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Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of
rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...
typified by aggressive vocals and distorted
electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...
s. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the
garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicl ...
,
psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...
and
blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...
movements. Some of the earliest hard rock music was produced by
the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...
,
the Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...
,
the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
,
Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...
,
Vanilla Fudge Vanilla Fudge is an American rock band known predominantly for their slow extended heavy rock arrangements of contemporary hit songs, such as their hit cover of the Supremes' " You Keep Me Hangin' On". The band's original line–up was vocali ...
, and
the Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
. In the late 1960s, bands such as
Blue Cheer Blue Cheer was an American rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009. Based in San Francisco, Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic blues rock or acid rock style. The ...
,
the 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. Histo ...
,
Iron Butterfly Iron Butterfly was an American rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1966. They are best known for the 1968 hit " In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", providing a dramatic sound that led the way towards the development of hard rock and heavy metal m ...
,
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
,
Creedence Clearwater Revival Creedence Clearwater Revival, commonly abbreviated as CCR or simply Creedence, was an American Rock music, rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty, h ...
,
Golden Earring Golden Earring were a Dutch rock music, rock band, founded in 1961 in The Hague as The Tornados. They achieved worldwide fame with their international hit songs "Radar Love" in 1973, which went to number one on the Dutch chart, reached the top ...
, Steppenwolf,
Grand Funk Railroad Grand Funk Railroad (often shortened to Grand Funk) is an American rock band formed in Flint, Michigan, in 1969 by Mark Farner (vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica), Don Brewer (drums, vocals) and Mel Schacher (bass). The band achieved pea ...
, Free, and
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, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...
also produced hard rock. The genre developed into a major form of
popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
in the 1970s, with the Who, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple being joined by
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...
,
Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...
,
Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...
,
Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...
,
Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...
,
AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...
,
Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. The band initially consisted of bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Eric Bell and organist Eric Wrixon although Wr ...
and
Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...
. During the 1980s, some hard rock bands moved away from their hard rock roots and more towards
pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , pp. 903–5. Established bands made a comeback in the mid-1980s and hard rock reached a commercial peak in the 1980s with
glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal music, heavy metal that features pop music, pop-influenced Hook (music), hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat arena rock, rock anthems, and slow Sentimental ballad#Powe ...
bands such as
Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...
,
Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...
and
Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drummer), Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen (guitar, ...
as well as the rawer sounds of
Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...
which followed with great success in the later part of that decade. Hard rock began losing popularity with the commercial success of R&B,
hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
,
urban pop Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary rad ...
,
grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...
and later
Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...
in the 1990s. Despite this, many
post-grunge Post-grunge is an offshoot of grunge that has a less abrasive or intense tone than traditional grunge. Originally, the term was used almost pejoratively to label mid-1990s alternative rock bands such as Bush (British band), Bush, Candlebox, Colle ...
bands adopted a hard rock sound and the 2000s saw a renewed interest in established bands, attempts at a revival, and new hard rock bands. In the 2000s, only a few hard rock bands from the 1970s and 1980s managed to sustain highly successful recording careers.


Definitions

Hard rock is a form of loud, aggressive rock music. The electric guitar is often emphasised, used with
distortion In signal processing, distortion is the alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic) of a signal. In communications and electronics it means the alteration of the waveform of an information-bearing signal, such as an audio signal ...
and other effects, both as a rhythm instrument using repetitive riffs with a varying degree of complexity, and as a solo
lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
instrument. Drumming characteristically focuses on driving rhythms, strong bass drum and a
backbeat In music and music theory, the beat is the basic unit of time, the pulse (regularly repeating event), of the ''mensural level'' (or ''beat level''). The beat is often defined as the rhythm listeners would tap their toes to when listening to a pi ...
on snare, sometimes using cymbals for emphasis.R. Shuker, ''Popular Music: the Key Concepts'', (Abingdon: Routledge, 2nd end., 2005), , pp. 130–1. The bass guitar works in conjunction with the drums, occasionally playing riffs, but usually providing a backing for the rhythm and lead guitars. Vocals are often growling, raspy, or involve screaming or wailing, sometimes in a high range, or even
falsetto Falsetto ( , ; Italian language, Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ...
voice. In the late-1960s, the term heavy metal was used interchangeably with hard rock, but gradually began to be used to describe music played with even more volume and intensity. While hard rock maintained a bluesy
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
identity, including some swing in the back beat and riffs that tended to outline chord progressions in their hooks, heavy metal's riffs often functioned as stand-alone melodies and had no swing in them.. In the 1980s, heavy metal developed a number of subgenres, often termed
extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...
, some of which were influenced by
hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...
, and which further differentiated the two styles.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , pp. 1332–3. Despite this differentiation, hard rock and heavy metal have coexisted with one another, with bands frequently flirting with the boundaries of, or hybridizing the genres.


History

The roots of hard rock can be traced back to the mid-to-late 1950s, particularly
electric blues Electric blues is blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the late 1930s and John Lee Ho ...
, which laid the foundations for key elements such as a rough declamatory vocal style, heavy guitar
riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...
s, string-bending blues-scale
guitar solo A guitar solo is a melody, melodic passage, instrumental section (music), section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, classical, electric guitar, electric, or acoustic guitar. In 20th and ...
s, strong
beat Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of inte ...
, thick riff-laden
texture Texture may refer to: Science and technology * Image texture, the spatial arrangement of color or intensities in an image * Surface texture, the smoothness, roughness, or bumpiness of the surface of an object * Texture (roads), road surface c ...
, and posturing performances.Michael Campbell & James Brody (2007), ''Rock and Roll: An Introduction''
page 201
/ref> Electric blues
guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...
s began experimenting with hard rock elements such as driving rhythms, distorted guitar solos and
power chord A power chord , also called a fifth chord, is a colloquial name for a chord on guitar, especially on electric guitar, that consists of the root note and the fifth, as well as possibly octaves of those notes. Power chords are commonly pla ...
s in the 1950s, evident in the work of
Memphis blues The Memphis blues is a style of blues music created from the 1910s to the 1930s by musicians in the Memphis area, such as Frank Stokes, Sleepy John Estes, Furry Lewis and Memphis Minnie. The style was popular in vaudeville and medicine sho ...
guitarists such as
Joe Hill Louis Lester Hill (September 23, 1921 – August 5, 1957), known professionally as Joe Hill Louis, was an American singer, guitarist, harmonica player and one-man band. He was one of a small number of one-man blues bands (along with fellow Memphis bl ...
, Willie Johnson, and particularly
Pat Hare Auburn "Pat" Hare (December 20, 1930 – September 26, 1980) was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. His heavily distorted, power chord–driven electric guitar performances in the early 1950s is considered an important precursor of ...
