Since the dawn of rock music in the 1950s and continuing through the 1960s, various artists pushed the boundaries of the genre to emphasize speed, aggression, volume, theatricality, and other elements that became staples of the heavy metal style. In the late 1960s, this experimentation coalesced into various rock subgenres like

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

, acid rock, and

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

, which were all influential in the development of heavy metal. These albums would later be retroactively categorised as proto-metal.

Bands formed

1955

* Hasil Adkins

1958

* Vince Taylor

1959

* The Kingsmen

1962

* The Rolling Stones *

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...

1963

* The Kinks * The Yardbirds Walser 1993, p. 9 "Mid-1960s groups like the Yardbirds, Cream and the Jeff Beck Group combined the rock and roll style of Chuck Berry with the earthy blues of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. Along with Jimi Hendrix, these British blues band developed the sounds that would define metal: heavy drums and bass, virtuosic distorted guitar, and a powerful vocal style that used screams and growls as signs of transgression and transcendence." Borthwick & Moy 2001, p. 138 "In the main, the earliest manifestation of metal in the mid to late 1960s (and known at the time as 'rock' or 'hard rock') can be found in the work of groups such as The Yardbirds, Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience in Britain, and Blue Cheer, Steppenwolf and Vanilla Fudge in the US."

1964

* The Amboy Dukes *

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Ju ...

MC5 MC5, also commonly called The MC5, is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The original line-up consisted of Rob Tyner (vocals) Wayne Kramer (guitar), Fred "Sonic" Smith (guitar), Michael Davis (bass), and Dennis ...

Bukszpan 2003, p. 300 "Detroit's MC5 is widely regarded as one of the forerunners of punk rock, but the group's raw, distorted style certainly helped define heavy metal as well." * The Who Bukszpan 2003, p. 288 "The Kinks and The Who stretch rock-and-roll boundaries with "You Really Got Me" and "My Generation" respectively, creating primitive versions of heavy metal in the process."

1965

* Big Brother and the Holding Company * The Doors * The Grateful Dead *

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

* Quicksilver Messenger Service * Scorpions Walser 1993, p. 10 "A "second generation of heavy metal," the first to claim the name unambiguously, was also active throughout the 1970s: KISS, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Judas Priest, Ted Nugent, Rush, Motorhead, Rainbow, Blue Öyster Cult. Scorpions, from Germany, became the first heavy metal band from a non-English speaking country to achieve international success."

1966

* Blue Cheer * Cream * The Jimi Hendrix Experience * Iron Butterfly * Moby Grape * The Move * Slade

1967

* Blue Öyster Cult *

Budgie Budgie may refer to: Arts * Budgie (album), ''Budgie'' (album), the debut album by the Welsh heavy metal band Budgie * Budgie (band), a Welsh heavy metal band from Cardiff * Budgie (musician) (born 1957), English drummer * Budgie (TV series), ''Bu ...

* The Deviants *

Jeff Beck Group The Jeff Beck Group was a British rock band formed in London in January 1967 by former Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck. Their innovative approach to heavy-sounding blues, rhythm and blues and rock was a major influence on popular music. First ...

* Jethro Tull * Steppenwolf * The Stooges * Vanilla Fudge

1968

Accept Accept may refer to: * Acceptance, a person's assent to the reality of a situation etc. * Accept (band), a German heavy metal band ** ''Accept'' (Accept album), their debut album from 1979 * ''Accept'' (Chicken Shack album), 1970 * ACCEPT (or ...

(as Band X) * Alice Cooper * Black Sabbath Walser 1993, p. 10 "''The sound that would become known as heavy metal was definitely codified in 1970 with the release of Led Zeppelin II, Black Sabbath's Paranoid, and Deep Purple In Rock.''" (as Earth) * Breakout *

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

* Edgar Broughton Band *

Free Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procur ...

* Grand Funk Railroad * Led Zeppelin * Meat Loaf *

Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...

Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

(as The Projection) * Sir Lord Baltimore * Sweet * Warpig * Writing on the Wall

1969

* The Allman Brothers Band * April Wine * Argent *

Atomic Rooster Atomic Rooster are a British rock band originally formed by members of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, organist Vincent Crane and drummer Carl Palmer. Throughout their history, keyboardist Vincent Crane was the only constant member and wrote ...

