17 articles
1950s in music
1950s in music: the decade rock and roll emerged (term popularized by Alan Freed, 1951), 45 rpm singles and 33 rpm LPs standardized in 1951, Top 40 youth radio, Elvis Presley's Sun sessions, and State Department jazz tours from 1956.
Anti-folk
Anti-folk (antifolk) is a raw, satirical acoustic songwriting movement founded by Lach in 1980s New York, home at Sidewalk Cafe from 1993, associated with Beck, the Moldy Peaches, Regina Spektor, and Jeffrey Lewis.
Beat music
Beat music, also British beat or Merseybeat, is an early-1960s UK rock genre from Liverpool blending rock & roll, R&B, and skiffle; the Beatles' Merseybeat sound led the British Invasion.
Filk music
Filk music, the folk music of science fiction and fantasy fandom, began as a 1950s typo for "folk"; fans perform it in bardic and chaos song circles at dedicated conventions worldwide.
Folk rock
Folk rock, also folk-rock, is a music genre combining folk and rock: electric renditions of traditional material, from the Byrds' 1965 "Mr. Tambourine Man" through British folk rock to modern indie folk-rock.
Garage rock
Garage rock, also called garage punk or garage bands: raw, amateurish American rock of the mid-1960s, born after the Beatles' 1964 Ed Sullivan appearance, named for suburban rehearsal garages, revived by the 1972 Nuggets compilation and the 1980s and circa-2000 revivals.
Heartland rock
Heartland rock is a style of American rock music that emerged in the late 1970s and flourished in the 1980s, associated with Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty.
Latin rock
Latin rock (rock latino) is a genre fusing rock with Latin American and Caribbean rhythms and languages, named around Santana in 1971 after Carlos Santana's 1969 breakthrough, with 1950s Chicano precursors and a 1990s US "Latin Alternative" marketing wave.
Origins of rock and roll
Origins of rock and roll: the 1950s American genre from 1940s rhythm and blues, blues, gospel, country and pop; Alan Freed popularized the term ca. 1954, leading to rock music by the mid-1960s.
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is the American popular music genre of the late 1940s-1950s, born from rhythm and blues, electric blues, gospel, boogie-woogie, and country; popularized by DJ Alan Freed, mainstreamed by Bill Haley in 1955, and marked by debates over race and appropriation.
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is an early rock and roll style from the mid-1950s American South, blending country (hillbilly) music with rhythm and blues; born at Sun Records with Elvis Presley, defined by slapped upright bass and bluesy lead guitar.
Rocksteady
Rocksteady: Jamaican popular music style of roughly 1966–1968, between ska and reggae; half-speed ska with prominent bass, piano for trombone, vocal trios like the Heptones and Paragons, Alton Ellis and Ken Boothe as key figures.
Roots rock
Roots rock: American rock style blending country, blues, R&B, rock and roll, and folk; arose late 1960s (CCR, Dylan, The Band), revived mid-1980s, overlaps alt-country and Americana.
Rude boy
Rude boy (rudie, rudy): Jamaican youth subculture from 1960s Kingston, unemployed young men in sharp tonic suits and pork-pie hats, subject of ska and rocksteady records, later influencing British skinheads and two-tone ska.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter: a musician who writes and performs their own songs, both music and lyrics, usually self-accompanied on guitar or piano. Term first attested 1949, popularized in the late-1950s American folk boom; Bob Dylan among the first so labeled; related to troubadour, chanson, and cantautori traditions.
Ska
Ska, or ska music, is a Jamaican popular music genre that emerged around 1960, defined by its offbeat accent, walking bass, and horns; it slowed into rocksteady and then reggae.
Surf music
Surf music, also called surf rock, is a rock style from early 1960s Southern California known for reverb-heavy guitar instrumentals and the Beach Boys' vocal harmonies.