, who captured a "grittier, nastier, more ferocious electric guitar sound" on records such as
James Cotton James Henry Cotton (July 1, 1935 – March 16, 2017) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many fellow blues artists and with his own band. He also played drums early in his career. ...
's " Cotton Crop Blues" (1954).
Robert Palmer Robert Allen Palmer (19 January 1949 – 26 September 2003) was an English singer and songwriter. He was known for his powerful and soulful voice, sartorial elegance and stylistic explorations, combining soul, funk, jazz, rock, pop, regga ...
, "Church of the Sonic Guitar", pp. 13–38 in Anthony DeCurtis, ''Present Tense'' (Durham NC: Duke University Press, 1992), , pp. 24–27.
Other antecedents include
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. His 1958 Instrumental rock, instrumental single "Rumble (instrumental), Rumble", reached the ...
's instrumental " Rumble" in 1958, and the
surf rock Surf music (also known as surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is inst ...
instrumentals of
Dick Dale Richard Anthony Monsour (May 4, 1937 – March 16, 2019), known professionally as Dick Dale, was an American Rock music, rock guitarist. He was a pioneer of surf music, drawing on Middle Eastern music scale (music), scales and experimenting wit ...
, such as "
Let's Go Trippin' "Let's Go Trippin" is an instrumental by Dick Dale and The Del-Tones. It is often regarded as the first surf rock instrumental and is credited for launching the surf music craze. First played in public in 1960 at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Bal ...
" (1961) and "
Misirlou "Misirlou" ( < 'Egyptian' < ''Miṣr'' 'Egypt') is a folk song from the Eastern Mediterranean region. The song's original author is unknown, but Arabic, Greek, and Jewish musicians were playing it by the 1920s. The earliest known recordi ...
" (1962).


Origins (1960s)

In the 1960s, American and
British blues British blues is a form of music derived from American blues that originated in the late 1950s, and reached its height of mainstream popularity in the 1960s. In Britain, blues developed a distinctive and influential style dominated by electric g ...
and rock bands began to modify
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
by adding harder sounds, heavier guitar riffs, bombastic drumming, and louder vocals, from
electric blues Electric blues is blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the late 1930s and John Lee Ho ...
. Early forms of hard rock can be heard in the work of
Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but is performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of African Americans of the fi ...
musicians
Elmore James Elmore James ( Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ...
,
Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of moder ...
, and
Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player. He was at the forefront of transforming acoustic Delta blues into electric Chica ...
,
the Kingsmen The Kingsmen are a 1960s American rock band from Portland, Oregon. They are best known for their 1963 recording of R&B singer Richard Berry's "Louie Louie", which held the No. 2 spot on the ''Billboard'' charts for six weeks and has bec ...
's version of "
Louie Louie "Louie Louie" is a rhythm and blues song written and composed by American musician Richard Berry in 1955, recorded in 1956, and released in 1957. It is best known for the 1963 hit version by the Kingsmen and has become a Standard (music), stand ...
" (1963) which made it a
garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...
standard,P. Buckley, ''The Rough Guide to Rock'' (London: Rough Guides, 2003), , p. 1144. and the songs of
rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...
influenced
British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...
acts,R. Unterberger, "Early British R&B", in V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , pp. 1315–6. including "
You Really Got Me "You Really Got Me" is a song by the English rock band the Kinks, written by frontman Ray Davies and released as their third single in 1964. The song, originally performed in a more blues-oriented style, was inspired by artists such as Lead B ...
" by
the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...
(1964), "
My Generation "My Generation" is a song by the English rock band The Who, written by guitarist and primary songwriter Pete Townshend. One of the band's most recognizable songs, it was placed number 11 by ''Rolling Stone'' on its list of the " 500 Greatest S ...
" by
the Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...
(1965) and "
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership, it features a guitar riff by Richards that opens and drives the song. The riff is w ...
" (1965) by
the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
.
Soft rock Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...
was often derived from
folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...
, using acoustic instruments and putting more emphasis on melody and harmonies.J. M. Curtis, ''Rock Eras: Interpretations of Music and Society, 1954–1984'' (Madison, WI: Popular Press, 1987), , p. 447. In contrast, hard rock was most often derived from
blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...
and was played louder and with more intensity. Blues rock acts that pioneered the sound included
Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...
,
the Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
, and
the 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. Histo ...
. Cream, in songs like "
I Feel Free "I Feel Free" is a song first recorded by the British rock band Cream in December 1966. The lyrics were written by Pete Brown, with the music by Jack Bruce. The song showcases the band's musical diversity, effectively combining blues rock with ...
" (1966), combined blues rock with pop and psychedelia, particularly in the riffs and guitar solos of
Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...
. Cream's best known-song, "
Sunshine of Your Love "Sunshine of Your Love" is a 1967 song by the British rock band Cream. With elements of hard rock and psychedelia, it is one of Cream's best known and most popular songs. Cream bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce based it on a distinctive bass riff h ...
" (1967), is sometimes considered to be the culmination of the British adaptation of blues into rock and a direct precursor of Led Zeppelin's style of hard rock and heavy metal. Jimi Hendrix produced a form of blues-influenced psychedelic rock, which combined elements of
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
, blues and rock and roll. From 1967,
Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...
brought lead guitar to new heights of technical virtuosity and moved blues rock in the direction of heavy rock with his band, the Jeff Beck Group.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra, S. T. Erlewine, eds, ''All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues'' (Backbeat, 3rd edn., 2003), , pp. 700–2.
Dave Davies David Russell Gordon Davies ( '; born 3 February 1947) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the English rock band the Kinks, led by his older brother (and principal writer and singer) ...
of the Kinks,
Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...
of the Rolling Stones,
Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s an ...
of the Who, Hendrix, Clapton and Beck all pioneered the use of new guitar effects like
phasing A phaser is an electronic sound processor used to filter a signal by creating a series of peaks and troughs in the frequency spectrum. The position of the peaks and troughs of the waveform being affected is typically modulated by an intern ...
,
feedback Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause and effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handle ...
and
distortion In signal processing, distortion is the alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic) of a signal. In communications and electronics it means the alteration of the waveform of an information-bearing signal, such as an audio signal ...
.
The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...
' debut album, released in 1967, included songs like " Soul Kitchen", "Twentieth Century Fox", and a cover version of "
Back Door Man "Back Door Man" is a blues song written by American musician Willie Dixon and recorded by Howlin' Wolf in 1960. The lyrics draw on a Southern U.S. cultural term for an extramarital affair. The song is one of several Dixon-Wolf songs that became ...
", which were what music journalist Stephen Davis characterized as "enough hard rock tracks". One track that stands out as especially heavy for its time is the last 1:10 of " I Feel Much Better" by the
Small Faces Small Faces were an English Rock music, rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966 ...
