The Beatles

The Beatles The Beatles were an English pop and rock group from Liverpool whose members were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music. In the United Kingdom, The Beatles released more than 40 different singles, albums, and EPs that reached number one. This commercial success was repeated in many other countries; their record company, EMI, estimated that by 1985 they had sold over one billion records worldwide.The Beatles are the best-selling musical act of all time in the United States, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked The Beatles #1 on its list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.According to that same magazine, their innovative music and cultural impact helped define the 1960s and their influence on pop culture is still evident today. The Beatles led the mid-1960s musical "British Invasion" into the United States. Although their initial musical style was rooted in 1950s rock and roll and homegrown skiffle, the group explored genres ranging from Tin Pan Alley to psychedelic rock. Their clothes, styles, and statements made them trend-setters, while their growing social awareness saw their influence extend into the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s.

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Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band that formed in September 1968. Led Zeppelin consisted of Jimmy Page (guitar), Robert Plant (vocals), John Paul Jones (bass guitar / keyboards) and John Bonham (drums). With their heavy, guitar-driven sound, Led Zeppelin are regarded as one of the first heavy metal bands. Their rock-infused interpretation of the blues and folk genres also incorporated rockabilly,reggae,soul, funk,classical, Celtic, Indian, Arabic, pop, Latin, and country. The band did not release the popular songs from their albums as singles in the UK, as they preferred to develop the concept of album-oriented rock. Over 25 years after disbanding following Bonham's death in 1980, Led Zeppelin continue to be held in high regard for their artistic achievements, commercial success, and broad influence. The band have sold more than 300 million albums worldwide, including 109.5 million sales in the United States, and they are the only band to have had all their studio albums reach the U.S. Billboard Top 10. Led Zeppelin are ranked No. 1 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. Rolling Stone magazine has described Led Zeppelin as "the heaviest band of all time" and "the biggest band of the 70s". On December 10, 2007 the surviving members of Led Zeppelin reunited (along with deceased drummer John Bonham's son Jason) for the Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert at The O2 in London.

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The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English band whose rhythm and blues and rock & roll- based music became popular during the "British Invasion" in the early 1960s. The band was formed in London in 1962 by original leader Brian Jones, but was eventually led by the songwriting partnership of singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards. Pianist Ian Stewart, drummer Charlie Watts and bassist Bill Wyman completed the early lineup. Ian Stewart was removed from the official lineup in 1963 but continued to work with the band as road manager and keyboardist until his death in 1985. The band's early albums were mainly covers of American blues and R&B songs. The band's single, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", established the Stones as a premier rock and roll act. Starting with their 1966 album Aftermath, the songs of Jagger and Richards, aided by the instrumental experimentation of Jones, expanded an always present stylistic flexibility. Jones died in 1969 shortly after being fired from the band and was replaced by Mick Taylor. Taylor recorded five albums with The Stones before quitting in 1974. Former Faces guitarist Ron Wood stepped in and has been with the band since. Wyman retired in 1993 and was replaced by Darryl Jones, who is not an official member. The band has released 55 albums of original work and compilations, and have had 32 U.K & U.S top-10 singles. They have sold more than 200 million albums worldwide.1971's Sticky Fingers began a string of eight consecutive studio albums at number one in the United States. In 1989 the Rolling Stones were inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2004 they were ranked number 4 in Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. They are also ranked as the number 2 artists of all time on Acclaimedmusic.net. Their latest album, A Bigger Bang, was released in 2005 and accompanied by the highest-grossing tour in history, which lasted into late summer 2007. During the 1969 American tour, tour manager Sam Cutler introduced them as "The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World", a title which has remained. Their image of unkempt and surly youth is one that many musicians still emulate.

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Rock and roll

Rock and roll Rock and roll is a genre of music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and quickly spread to the rest of the world. Classic rock and roll is played with one or two electric guitars (one lead, one rhythm), a string bass or (after the mid-1950s) an electric bass guitar, and a drum kit. In the earliest rock and roll styles of the late 1940s and early 1950s, either the piano or saxophone was often the lead instrument, but these were generally replaced or supplemented by guitar in the mid to late 1950s. The beat is essentially a boogie woogie blues rhythm with an accentuated backbeat, the latter almost always provided by a snare drum. The massive popularity and eventual worldwide scope of rock and roll gave it an unprecedented social impact. Far beyond simply a musical style, rock and roll, as seen in movies and in the new medium of television, influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language. It later spawned the various sub-genres of what is now called simply 'rock music'.

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ROCK MUSIC

Rock music Rock music is a form of popular music with a prominent vocal melody accompanied by guitar, drums, and bass. Many styles of rock music also use keyboard instruments such as organ, piano, mellotron, and synthesizers. Other instruments sometimes utilized in rock include harmonica, violin, flute, banjo, melodica, and timpani. Also, less common stringed instruments such as mandolin and sitar are used. Rock music usually has a strong back beat, and often revolves around the guitar, either solid electric, hollow electric, or acoustic. Rock music has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll and rockabilly, which evolved from blues, country music and other influences. According to the All Music Guide, "In its purest form, Rock & Roll has three chords, a strong, insistent back beat, and a catchy melody. Early rock & roll drew from a variety of sources, primarily blues, R&B, and country, but also gospel, traditional pop, jazz, and folk. All of these influences combined in a simple, blues-based song structure that was fast, danceable, and catchy." In the late 1960s, rock music was blended with folk music to create folk rock, blues to create blues-rock and with jazz, to create jazz-rock fusion, and without a time signature to create psychedelic rock. In the 1970s, rock incorporated influences from soul, funk, and latin music. Also in the 1970s, rock developed a number of subgenres, such as soft rock, heavy metal, hard rock, progressive rock, and punk rock. Rock subgenres that emerged in the 1980s included synth-rock, hardcore punk and alternative rock. In the 1990s, rock subgenres included grunge, Britpop, indie rock, and nu metal. A group of musicians specializing in rock music is called a rock band or rock group. Many rock groups consist of a guitarist, lead singer, bass guitarist, and drummer, forming a quartet. Some groups omit one or more of these roles and/or utilize a lead singer who plays an instrument while singing, forming a trio or duo; others include additional musicians such as one or two rhythm guitarists and/or a keyboardist. More rarely, groups also utilize stringed instruments such as violins or cellos, and/or horns like trumpets or trombones.

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Art rock Art rock is a term used to describe a subgenre of rock music with "experimental or avant-garde influences" that emphasizes "novel sonic texture." Art rock is an "intrinsically album-based" form, which takes "advantage of the format's capacity for longer, more complex compositions and extended instrumental explorations. The Golden Age of Rock lectures define art rock as "a piece of music in the rock idiom that is appealing more intellectually or musically, that is, not formulated along pop lines for mass consumption. It's usually somewhat experimental. It often employs a long structure with several themes like classical music, though sometimes it's a suite of individual songs. One unifying feature is that Art Rock almost always features keyboards more than guitar." As well, art rock is "not so much for dancing as for listening and it often tells a story or has a philosophical theme to the lyrics.

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rock

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