Bang Bang or bangs may refer to: Products * M1922 Bang rifle, a US semi-automatic rifle designed by Søren Hansen Bang * Bang, a model car brand * Bang (beverage), an energy drink Geography * Bang, Lorestan, a village in Iran * Bangs, Ohio, Uni ...

Blackfoot The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'' or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bla ...

* Blind Faith *

Bloodrock Bloodrock was an American hard rock band based in Fort Worth, Texas, that had success in the 1970s. The band emerged from the Fort Worth club and music scene during the early to mid-1970s. Early career Bloodrock initially formed in Fort Worth ...

* Blue Mountain Eagle *

Blues Creation Blues Creation is a Japanese rock band formed in Tokyo in 1969. Led by guitarist/singer Kazuo Takeda, they were known as Blues Creation from 1969 to 1972 and after a three-year hiatus returned as simply Creation in 1975. Biography Blues Creation ...

Brownsville Station Brownsville station is a Metrorail station in Brownsville, Florida. It is located at the intersection of Northwest 27th Avenue ( SR 9) and 52nd Street, opening to service May 19, 1985. Station layout Places of interest *Brownsville *Joseph Ca ...

* Cactus *

Coven A coven () is a group or gathering of witches. The word "coven" (from Anglo-Norman ''covent, cuvent'', from Old French ''covent'', from Latin ''conventum'' = convention) remained largely unused in English until 1921 when Margaret Murray promote ...

Crushed Butler Crushed Butler were a British proto-punk/ hard rock band that existed between 1969 and 1971. According to 2008's ''Pretty Vacant: A History of UK Punk'', the band "was, in many ways, Britain's first proto-punk band." Band members went on to ...

* Dust *

Elonkorjuu Elonkorjuu is a Finland, Finnish progressive rock band formed in 1969. It was first active until 1978 and re-established in 2003. History Elonkorjuu was founded in the western Finnish city of Pori in the autumn of 1969. A year later the band wa ...

* Eloy * Epitaph * Faces * Focus *

Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal, and jazz ...

* Grand Funk Railroad * Granicus * Hawkwind * High Tide *

Hookfoot Hookfoot was a British rock band, active from 1969 to 1974. The band was formed by Caleb Quaye (guitars, piano and vocals) and three fellow DJM Records session musicians, Ian Duck (vocals, guitars and harmonica), Roger Pope (drums) and David G ...

Humble Pie Humble Pie are an English rock band formed by guitarist and singer Steve Marriott in Moreton, Essex, in 1969. They are known as one of the first supergroups of the late 1960s and found success in the early 1970s with songs such as " Black Cof ...

* Iron Claw *

Jacula Jacula was an Italian rock music, rock band founded in 1969 in Milan as an experiment by Antonio Bartoccetti, Doris Norton, organist Charles Tiring and Mediumship, medium Franz Porthenzy. Jacula's music was considered innovative for the time in p ...

Josefus Josefus was an American rock band from Houston, Texas, United States, who have been credited as "one of the first models for the blunt sound of Texas hard rock and heavy metal." They were also mentioned in an article in ''Classic Rock'' titled ...

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...

(as Freight) * King Crimson * Leaf Hound *

Little Free Rock Little Free Rock was an English late 1960s psychedelic rock, psychedelic hard rock trio from Preston, Lancashire, Preston in Lancashire. It featured Peter Illingworth (lead guitar and vocals) (born 21 July 1943, Inglewhite Road, Longridge, Lanc ...

May Blitz May Blitz was a Canadian-British hard rock power trio that was active in the early 1970s. The group was formed in 1969 by bassist Terry Poole and drummer Keith Baker, the rhythm section of the blues-rock trio Bakerloo, both of whom l ...

Morly Grey Morly Grey is an American psychedelic rock band that formed in the late 1960s. The group recorded their first album, '' The Only Truth'', which was released in 1972. Some discographies and music catalogs continue to list the album's release da ...

* Mott the Hoople * Mountain *

Neon Rose Neon Rose was a Swedish hard rock band. They released three albums between 1974 and 1975, but failed to make any impact outside of their native country. History The band arose in 1969 by members Roger Holegard, Piero Mengarelli and Benno Mengar ...

New Riders of the Purple Sage New Riders of the Purple Sage is an American country rock band. The group emerged from the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco in 1969 and its original lineup included several members of the Grateful Dead. The band is sometimes referred ...