, recorded in May 1967. The first 2:46 is typical psychedelic fare of the time, but then the song suddenly changes into a hard bass-and-guitar power chord with
Steve Marriott Stephen Peter Marriott (30 January 1947 – 20 April 1991) was an English actor, musician, guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a student at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London and appeared in the West End, before taking a r ...
's rhythm guitar and gut bucket singing, equal to the heaviest rock to be heard later.
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
began producing songs in the new hard rock style beginning with their 1968 double album ''
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
'' (also known as the "White Album") and, with the track " Helter Skelter", attempted to create a greater level of noise than the Who.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...
of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
has referred to the "proto-metal roar" of "Helter Skelter", while
Ian MacDonald Ian MacCormick (known by the pseudonym Ian MacDonald; 3 October 1948 – 20 August 2003) was an English music critic, journalist and author, best known for both '' Revolution in the Head'', his critical history of the Beatles which borrowed te ...
called it "ridiculous, with McCartney shrieking weedily against a massively tape-echoed backdrop of out-of-tune thrashing".I. Macdonald, ''Revolution in the Head: The Beatles Records and the Sixties'' (London: Vintage, 3rd edn., 2005), p. 298. Groups that emerged from the American psychedelic scene about the same time included
Iron Butterfly Iron Butterfly was an American rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1966. They are best known for the 1968 hit " In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", providing a dramatic sound that led the way towards the development of hard rock and heavy metal m ...
,
MC5 MC5 was an American rock music, rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The classic lineup consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis (bassist), Michael Davis, and drummer ...
,
Blue Cheer Blue Cheer was an American rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009. Based in San Francisco, Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic blues rock or acid rock style. The ...
and
Vanilla Fudge Vanilla Fudge is an American rock band known predominantly for their slow extended heavy rock arrangements of contemporary hit songs, such as their hit cover of the Supremes' " You Keep Me Hangin' On". The band's original line–up was vocali ...
.R. Walser, ''Running With the Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music'' (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1993), , pp. 9–10. San Francisco band Blue Cheer released a crude and distorted cover of
Eddie Cochran Ray Edward Cochran ( ; October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician. His songs, such as " Twenty Flight Rock", " Summertime Blues", " C'mon Everybody" and " Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desire in ...
's classic "
Summertime Blues "Summertime Blues" is a song co-written and recorded by the American rock artist Eddie Cochran. It was written by Cochran and his manager Jerry Capehart. Originally a single B-side, it was released in August 1958 and peaked at number 8 on th ...
", from their 1968 debut album ''
Vincebus Eruptum ''Vincebus Eruptum'' (; pseudo-Latin) is the debut album of American rock band Blue Cheer. Released on January 16, 1968, the album features a heavy-thunderous blues sound, which would later be known as heavy metal. A commercial and critical suc ...
'', that outlined much of the later hard rock and heavy metal sound. The same month, Steppenwolf released its self-titled debut album, including " Born to Be Wild", which contained the first lyrical reference to heavy metal and helped popularise the style when it was used in the film ''
Easy Rider ''Easy Rider'' is a 1969 American road drama film written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern. It was produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. Fonda and Hopper play two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and the S ...
'' (1969). Iron Butterfly's ''
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" (derived from "In the Garden of Eden") is a song recorded by Iron Butterfly, written by band member Doug Ingle and released on their 1968 album of the same name. At slightly over 17 minutes, it occupies the entire secon ...
'' (1968), with its 17-minute-long
title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-t ...
, using organs and with a lengthy drum solo, also prefigured later elements of the sound. By the end of the decade a distinct genre of hard rock was emerging with bands like
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
, who mixed the music of early rock bands with a more hard-edged form of blues rock and acid rock on their first two albums ''
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
'' (1969) and ''
Led Zeppelin II ''Led Zeppelin II'' is the second studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 22 October 1969 in the United States and on 31 October 1969 in the United Kingdom by Atlantic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place ...
'' (1969), and
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, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...
, who began as a
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...
group in 1968 but achieved their commercial breakthrough with their fourth and distinctively heavier album, ''
Deep Purple in Rock ''Deep Purple in Rock'' is the fourth studio album by English rock band Deep Purple, released on 5 June 1970. It was the first studio album recorded by the Mark II line-up of Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Pai ...
'' (1970). Also significant was Black Sabbath's ''
Paranoid Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of con ...
'' (1970), which combined guitar riffs with dissonance and more explicit references to the occult and elements of
Gothic horror Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror (primarily in the 20th century), is a literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name of the genre is derived from the Renaissance era use of the word "gothic", as a pejorative to mean m ...
. All three of these bands have been seen as pivotal in the development of heavy metal, but where metal further accentuated the intensity of the music, with bands like
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. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the p ...
following Sabbath's lead into territory that was often "darker and more menacing", hard rock tended to continue to remain the more exuberant, good-time music.


Expansion (1970s)

In the early 1970s the Rolling Stones further developed their hard rock sound with '' Exile on Main St.'' (1972). Initially receiving mixed reviews, according to critic Steve Erlewine it is now "generally regarded as the Rolling Stones' finest album". They continued to pursue the riff-heavy sound on albums including ''
It's Only Rock 'n' Roll ''It's Only Rock 'n Roll'' is the twelfth studio album by English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 18 October 1974 by Rolling Stones Records. It was the last album to feature guitarist Mick Taylor; the songwriting and recording of the ...
'' (1974) and ''
Black and Blue ''Black and Blue'' is the thirteenth studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 23 April 1976, by Rolling Stones Records. This album was the first record after former guitarist Mick Taylor quit in December 1974. ...
'' (1976). Led Zeppelin began to mix elements of
world The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that Existence, exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk ...
and folk music into their hard rock from ''
Led Zeppelin III ''Led Zeppelin III'' is the third studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 5 October 1970. It was recorded in three locations. Much of the work was done at Headley Grange, a country house, using the Rolling Stones Mobil ...
'' (1970) and ''
Led Zeppelin IV The untitled fourth studio album by the English Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin, commonly known as ''Led Zeppelin IV'', was released on 8 November 1971, by Atlantic Records. It was produced by the band's guitarist, Jimmy Page, and recorded be ...
'' (1971). The latter included the track "
Stairway to Heaven "Stairway to Heaven" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 8 November 1971 on the band's untitled fourth studio album (commonly known as ''Led Zeppelin IV''), by Atlantic Records. Composed by the band's guitarist Jimmy ...
", which would become the most played song in the history of album-oriented radio. Deep Purple continued to define their unique brand of hard rock, particularly with their album ''
Machine Head A machine head (also referred to as a tuning machine, tuner, or gear head) is a geared apparatus for tuning stringed musical instruments by adjusting string tension. Machine heads are used on mandolins, guitars, double basses, and others, and ...
'' (1972), which included the tracks " Highway Star" and "
Smoke on the Water "Smoke on the Water" is a song by English rock band Deep Purple, released on their 1972 studio album '' Machine Head''. The song's lyrics are based on true events, chronicling the 1971 fire at Montreux Casino in Montreux, Switzerland. It is ...
