Tobias Barreto

Rock is a broad genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdom. It has its roots in rock and roll, a style that drew directly from the black musical genres of blues and rhythm and blues, as well as 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 is typically 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 and 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 until its decline in 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, with the Beatles at the forefront of this development. 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 few 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, heavy metal, which emphasized an aggressive thick sound, 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...)

Thin Lizzy are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. The band initially consisted of bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Eric Bell and organist Eric Wrixon although Wrixon left after a few months. Bell left at the end of 1973 and was briefly replaced by Gary Moore, who himself was replaced in mid-1974 by twin lead guitarists: Scott Gorham, who remained with the band until their break-up in 1983, and Brian Robertson, who remained with the band until 1978 when Moore re-joined. Moore left a second time and was replaced by Snowy White in 1980, who was himself replaced by John Sykes in 1982. The line-up was augmented by keyboardist Darren Wharton in 1980.

The singles "Whiskey in the Jar" (1972), "The Boys Are Back in Town" (1976) and "Waiting for an Alibi" (1979) were international hits, and several Thin Lizzy albums reached the top ten in the UK. The band's music reflects a wide range of influences including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock, and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or sometimes heavy metal. Lynott led the group throughout their fourteen-year recording career of twelve studio albums, writing or co-writing almost all the band's material. He was the first Black Irishman to achieve commercial success in the field of rock music. Thin Lizzy featured several guitarists throughout their history, with Downey and Lynott as the rhythm section on the drums and bass guitar. As well as being multiracial, the band drew their early members not only from both sides of the Irish border but from both the Catholic and Protestant communities during The Troubles.

After Lynott's death in 1986, various incarnations of the band emerged over the years based initially around guitarists Gorham and Sykes although Sykes left the band in 2009. Gorham later continued with a new line-up which included Downey. In 2012, Gorham and Downey decided against recording new material as Thin Lizzy so a new band, Black Star Riders, was formed to tour and produce new releases. Thin Lizzy have since reunited for occasional concerts.

Rolling Stone magazine describes the band as distinctly hard rock, "far apart from the braying mid-70s metal pack". AllMusic critic John Dougan wrote, "As the band's creative force, Lynott was a more insightful and intelligent writer than many of his ilk, preferring slice-of-life working-class dramas of love and hate influenced by Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and virtually all of the Irish literary tradition." (Full article...)

More selected articles

Good article Read more

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant figures of the 20th century. Over a four-decade career, his music achievements broke racial barriers in America and made him a dominant figure across the world. Through songs, stages, and fashion, he proliferated visual performance for artists in popular music; popularizing street dance moves including the moonwalk, the robot, and the anti-gravity lean. Jackson is often deemed the greatest entertainer of all time based on his acclaim and records.

The eighth child of the Jackson family, Michael made his public debut in 1964 at age six, as a member of the Jackson 5 (later known as the Jacksons). After signing with Motown in 1968, the band achieved worldwide success with him as its lead singer. Jackson achieved solo stardom with the release of his fifth album Off the Wall (1979). He followed it up with Thriller (1982), the best-selling album of all time, which aided in the popularization of MTV and revolutionized the music video medium with the videos for its title track along with "Beat It" and "Billie Jean". Jackson furthered his position as a global superstar with Bad (1987), the world's best-selling album of both 1987 and 1988, as well as the first album to produce five US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles: "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror", and "Dirty Diana". Dangerous (1991) marked a new era for Jackson, lauded as his most artistic and socially conscious album. HIStory (1995) produced "You Are Not Alone", the first song to debut at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. His final album, Invincible, was released in 2001.

From the late 1980s, Jackson became a figure of controversy and speculation due to his changing appearance, relationships, behavior, and lifestyle. He was accused of sexually abusing the child of a family friend in 1993. In 2005, Jackson was tried and acquitted of further child sexual abuse allegations and all other charges. While preparing for This Is It (a series of comeback concerts), Jackson died in 2009 from an overdose of propofol administered by his personal physician Conrad Murray, who was convicted in 2011 of involuntary manslaughter. Jackson's death triggered reactions around the world, creating unprecedented surges of internet traffic and a spike in sales of his music. His televised memorial service, held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, was estimated to have been viewed by more than 2.5 billion people.