November November is the eleventh and penultimate month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars, the fourth and last of four months to have a length of 30 days and the fifth and last of five months to have a length of fewer than 31 days. No ...

* Thin Lizzy * Titanic *

Toe Fat Toe Fat were an English rock band, active from June 1969 to 1971, notable for including two future members of Uriah Heep and a future member of Jethro Tull. Career Formed in June 1969, the band was fronted by former Rebel Rouser Cliff Benn ...

* Trapeze *

Truth and Janey Truth and Janey was an American rock band from Iowa. It took its name from Jeff Beck's Truth album and member Billy Janey's last name. The group was influenced by such power trios as Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience. The band toured with Les ...

Tucky Buzzard Tucky Buzzard were a British hard rock band formed in 1969 by three former members of The End. The original lineup was Jimmy Henderson (vocals), Terry Taylor (guitar), David Brown (bass), Paul Francis (drums), and Nick Graham (keyboards). Hal ...

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

Uriah Heep Uriah Heep may refer to: * Uriah Heep (character), a character in the Charles Dickens novel ''David Copperfield'' *Uriah Heep (band), a British rock band active since 1969 *''Uriah Heep Live ''Uriah Heep Live'' is a double live album by Britis ...

* Wishbone Ash * ZZ Top

Songs

1949

* "Cold Blooded Blues" by The Great "Gates" & His Wampus Cats

1950

* "Boogie In The Park" by Joe Hill Louis

1951

* "

How Many More Years "How Many More Years" is a blues song written and originally recorded by Howlin' Wolf in 1951. Recorded at the Memphis Recording Service – which later became the Sun Studio – it was released by Chess Records and reached No. 4 on the '' Bill ...

" by Howlin' Wolf

1954

* "Cotton Crop Blues" by James Cotton * "I'm Gonna Murder My Baby" by

Pat Hare Auburn "Pat" Hare was a Memphis electric blues guitarist and singer. His heavily distortion (music), distorted, power chord–driven electric guitar performances in the early 1950s is considered an important precursor of heavy metal music.Robert P ...

1955

* " No More Hot Dogs" by Hasil Adkins * "A Cutie Named Judy" by Jerry McCain

1956

* " I Put a Spell On You" by

Screamin' Jay Hawkins Jalacy J. "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins (July 18, 1929 – February 12, 2000) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, film producer, and boxer. Famed chiefly for his powerful, operatic vocal delivery and wildly theatrical performances of s ...

* "Little Demon" by

* "

The Train Kept A-Rollin' "Train Kept A-Rollin'" (or "The Train Kept A-Rollin'") is a song first recorded by American jazz and rhythm and blues musician Tiny Bradshaw in 1951. Originally performed in the style of a jump blues, Bradshaw borrowed lyrics from an earlier so ...

" by Johnny Burnette

1957

* " Suzie Q" by Dale Hawkins * " Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis Presley * "Gang War" by

Gene Maltais Gene Maltais is an American musician, singer and songwriter. Personal biography He was born in Concord, New Hampshire, on May 21, 1933. Music biography In 1957 he released " Crazy Baby" as Gene Maltais With The Anita Kerr Singers. Another releas ...

1958

* "Justine" by Don and Dewey * "Rockin' This Joint Tonight" by Kid Thomas * "Rock & Roll Guitar" by Johnny Knight * "Love Me" by

Jerry Lott Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian film ...

(as the Phantom) * "

Rumble Rumble or Rumbling may refer to: Sounds and vibrations * Rumble (noise), a form of low frequency noise * Rumble, a haptic feedback vibration feature in video game controllers * Rumbling, a quality of a heart murmur * Stomach rumble, or borbory ...

" by

Link Wray Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s. ''Rolling Stone'' placed Wray at No. 45 of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. In 2013 ...

* "Sunglasses After Dark" by Dwight Pullen * "Whistle Bait" by The Collins Kids * "Bop-A-Lena" by

Ronnie Self Ronnie Self (July 5, 1938 – August 28, 1981) was an American rockabilly singer and songwriter. His solo career was unsuccessful, despite being signed to contracts with Columbia and then Decca from the late 1950s through the early 1960s. Hi ...