". In 1975 guitarist
Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English lead guitarist. He was a founding member and the guitarist of Deep Purple, one of the pioneering bands of hard rock. After leaving Deep Purple in 1975, Blackmore formed the band Rainbow ...
left, going on to form
Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...
and after the break-up of the band the next year, vocalist
David Coverdale David Coverdale (born 22 September 1951) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the founder and lead singer of the hard rock band Whitesnake. Coverdale was also the lead singer of Deep Purple from 1973 to 1976; he has had a solo car ...
formed
Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1978. The group were originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their ow ...
.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , pp. 292–3. 1970 saw the Who release ''
Live at Leeds ''Live at Leeds'' is the first live album by the English rock music, rock band the Who, recorded at the University of Leeds Refectory on 14 February 1970 and released on 11 May 1970, by Decca Records, Decca and MCA Records, MCA in the United St ...
'', often seen as the archetypal hard rock live album, and the following year they released their highly acclaimed album ''
Who's Next ''Who's Next'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 2 August 1971, by Track Records in the United Kingdom and by Decca Records in the United States. It developed from the aborted '' Lifehouse'' project, a m ...
'', which mixed heavy rock with extensive use of synthesizers. Subsequent albums, including ''
Quadrophenia ''Quadrophenia'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released as a double album on 26 October 1973 by Track Records. It is the group's third rock opera, the previous two being the "mini-opera" song "A Quick One, While ...
'' (1973), built on this sound before ''
Who Are You ''Who Are You'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 18 August 1978 by Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and on 21 August 1978 by MCA Records in the United States. Although the album received mixed revie ...
'' (1978), their last album before the death of pioneering rock drummer
Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 1946 – 7 September 1978) was an English musician who was the drummer for the rock band the Who. Regarded as one of the greatest drummers in the history of rock music, he was noted for his unique style of playing and ...
later that year.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , pp. 1220–2. Emerging British acts included Free, who released their signature song "
All Right Now "All Right Now" is a song by English rock band Free, released on their third studio album, '' Fire and Water'' (1970). It was released by Island Records, a record label founded by Chris Blackwell. Released as the album's second single, "All R ...
" (1970), which has received extensive radio airplay in both the UK and US. After the breakup of the band in 1973, vocalist
Paul Rodgers Paul Bernard Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is an English-Canadian singer. He was the lead vocalist of numerous successful rock bands, including Free (band), Free, Bad Company, The Firm (rock band), the Firm and The Law (English band), the L ...
joined supergroup
Bad Company Bad Company were an English rock supergroup formed in London in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke (both ex- Free), guitarist Mick Ralphs (ex- Mott the Hoople) and bassist Boz Burrell (ex-King Crimson). Kirke was the only m ...
, whose eponymous first album (1974) was an international hit.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , pp. 52–3. UK band
Foghat Foghat are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1971. The band is known for the use of electric slide guitar in its music. Their best known song is the 1975 hit "Slow Ride". The band has released 17 studio albums, including ei ...
also found success throughout the decade with their boogie and blues style. The mixture of hard rock and progressive rock, evident in the works of Deep Purple, was pursued more directly by bands like Uriah Heep and
Argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...
. Scottish band
Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...
released their self-titled début album in 1971, producing a blend of hard rock and pop that would culminate in their best selling, ''
Hair of the Dog "Hair of the dog", short for "hair of the dog that bit you", is a colloquial expression in the English language predominantly used to refer to alcohol that is consumed as a hangover remedy (with the aim of lessening the effects of a hangover). Ma ...
'' (1975), which contained the proto-
power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Balla ...
"
Love Hurts "Love Hurts" is a song written and composed by the American songwriter Boudleaux Bryant. First recorded by the Everly Brothers in July 1960, the song is most well known in two hit versions by UK artists: by Scottish hard rock band Nazareth in ...
". Having enjoyed some national success in the early 1970s,
Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...
, after the release of ''
Sheer Heart Attack ''Sheer Heart Attack'' is the third studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 8 November 1974 by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and by Elektra Records in the United States. Departing from the progressive themes featured on t ...
'' (1974) and '' A Night at the Opera'' (1975), gained international recognition with a sound that used layered vocals and guitars and mixed hard rock with heavy metal, progressive rock, and even
opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
.. The latter featured the hit single "
Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock music, rock band Queen (band), Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, ''A Night at the Opera (Queen album), A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by Queen's lead si ...
". In the United States, shock-rock pioneer
Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...
achieved mainstream success with '' School's Out'' (1972), and followed up with ''
Billion Dollar Babies ''Billion Dollar Babies'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band Alice Cooper, released on February 27, 1973 The album became the best selling Alice Cooper record at the time of its release, hitting number one on the album charts in the ...
'', which reached the No. 1 position on the ''Billboard 200'' albums chart in 1973. Also in 1973, blues rockers
ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969. For almost 56 years, it consisted of vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard (musician), Frank Beard, and bassist-vocalist Dusty Hill prior to his death in 2021. ZZ ...
released their classic album ''
Tres Hombres ''Tres Hombres'' (Spanish for "three men") is the third studio album by the American rock band ZZ Top, released on July 26, 1973, by London Records. It was the band's first collaboration with engineer Terry Manning. The album was ZZ Top's commerc ...
'' and
Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...
produced their eponymous début, as did
Southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. History 1950s and 1960s: origin ...
ers
Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd (, ) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...
and
proto-punk Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock genre and movement. A retrospective label, the musicians involved were generally not originally associated with each other and came from a variet ...
outfit
New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground, the MC5, and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved ...
, demonstrating the diverse directions being pursued in the genre.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , pp. 9–11, 681–2, 794 and 1271–2. Montrose, including the instrumental talent of
Ronnie Montrose Ronald Douglas Montrose (November 29, 1947 – March 3, 2012) was an American musician and guitarist who founded and led the rock bands Montrose and Gamma. He also performed and did session work with a variety of musicians, including Van Morri ...
and vocals of
Sammy Hagar Sam Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose before launching a ...
released their first album in 1973. Former bubblegum-pop family act
the Osmonds The Osmonds were an American family music group who reached the height of their fame in the early to mid-1970s. The group had its best-known configurations as a quartet (billed the Osmond Brothers) and a quintet (the Osmonds). The group has c ...
recorded two hard rock albums in 1972 and had their breakthrough in the UK with the hard rock hit "
Crazy Horses "Crazy Horses" is a song by the Osmonds, the title track from the album of the same name. It was released as the album's second single and reached number 14 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The song is th ...
