| Early British Rock Music In The Era Of 1950s And 60s |
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Rock music was a genre of music that emerged during the 1960s. It evolved out of a varied type of music which included rock and roll, rhythm and blues, folk, jazz, country and classical music. The genre attained immense popularity amongst the youth in the 1960s, a time when rebellion was the war cry of those who were young. Today, the genre is popular amongst a varied audience.
Rock music, as the name suggests, is "rocking". The effect is produced with the help of electric/acoustic guitar, which forms the main instrument of every rock performance. However, the guitar is incomplete without thumping beats of drums, the base guitar and key board instruments. Technology has changed the form of these instruments but they still continue to provide the background music in a rock performance. Rock Music in Britain in 1950s Rock music developed in the United Kingdom in a big way in the 1950s. It was heralded by touring blues artists of the US trad jazz movement. This development highlighted the fact that race was not an issue in UK when it came to music. The only thing which people cared was good music. And the R&B groups gave it to them. The first major rock album to attain a cult status was Lonnie Donegan's 1955 hit "Rock Island Line". It had an immense influence on English audiences. This development also helped in the development of skiffle music (a type of folk music) groups across United Kingdom. John Lennon's famous Liverpool-based skiffle group 'The Quarry Men' was a result of this influence of R&B on music in UK. The album which became the first British rock 'n' roll hit was "Move It", by Cliff Richards. The album heralded the rise of rock music in Britain as well. By the early 1960s, Richards' backing group The Shadows churned out immensely successful instrumental rock. Similar groups were also springing up in bars and clubs, enthralling their audiences with a never seen before performance full of intensity and drive. The hugely popular and immensely successful Rock and roll group The Beatles emerged during the end of 1962. They started the act by reinterpreting the standard American tunes, playing it for a crowd which was essentially interested in dancing with a twist. They gradually moved on to fusing more complex ideas into music, and also using original rock compositions. Their rise consolidated rock music on the British scene. Along with the Beatles, there emerged another hit rock group called The Rolling Stones. This group, along with other rock groups such as The Yardbirds and The Animals, reflected a lot of blues influence on their music. However, by late 1964 there emerged a new style of music called the Mod style. The groups which represented this type of music were The Kinks, The Pretty Things and The Who. The decade of the rocking 1960s ended with a major cultural shift, after which rock became synonymous with rebellion. British rock groups started experimenting with psychedelic styles. The style based itself on a desire to attain a hallucinogenic experience through music, and drugs. Related Articles
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