1959

* "Rock and Roll Deacon" by Screamin' Joe Neal

1960

* " I Fought the Law" by The Crickets * " Shakin' All Over" by Johnny Kidd & the Pirates

1961

* " Jack the Ripper" by

Screaming Lord Sutch Screaming Lord Sutch (10 November 1940 – 16 June 1999), who had his name legally changed from David Edward Sutch, was an English musician and perennial parliamentary candidate. He was the founder of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party an ...

* "Don't Worry" by Marty Robbins

1962

* " Miserlou" by Dick Dale * " Palisades Park" by

Freddy Cannon Frederick Anthony Picariello, Jr. (born December 4, 1936), better known by his stage name Freddy Cannon, is an American rock and roll singer, whose biggest international hits included "Tallahassee Lassie", " Way Down Yonder in New Orleans", and " ...

* "The Girl Cant Dance" by Bunker Hill * "Scream" by Ralph Nielson

1963

* " Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen * " Surfin' Bird" by The Trashmen

1964

*" You Really Got Me" and " All Day and All of the Night" by The Kinks

1965

*" Action" by

*" My Generation" by The Who * "

" by The Yardbirds

1966

Inside-Looking Out "Inside-Looking Out", often written "Inside Looking Out", is a 1966 single by the Animals, and their first for Decca Records. It was a substantial hit, reaching number 40 on the UK Singles Chart, number 21 in Canada, and number 34 in the United ...

" by The Animals *" Hold Tight!" by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich *"

96 Tears "96 Tears" is a song recorded by the American garage rock band ? and the Mysterians in 1966 (''see'' 1966 in music). In October of that year, it was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the U.S. and on the RPM (magazine), ''RPM'' ...

" by ? and the Mysterians *" Talk Talk" by The Music Machine *"

Wild Thing Wild Thing or Wild Things can refer to: Books and comics * Wild Thing (comics), a 1999 Marvel Comics superheroine in the MC2 alternate future * ''The Wild Things'', a 2009 novel written by Dave Eggers Film and television * ''Wild Thing'' (film), ...

" by The Troggs

1967

*" I Can See for Miles" by The Who *"

Mr. Soul "Mr. Soul" is a song recorded by the Canadian-American rock band Buffalo Springfield in 1967. It was released June 15, 1967, as the B-side to their fourth single "Bluebird" and later included on the group's second album ''Buffalo Springfield Agai ...

" by Buffalo Springfield *"

Purple Haze "Purple Haze" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and released as the second single by the Jimi Hendrix Experience on March 17, 1967. The song features his inventive guitar playing, which uses the signature Hendrix chord and a mix of blues and Ea ...

" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience *"

Sunshine of Your Love "Sunshine of Your Love" is a 1967 song by the British rock band Cream. With elements of hard rock, psychedelia, and pop, it is one of Cream's best known and most popular songs. Cream bassist and vocalist Jack Bruce based it on a distinctive b ...

" by Cream *" White Rabbit" & " Somebody to Love" by

* "Down on Me" by Big Brother and the Holding Company * "Street Singer" by

Clear Light Clear Light was an American psychedelic rock band that was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1966. The group released one studio album, ''Clear Light''. It had moderate national success before the group disbanded. History In 1966, The Brain Tr ...

* " You Keep Me Hangin' On" by Vanilla Fudge

1968

*" Fire" by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown *" Born to Be Wild" by Steppenwolf *" Voodoo Child" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience *" Helter Skelter" by The Beatles *"

The House at Pooneil Corners "The House at Pooneil Corners" is a song by the American rock group Jefferson Airplane which first appeared on their album ''Crown of Creation'' as the eleventh and final track, and also appears on their album ''The Roar of Jefferson Airplane'' al ...

" by

*’’ Hurdy Gurdy Man’’ by

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...

* "A Trial In Our Native Town" by Savage Rose *" In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly *"Summertime Blues" by Blue Cheer

1969

21st Century Schizoid Man "21st Century Schizoid Man" is a song by the progressive rock band King Crimson from their 1969 debut album ''In the Court of the Crimson King''. Often regarded as the group's signature song, it has been described by sources such as Rolling Ston ...

" by King Crimson *"

The Nile Song "The Nile Song", written by Roger Waters and sung by David Gilmour, is the second song from Pink Floyd's 1969 album ''More (soundtrack), More'', the soundtrack to More (1969 film), the film of the same name. It was released as a single in 1969 (o ...

" by

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:1960s In Heavy Metal Music 1960s in heavy metal music 1960s in music