.""The Osmonds: how we made Crazy Horses" The Guardian 23 January 2017
/ref>
Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...
built on the theatrics of Alice Cooper and the look of the New York Dolls to produce a unique band persona, achieving their commercial breakthrough with the double live album '' Alive!'' in 1975 and helping to take hard rock into the
stadium rock Arena rock (also known as stadium rock, pomp rock or corporate rock) is a style of rock music that became mainstream in the 1970s. It typically involves radio-friendly rock music that was designed to be played for large audiences. As hard rock ...
era. In the mid-1970s Aerosmith achieved their commercial and artistic breakthrough with '' Toys in the Attic'' (1975) and ''
Rocks In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's ...
'' (1976),
Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island, New York, in the hamlet of Stony Brook, in 1967. They have sold 25 million records worldwide, including 7 million in the United States. ...
, formed in the late 1960s, picked up on some of the elements introduced by Black Sabbath with their breakthrough live gold album '' On Your Feet or on Your Knees'' (1975), followed by their first platinum album, ''
Agents of Fortune ''Agents of Fortune'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on May 21, 1976 by Columbia Records. The Platinum-selling album peaked at No. 29 on the U.S. Billboard chart, while the cryptic single "(Don't Fe ...
'' (1976), containing the hit single "
(Don't Fear) The Reaper "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is a song by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult from the 1976 album '' Agents of Fortune.'' The song, written and sung by lead guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, deals with eternal love and the inevitability ...
". Journey released their eponymous debut in 1975W. Ruhlmann, "Journey" ''Allmusic'', retrieved 20 June 2010. and the next year
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
released their highly successful début album.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , p. 132. In the same year, hard rock bands featuring women saw commercial success as
Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...
released ''
Dreamboat Annie ''Dreamboat Annie'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Heart. At the time, the band was based in Vancouver, British Columbia; the album was recorded in Vancouver and first released in Canada by the local label Mushroom Records in S ...
'' and
the Runaways The Runaways were an American rock band who recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979. Formed in 1975 in Los Angeles, the band released four studio albums and one live album during its run. Among their best-known songs are " Cherry Bomb", " Holl ...
débuted with their self-titled album. While Heart had a more folk-oriented hard rock sound, the Runaways leaned more towards a mix of punk-influenced music and hard rock.
The Amboy Dukes The Amboy Dukes may refer to: * ''The Amboy Dukes'' (novel), 1947 American novel about juvenile delinquents * The Amboy Dukes (band), American rock band founded 1964 ** ''The Amboy Dukes'' (album), 1967 album by that band {{disambig ...
, having emerged from the Detroit garage rock scene and most famous for their psychedelic hit "Journey to the Center of the Mind" (1968), were dissolved by their guitarist
Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He goes by several nicknames, including Uncle Ted, the Nuge, and Motor City Madman. Nugent initially gained fame as the le ...
, who embarked on a solo career that resulted in four successive multi-platinum albums between ''
Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He goes by several nicknames, including Uncle Ted, the Nuge, and Motor City Madman. Nugent initially gained fame as the le ...
'' (1975) and his best selling ''
Double Live Gonzo! ''Double Live Gonzo!'' is a live album by the American hard rock guitarist Ted Nugent, released as a double LP in 1978. In addition to live versions of songs from previous albums, this double album also contains original material played live, in ...
'' (1978).RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for albums by Ted Nugent
/ref> "
Goodbye to Love "Goodbye to Love" is a song composed by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis. It was released by the Carpenters in 1972. On the '' Close to You: Remembering The Carpenters'' documentary, guest guitarist Tony Peluso stated that this was one of the ...
" by
the Carpenters The Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinctive soft musical style, combining ...
, a duo whose music was otherwise almost exclusively soft rock, drew
hate mail Hate mail (as electronic, posted, or otherwise) is a form of harassment, usually consisting of invective and potentially intimidating or threatening comments towards the recipient. Hate mail often contains exceptionally abusive, foul or otherwi ...
for its incorporation of a hard rock
fuzz guitar Distortion and overdrive are forms of audio signal processing used to alter the sound of amplified electric musical instruments, usually by increasing their gain, producing a "fuzzy", "growling", or "gritty" tone. Distortion is most commonly ...
solo by Tony Peluso. From outside the United Kingdom and the United States, the Canadian trio Rush released three distinctively hard rock albums in 1974–75 ('' Rush'', '' Fly by Night'' and ''
Caress of Steel ''Caress of Steel'' is the third studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on September 24, 1975, by Mercury Records. It was recorded immediately after the band concluded touring in support of their previous album, '' Fly By Night'', a ...
'') before moving toward a more progressive sound with the 1976 album ''
2112 2112 may refer to: * AD 2112, a year in the 22nd century * 2112 BC * ''2112'' (album), an album by Rush ** "2112" (song) * ''John Byrne's 2112'', a comic book series prequel to '' Next Men'' See also * Mars 2112, a space themed restaurant in ...
''.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , p. 966. Also from Canada, Triumph released their debut album in 1976 before their breakthrough came in the form of the '' Just a Game'' album in 1979. Later, the band's streak of popularity continued with the '' Allied Forces'' album in 1981. The Irish band
Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. The band initially consisted of bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Eric Bell and organist Eric Wrixon although Wr ...
, which had formed in the late 1960s, made their most substantial commercial breakthrough in 1976 with the hard rock album ''
Jailbreak A prison escape (also referred to as a bust out, breakout, jailbreak, jail escape or prison break) is the act of an inmate leaving prison through unofficial or illegal ways. Normally, when this occurs, an effort is made on the part of authorit ...
'' and their worldwide hit "
The Boys Are Back in Town "The Boys Are Back in Town" is a song by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy. The song was released in 1976 as the first single from their album '' Jailbreak''. It is considered by ''Rolling Stone'' to be the band's best song, placing it at No. 272 ...
". Their style, consisting of two duelling guitarists often playing leads in harmony, proved itself to be a large influence on later bands. They reached their commercial, and arguably their artistic peak with '' Black Rose: A Rock Legend'' (1979).V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , pp. 1333–4. The arrival of the
Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...
from Germany marked the geographical expansion of the subgenre.R. Walser, ''Running With the Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music'' (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1993), , p. 10. Australian-formed
AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...
, with a stripped back, riff heavy and abrasive style that also appealed to the punk generation, began to gain international attention from 1976, culminating in the release of their multi-platinum albums ''
Let There Be Rock ''Let There Be Rock'' is the fourth studio album by Australian rock band AC/DC. It was originally released on 21 March 1977 in Australasia, through Albert Productions label. A modified international edition was released on 25 July 1977, throu ...
'' (1977) and ''
Highway to Hell ''Highway to Hell'' is the sixth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released on 27 July 1979, by Albert Productions and Atlantic Records. It is the first of three albums produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange, and is the last albu ...
'' (1979).V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , pp. 3–5. Also influenced by a punk ethos were heavy metal bands like
Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...