Jackson is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of over 500 million records worldwide. He had 13 Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles (the fourth-highest in Hot 100 history) and is the first artist to have a top-ten single on the chart in five different decades. Jackson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (twice), the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Dance Hall of Fame (the only recording artist to be inducted). One of the most-awarded artists in popular music, his accolades include 13 Grammy Awards, the Grammy Legend Award, and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award; 26 American Music Awards, including Artist of the Century; 12 World Music Awards; six Brit Awards; the Bambi Pop Artist of the Millennium Award; and three presidential honors. In 1992, Jackson founded Heal the World Foundation, donating an estimated $500 million to charity throughout his lifetime. In 2024, half of his music catalogue sold to Sony for $600 million, the largest music acquisition for a single artist in history. (Full article...)

More selected biographies

Featured article Read more

Come to the Well is the fifth studio album by American contemporary Christian band Casting Crowns, released on October 18, 2011, through Beach Street and Reunion Records. The album, which has a predominantly pop rock and rock sound, was based on the Biblical story of the woman at the well. In writing the album, lead vocalist Mark Hall collaborated with songwriters Steven Curtis Chapman, Matthew West, and Tom Douglas. The album received mostly positive reviews from critics, many of whom praised the album's songwriting, and received the award for Top Christian Album at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards.

Although it was projected to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 by music industry analysts, Come to the Well debuted at number two on the chart and number one on the Christian Albums chart with first-week sales of 99,000 units. It also debuted on the Canadian Albums Chart at number sixty-nine and appeared at number eight on the New Zealand Albums Chart in 2012 following the band's appearance at the 2012 Parachute Music Festival. The album has sold over 779,000 copies and has received a Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album's lead single, "Courageous", peaked at number one on the Billboard Christian Songs chart and at number four on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. (Full article...)

More selected albums

Read more

"Kicks" is a song composed by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, best known as a 1966 hit for American rock band Paul Revere & the Raiders.

Mann and Weill wrote the song for the Animals, but the band's lead singer Eric Burdon turned it down. Instead, Paul Revere & the Raiders recorded and released it as a single in 1966. The single was a number one hit in Canada, and reached number four in the United States. "Kicks" was included on the band's fifth album, Midnight Ride, released in May 1966. A live version of the song was recorded on the band's 1996 Greatest Hits Live compilation album.

Considered one of the earliest anti-drug songs, "Kicks" was composed and released during an era in which pro-hippie, pro-experimentation, and other counterculture themes were gaining popularity on U.S. FM radio stations. The song's message was consequently perceived as outdated by the emerging youth counterculture, as popular artists ranging from the Beatles to Jefferson Airplane had written songs whose themes sharply contrasted that of "Kicks." However, the song has received generally positive reviews by music critics in the decades since its release. In 2004, "Kicks" was ranked number 400 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. (Full article...)

More selected songs

Read more

Credit: Stefan Krause LAL

Henrik Freischlader performing in Saarbrücken, Germany in 2009.

More selected pictures

Read more

• ... that Rolling Stone listed Ácido Argentino as the most essential album of Argentine heavy metal?
• ... that raw material waste from the West influenced a generation of rock music in China?
• ... that the Liverpool Echo described British rock and roll star Tommy Steele as "quite unable to sing and play the guitar at the same time" when reviewing his first album?
• ... 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"?

Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed "progressive pop", the style emerged from psychedelic bands who abandoned standard pop or rock traditions in favour of instrumental and compositional techniques more commonly associated with jazz, folk, or classical music, while retaining the instrumentation typical of rock music. Additional elements contributed to its "progressive" label: lyrics were more poetic, technology was harnessed for new sounds, music approached the condition of "art", and the studio, rather than the stage, became the focus of musical activity, which often involved creating music for listening rather than dancing. (Full article...)

More selected genres

Good article Read more

Blues	Music	Pop music

• WikiProject Rock music (Main rock project)
• WikiProject Metal
• WikiProject Black Metal
• WikiProject Alternative music
• WikiProject Punk music
• WikiProject Progressive Rock
• WikiProject Music Directory

Expand: College rock, Electronic rock, Pop rock
Clean Up: Instrumental rock, Rap rock, New wave, Industrial rock, Progressive metal, Southern rock, Folk rock, Funk rock, Space rock
Add Sources: Pagan rock
Join one of the many WikiProjects pertaining to Rock music.

No recent news