London Calling', 'Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols' and 'Ramones'.

Punk rock attracted devotees from the art and collegiate world and soon bands sporting a more literate, arty approach, such as the Talking Heads and Devo began to infiltrate the punk scene; in some quarters the description New Wave began to be used to differentiate these less overtly punk bands. 'Remain in Light' and 'Heartbeat City'.

Rock Diversifies In The 1980s

American heartland rock gained a strong following, exemplified by Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger, and others. 'Born to Run'.

While bands like Van Halen and Metallica innovated in the genre, and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal found fans, a group of musicians formulated what later became known as hair metal. Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, and Ratt are often regarded as the first hair metal bands to gain popularity. After Def Leppard's wildly popular Pyromania, and Van Halen's seminal 1984, hair metal became ubiquitous. In 1987, Guns n' Roses released Appetite for Destruction, which became phenomenally successful. 'Master of Puppets', 'Appetite for Destruction', 'Hysteria', 'Disintegration' and 'Skid Row'.

Grunge remained a mostly local phenomenon until the breakthrough of Nirvana in 1991 with their album Nevermind. Nirvana was an instant sensation worldwide and made much of the competing music seem stale and dated by comparison, hair metal faded almost completely from the mainstream. 'Nevermind', 'Achtung Baby' and 'Ten'.

While America was full of grunge, post-grunge, and hip hop, Britain launched a 1960s revival in the mid-90s, often called Britpop, with bands like Oasis, the Verve, Radiohead, Pulp and Blur.

Alternate Rock And Current Trends (Since 1995)

With the death of Kurt Cobain, rock and roll music searched for a new face, sound, and trend. A second wave of alternative rock bands began to become popular, with grunge declining in the mid-90s. The Foo Fighters, Green Day and Radiohead spearheaded rock radio. 'Dookie' and 'Ok Computer'.

Using downtuned 7 string guitars KoRn first created their heavy crushing riffs in 1994 with their first self-titled album. This then spawned a wave of "nu-Metal" bands such as Linkin Park, Slipknot, Static-X, Disturbed, and Limp Bizkit.

After existing in the musical underground, garage rock saw a resurgence of popularity in the early 2000s, with bands like The White Stripes, The Strokes, Jet, The Vines, and The Hives all releasing successful singles and albums.