, while Judas Priest abandoned the remaining elements of the blues in their music,V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , pp. 605–6. further differentiating the hard rock and heavy metal styles and helping to create the
new wave of British heavy metal The new wave of British heavy metal (often abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that began in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Editor Alan Lewis (music journalist), Alan Lew ...
which was pursued by bands like
Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...
,
Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
, and
Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...
. With the rise of
disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
in the US and punk rock in the UK, hard rock's mainstream dominance was rivalled toward the later part of the decade. Disco appealed to a more diverse group of people and punk seemed to take over the rebellious role that hard rock once held. Early punk bands like the Ramones explicitly rebelled against the drum solos and extended guitar solos that characterised stadium rock, with almost all of their songs clocking in under three minutes with no guitar solos. However, new rock acts continued to emerge and record sales remained high into the 1980s. 1977 saw the début and rise to stardom of Foreigner (band), Foreigner, who went on to release several platinum albums through to the mid-1980s.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , pp. 425–6. American Midwest, Midwestern groups like Kansas (band), Kansas, REO Speedwagon and Styx (band), Styx helped further cement heavy rock in the Midwest as a form of stadium rock. In 1978,
Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...
emerged from the Los Angeles music scene with a sound based around the skills of lead guitarist Eddie Van Halen. He popularised a guitar-playing technique of two-handed hammer-ons and pull-offs called tapping, showcased on the song "Eruption (song), Eruption" from the album ''Van Halen (album), Van Halen'', which was highly influential in re-establishing hard rock as a popular genre after the punk and disco explosion, while also redefining and elevating the role of electric guitar.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , pp. 1182–3. In the 1970s and 80s, several European bands, including the German Michael Schenker Group, the Swedish band Europe (band), Europe, and Dutch bands
Golden Earring Golden Earring were a Dutch rock music, rock band, founded in 1961 in The Hague as The Tornados. They achieved worldwide fame with their international hit songs "Radar Love" in 1973, which went to number one on the Dutch chart, reached the top ...
, Vandenberg (band), Vandenberg and Vengeance (band), Vengeance experienced success in Europe and internationally.


Glam metal era (1980s)

The opening years of the 1980s saw a number of changes in personnel and direction of established hard rock acts, including the deaths of Bon Scott, the lead singer of AC/DC, and John Bonham, drummer with Led Zeppelin. Whereas Zeppelin broke up almost immediately afterwards, AC/DC pressed on, recording the album ''Back in Black'' (1980) with their new lead singer, Brian Johnson. It became the fifth-highest-selling album of all time in the US and the second-highest-selling album in the world. Black Sabbath had split with original singer Ozzy Osbourne in 1979 and replaced him with Ronnie James Dio, formerly of Rainbow, giving the band a new sound and a period of creativity and popularity beginning with ''Heaven and Hell (Black Sabbath album), Heaven and Hell'' (1980). Osbourne embarked on a solo career with ''Blizzard of Ozz'' (1980), featuring American guitarist Randy Rhoads.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , pp. 105–6. Some bands, such as Queen (Band), Queen, moved away from their hard rock roots and more towards
pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
, while others, including Rush with ''Moving Pictures (Rush album), Moving Pictures'' (1981), began to return to a hard rock sound. The creation of thrash metal, which mixed heavy metal with elements of
hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...
from about 1982, particularly by Metallica, Anthrax (American band), Anthrax, Megadeth and Slayer, helped to create extreme metal and further remove the style from hard rock, although a number of these bands or their members would continue to record some songs closer to a hard rock sound.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , p. 1332.R. Walser, ''Running with the Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music'' (Wesleyan University Press, 2003), , pp. 11–14.
Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...
moved away from their hard rock roots toward pop metal: firstly removing their makeup in 1983 for their ''Lick It Up'' album, and then adopting the visual and sound of glam metal for their 1984 release, ''Animalize'', both of which marked a return to commercial success. Pat Benatar was one of the first women to achieve commercial success in hard rock, releasing four consecutive US Top Five albums between 1980 and 1983. Often categorised with the new wave of British heavy metal, in 1981
Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drummer), Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen (guitar, ...
released their second album ''High 'n' Dry'', mixing glam-rock with heavy metal, and helping to define the sound of hard rock for the decade.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , pp. 293–4. The follow-up ''Pyromania (album), Pyromania'' (1983) was a big hit and the singles "Photograph (Def Leppard song), Photograph", "Rock of Ages (Def Leppard song), Rock of Ages" and "Foolin'", helped by the emergence of MTV, were successful. It was widely emulated, particularly by the emerging Californian
glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal music, heavy metal that features pop music, pop-influenced Hook (music), hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat arena rock, rock anthems, and slow Sentimental ballad#Powe ...
scene. This was followed by US acts like
Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...
, with their albums ''Too Fast for Love'' (1981) and ''Shout at the Devil'' (1983) and, as the style grew, the arrival of bands such as Ratt,S. T. Erlewine & G. Prato, [ "Ratt"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 19 June 2010. White Lion,G. Prato, [ "White Lion"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 19 June 2010. Twisted Sister and Quiet Riot. Quiet Riot's album ''Metal Health'' (1983) was the first glam metal album, and arguably the first heavy metal album of any kind, to reach number one in the ''Billboard'' music charts and helped open the doors for mainstream success by subsequent bands. Established bands made something of a comeback in the mid-1980s. After an 8-year separation, Deep Purple returned with the classic ''Machine Head'' line-up to produce ''Perfect Strangers (album), Perfect Strangers'' (1984) which was a platinum-seller in the US and reached the top ten in nine other countries. After somewhat slower sales of its fourth album, ''Fair Warning (Van Halen album), Fair Warning'',
Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...
rebounded with ''Diver Down'' in 1982, then reached their commercial pinnacle with ''1984 (Van Halen album), 1984''.
Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...
, after floundering during the first half of the decade, made a comeback with their eponymous ninth studio album which contained four hit singles. The new medium of video channels was used with considerable success by bands formed in previous decades. Among the first were ZZ Top, who mixed hard-edged blues rock with new wave music to produce a series of highly successful singles, beginning with "Gimme All Your Lovin'" (1983), which helped their albums ''Eliminator (album), Eliminator'' (1983) and ''Afterburner (ZZ Top album), Afterburner'' (1985) achieve diamond and multi-platinum status respectively.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , pp. 1271–2. Others found renewed success in the singles charts with power ballads, including REO Speedwagon with "Keep on Loving You (song), Keep on Loving You" (1980) and "Can't Fight This Feeling" (1984), Journey with "Don't Stop Believin'" (1981) and "Open Arms (Journey song), Open Arms" (1982), Foreigner (band), Foreigner's "Waiting for a Girl Like You" (1981) and "I Want to Know What Love Is" (1984),S. Frith, "Pop Music" in S. Frith, W. Straw and J. Street, eds, ''The Cambridge Companion to Pop and Rock'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), , pp. 100–1.
Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...
