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| Lenny Kravitz - performing at Brixton Academy. |
Rock
At a Glance
A Musical style that arose in the U.S. in the mid-1950s and became the dominant form of popular music in the world. Though rock has used a wide variety of instruments, its basic elements are one or several vocalists, heavily amplified electric guitars (including bass, rhythm, and lead), and drums. It began as a simple style, relying on heavy, dance-oriented rhythms, uncomplicated melodies and harmonies, and lyrics sympathetic to its teenage audience’s concerns – young love, the stresses of adolescence, and automobiles.
Its roots lay principally in rhythm and blues (R&B) and country music. Both R&B and country existed outside the mainstream of popular music in the early 1950s, when the Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed (1921–65) and others began programming R&B, which until then had been played only to black audiences.
"rock music." Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2006.
Answers.com 06 Dec. 2007. http://www.answers.com/topic/rock-music
