|| Bluegrass Music || Blues Music || Bossa Nova Music || Classical Music ||
|| Dance Music || Fiddle Music || Funk Music || Gypsy Music || Irish / Celtic Music ||
|| Italian Music || Jazz Music || Jewish / Klezmer Music || Latin Music ||
|| Rock & Roll Music || Ska Music || Swing Music || Tango Music || Violin Music ||

Rock and roll is fun, exciting music which is excellent when played at parties and events. Influenced by the blues, country, and R&B, rock music is an amalgamation of different sounds which, when combined, changed the face of music for years to come. Rock pioneers such as Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Who, Bob Dylan — and later “super-groups” like Led Zeppelin and Electric Light Orchestra — along with many, many others have helped to shape and define the genre over the years.

Initially derived from the blues, rock music features prominent vocal melodies paired with electric guitar, bass and drums. While Rock is characterized by its strong backbeat, organs, pianos, synthesizers, violins and full orchestras are also commonly used to create a fuller, lush sound.

Also characteristic of rock music is its process of borrowing and giving back to its predecessors. A fusion of popular musical cultures itself, its impact fed back to these cultures and became an influence that continues to develop the genre. Rock ‘n’ Roll had runaway success in the United States and brought R&B music into the international spotlight. Rock’s success led to a dilution of the meaning of the word, as promoters were very quick to attach the label to other brands of commercial pop, and thus the art form expanded.

The genre’s inception in the early-to-mid 1950’s was due to African-American artists such as Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Bo Diddley, as well as Fats Domino. These artists played predominantly to African-American crowds. While these artists were disinclined to racism, local authorities and dance halls were very much racially divided.

Rock and roll met mainstream acceptance in the mid-50’s when what Bo Diddley describes as “ofay dudes,“ or Caucasians, signed to major music labels and started covering material by African-American artists. Elvis Presley and Bill Haley and the Comets, Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash often toured together and played together in dance halls and clubs in the US and Britain.

Rock is an ever-changing and evolving genre of music that continues to captivate its audiences. Today an expansive list of musical variants exists under “rock and roll.” The list of genres underneath the rock and roll moniker — Southern Rock, Punk, Ska, Rockabilly, New Wave, Brit Rock, Emo, etc. — is so expansive that it would be impossible to cover them in brief. Suffice it to say that the wide variety of these subgenres is proof positive that rock and roll is still alive and well.

Click here to book Rock & Roll Music for your event!

|| Bluegrass Music || Blues Music || Bossa Nova Music || Classical Music ||
|| Dance Music || Fiddle Music || Funk Music || Gypsy Music || Irish / Celtic Music ||
|| Italian Music || Jazz Music || Jewish / Klezmer Music || Latin Music ||
|| Rock & Roll Music || Ska Music || Swing Music || Tango Music || Violin Music ||