' "Still Loving You" (1984), Heart's "What About Love" (1985) and
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
's "Amanda (Boston song), Amanda" (1986).
Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...
's third album, ''Slippery When Wet'' (1986), mixed hard rock with a pop sensitivity selling 15 million copies in the US while becoming the first hard rock album to spawn three hit singles. The album has been credited with widening the audiences for the genre, particularly by appealing to women as well as the traditional male dominated audience, and opening the door to MTV and commercial success for other bands at the end of the decade. The anthemic ''The Final Countdown (album), The Final Countdown'' (1986) by Swedish group Europe (band), Europe was an international hit. This era also saw more glam-infused American hard rock bands come to the forefront, with both Poison (American band), Poison and Cinderella (band), Cinderella releasing their multi-platinum début albums in 1986.B. Weber, [ "Poison"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 19 June 2010.W. Ruhlmann, [ "Cinderella"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 19 June 2010.
Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...
released ''5150 (album), 5150'' (1986), their first album with Sammy Hagar on lead vocals, which sold over 6 million copies. By the second half of the decade, hard rock had become the most reliable form of commercial popular music in the United States. Established acts benefited from the new commercial climate, with
Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1978. The group were originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their ow ...
's Whitesnake (album), self-titled album (1987) selling over 17 million copies, outperforming anything in Coverdale's or Deep Purple's catalogue before or since. It featured the rock anthem "Here I Go Again '87" as one of 4 UK top 20 singles. The follow-up ''Slip of the Tongue'' (1989) went platinum, but according to critics Steve Erlwine and Greg Prato, "it was a considerable disappointment after the across-the-board success of ''Whitesnake''". Aerosmith's comeback album ''Permanent Vacation (Aerosmith album), Permanent Vacation'' (1987) would begin a decade long revival of their popularity.S. T. Erlewine, [ "Aerosmith"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 27 September 2010. ''Crazy Nights'' (1987) by Kiss was the band's biggest hit album since 1979 and the highest of their career in the UK. Mötley Crüe with ''Girls, Girls, Girls (Mötley Crüe album), Girls, Girls, Girls'' (1987) continued their commercial successV. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , pp. 767–8. and Def Leppard with ''Hysteria (Def Leppard album), Hysteria'' (1987) hit their commercial peak, the latter producing six hit singles (a record for a hard rock act).
Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...
released the best-selling début of all time, ''Appetite for Destruction'' (1987). With a "grittier" and "rawer" sound than most glam metal, it produced three hits, including "Sweet Child O' Mine".V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , pp. 494–5. Some of the glam rock bands that formed in the mid-1980s, such as White Lion and Cinderella experienced their biggest success during this period with their respective albums ''Pride (White Lion album), Pride'' (1987) and ''Long Cold Winter'' (1988) both going multi-platinum and launching a series of hit singles. In the last years of the decade, the most notable successes were ''New Jersey (album), New Jersey'' (1988) by Bon Jovi,S. T. Erlewine, [ "Bon Jovi"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 20 June 2010. ''OU812'' (1988) by
Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...
, ''Open Up and Say... Ahh!'' (1988) by Poison (American band), Poison'', Pump (album), Pump'' (1989) by Aerosmith, and Mötley Crüe's most commercially successful album ''Dr. Feelgood (album), Dr. Feelgood'' (1989). ''New Jersey'' spawned five hit singles. In 1988 from 25 June to 5 November, the number one spot on the Billboard 200 album chart was held by a hard rock album for 18 out of 20 consecutive weeks; the albums were ''OU812'', ''Hysteria'', ''Appetite for Destruction'', and ''New Jersey''. A final wave of glam rock bands arrived in the late 1980s, and experienced success with multi-platinum albums and hit singles from 1989 until the early 1990s, among them Extreme (band), Extreme, Warrant (American band), Warrant Slaughter (band), Slaughter and FireHouse (band), FireHouse. Skid Row (American band), Skid Row also released their Skid Row (Skid Row album), eponymous début (1989), but they were to be one of the last major bands that emerged in the glam rock era.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , pp. 1018–9.


Grunge and Britpop (1990s)

Hard rock entered the 1990s as one of the dominant forms of commercial music. The multi-platinum releases of AC/DC's ''The Razors Edge (AC/DC album), The Razors Edge'' (1990), Guns N' Roses' ''Use Your Illusion I'' and ''Use Your Illusion II'' (both in 1991), Ozzy Osbourne's ''No More Tears'' (1991), and Van Halen's ''For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge'' (1991) showcased this popularity. Additionally, the Black Crowes released their debut album, ''Shake Your Money Maker (album), Shake Your Money Maker'' (1990), which contained a bluesy classic rock sound and sold five million copies. In 1992, Def Leppard followed up 1987's ''Hysteria'' with ''Adrenalize'', which went multi-platinum, spawned four Top 40 singles and held the number one spot on the US album chart for five weeks. While these few hard rock bands managed to maintain success and popularity in the early part of the decade, Alternative rock, alternative forms of hard rock achieved mainstream success in the form of
grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...
in the US and
Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...
in the UK. This was particularly evident after the success of Nirvana (band), Nirvana's ''Nevermind'' (1991), which combined elements of
hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...
and heavy metal into a "dirty" sound that made use of heavy guitar distortion, fuzz and feedback, along with darker lyrical themes than their "hair band" predecessors.[ "Grunge"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 18 June 2010. Although most grunge bands had a sound that sharply contrasted mainstream hard rock, several, including Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Mother Love Bone and Soundgarden, were more strongly influenced by 1970s and 1980s rock and metal, while Stone Temple Pilots managed to turn alternative rock into a form of stadium rock. However, all grunge bands shunned the macho, anthemic and fashion-focused aesthetics particularly associated with glam metal. In the UK, Oasis (band), Oasis were unusual among the Britpop bands of the mid-1990s in incorporating a hard rock sound. Welsh band Manic Street Preachers emerged in 1991 with a sound
Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...
