| − | Rock music is a style of music that is characterised by a prominent [[drum]] beat and a harmonic structure consisting of guitar and bass. | + | Rock music is a style of music derived from the blues, characterised by a prominent [[drum]] beat in 4:4 time, accompanied by electric bass guitar providing the harmonic underpinning for the melody of electric guitar and vocals. |
| − | [[Elvis Presley]] was an early pioneer of Rock, as were the [[Beatles]]. | + | [[Elvis Presley]] and [[Buddy Holly]] were early pioneers of Rock in the late 1950's, as were the [[Beatles]] and [[Rolling Stones]] throughout the 1960s. In the 1970s the stadium rock of bands such as [[Boston]] and [[Pink Floyd]] became formulaic and overwrought, setting the stage for a backlash called [[Punk rock]] which evolved, with the addition of synthesizers, into [[New wave]] well into the 1980s. By the latter half of that decade, [[Glam rock]] had stultified into MTV-friendly "hair metal", and the stage was set for Nirvana and the Seattle scene, a darker and heavier version of punk known as [[Grunge]]. By 1994 and the death of Kurt Cobain, grunge had changed into the stable formula of alternative rock that continues to be popular today. |