proclaimed to be "crunching hard-rock". By 1996, the band enjoyed remarkable vogue throughout much of the world, but were commercially unsuccessful in the U.S. In the new commercial climate glam metal bands like Europe, Ratt, White Lion and Cinderella broke up, Whitesnake went on hiatus in 1991, and while many of these bands would re-unite again in the late 1990s or early 2000s, they never reached the commercial success they saw in the 1980s or early 1990s.[ "Hair metal"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 14 June 2010. Other bands such as Mötley Crüe and Poison saw personnel changes which impacted those bands' commercial viability during the decade. In 1995 Van Halen released ''Balance (Van Halen album), Balance'', a multi-platinum seller that would be the band's last with Sammy Hagar on vocals. In 1996 David Lee Roth returned briefly and his replacement, former Extreme (band), Extreme singer Gary Cherone, was fired soon after the release of the commercially unsuccessful 1998 album ''Van Halen III'' and Van Halen would not tour or record again until 2004. Guns N' Roses' original lineup was whittled away throughout the decade. Drummer Steven Adler was fired in 1990, guitarist Izzy Stradlin left in late 1991 after recording ''Use Your Illusion I and II'' with the band. Tensions between the other band members and lead singer Axl Rose continued after the release of the 1993 covers album ''The Spaghetti Incident?'' Guitarist Slash (musician), Slash left in 1996, followed by bassist Duff McKagan in 1997. Axl Rose, the only original member, worked with a constantly changing lineup in recording an album that would take over fifteen years to complete.S. T. Erlewine and G. Prato, [ "Guns N' Roses"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 19 June 2010. Slash and McKagan eventually rejoined the band in 2016 and went on the Not in this Lifetime... Tour with them. Some established acts continued to enjoy commercial success, such as Aerosmith, with their number one multi-platinum albums: ''Get a Grip'' (1993), which produced four hit singles and became the band's best-selling album worldwide (going on to sell over 10 million copies), and ''Nine Lives (Aerosmith album), Nine Lives'' (1997). In 1998, Aerosmith released the hit "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing". AC/DC produced the double platinum ''Ballbreaker'' (1995).S. T. Erlewine, [ "AC/DC"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 20 July 2010. Bon Jovi appealed to their hard rock audience with songs such as "Keep the Faith (Bon Jovi song), Keep the Faith" (1992), but also achieved success in adult contemporary radio, with the hit ballads "Bed of Roses (Bon Jovi song), Bed of Roses" (1993) and "Always (Bon Jovi song), Always" (1994). Bon Jovi's 1995 album ''These Days (Bon Jovi album), These Days'' was a bigger hit in Europe than it was in the United States, spawning four hit singles in the UK. Metallica's ''Load (album), Load'' (1996) and ''Reload (Metallica album), ReLoad'' (1997) each sold in excess of 4 million copies in the US and saw the band develop a more melodic and blues rock sound.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , pp. 729–30. As the initial impetus of grunge bands faltered in the middle years of the decade,
post-grunge Post-grunge is an offshoot of grunge that has a less abrasive or intense tone than traditional grunge. Originally, the term was used almost pejoratively to label mid-1990s alternative rock bands such as Bush (British band), Bush, Candlebox, Colle ...
bands emerged. They emulated the attitudes and music of grunge, particularly thick, distorted guitars, but with a more radio-friendly commercially oriented sound that drew more directly on traditional hard rock.[ "Post-grunge"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 17 January 2010. Among the most successful acts were the Foo Fighters, Candlebox, Live (band), Live, Collective Soul, Australia's Silverchair and England's Bush (British band), Bush, who all cemented post-grunge as one of the most commercially viable subgenres by the late 1990s.V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra and S. T. Erlewine, ''All Music Guide to Rock: the Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul'' (Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2002), , pp. 1344–7. Similarly, some post-Britpop bands that followed in the wake of Oasis, including Feeder (band), Feeder and Stereophonics, adopted a hard rock or "pop-metal" sound.


Survivals and revivals (2000s)

A few hard rock bands from the 1970s and 1980s managed to sustain highly successful recording careers. Bon Jovi were still able to achieve a commercial hit with "It's My Life (Bon Jovi song), It's My Life" from their double platinum-certified album ''Crush (Bon Jovi album), Crush'' (2000). and AC/DC released the platinum-certified ''Stiff Upper Lip (album), Stiff Upper Lip'' (2000) Aerosmith released a platinum album, ''Just Push Play'' (2001), which saw the band foray further into pop with the hit "Jaded (Aerosmith song), Jaded", and a blues cover album, ''Honkin' on Bobo''.
Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...
achieved their first hit album since the early 90s with ''Red Velvet Car'' in 2010, becoming the first female-led hard rock band to earn Top 10 albums spanning five decades. There were reunions and subsequent tours from Van Halen (with Hagar in 2004 and then Roth in 2007),S. T. Erlewine and G. Prato, [ "Van Halen"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 20 June 2010. the Who (delayed in 2002 by the death of bassist John Entwistle until 2006) and Black Sabbath (with Osbourne 1997–2006 and Dio 2006–2010) and even a one-off performance by Led Zeppelin (2007), renewing the interest in previous eras. Additionally, hard rock supergroups, such as Audioslave (with former members of Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden) and Velvet Revolver (with former members of Guns N' Roses, punk band Wasted Youth (American band), Wasted Youth and Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland), emerged and experienced some success. However, these bands were short-lived, ending in 2007 and 2008, respectively. The long-awaited Guns N' Roses album ''Chinese Democracy'' was finally released in 2008, but only went platinum and failed to come close to the success of the band's late 1980s and early 1990s material. More successfully, AC/DC released the double platinum-certified ''Black Ice (album), Black Ice'' (2008). Bon Jovi continued to enjoy success, branching into country music with "Who Says You Can't Go Home", and the rock/country album ''Lost Highway (Bon Jovi album), Lost Highway'' (2007). In 2009, Bon Jovi released ''The Circle (Bon Jovi album), The Circle'', which marked a return to their hard rock sound. The term "retro-metal" has been applied to such bands as Texas based the Sword, California's High on Fire, Sweden's Witchcraft (band), Witchcraft and Australia's Wolfmother.E. Rivadavia, [ "The Sword: 'Age of Winters'"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 11 June 2007. Wolfmother's Wolfmother (album), self-titled 2005 debut album combined elements of the sounds of Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. Fellow Australians Airbourne (band), Airbourne's début album ''Runnin' Wild (Airbourne album), Runnin' Wild'' (2007) followed in the hard riffing tradition of AC/DC. England's The Darkness (band), the Darkness' ''Permission to Land'' (2003), described as an "eerily realistic simulation of '80s metal and '70s glam",H. Phares, [ The Darkness], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 11 June 2007. went quintuple platinum in the UK. The follow-up, ''One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back'' (2005) was also a hit, but the band broke up in 2006, becoming active again in 2011. Los Angeles band Steel Panther managed to gain a following by sending up 80s glam metal.J. Lymangrover, [ "Steel Panther"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 19 June 2010. A more serious attempt to revive glam metal was made by bands of the sleaze metal movement in Sweden, including Vains of Jenna,M. Brown, [ "Vains of Jenna"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 19 June 2010. Hardcore SuperstarS. Huey, [ "Hardcore Superstar"], ''Allmusic'', retrieved 19 June 2010. and Crashdïet. The Swedish rock band Ghost (Swedish band), Ghost is among the most successful recent hard-rock bands, being nominated 4 times for the Grammy Awards, winning 1 award in the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance, Best Metal Performance category for the song Cirice. Although Foo Fighters continued to be one of the most successful rock acts, with albums like ''In Your Honor'' (2005), many of the first wave of post-grunge bands began to fade in popularity. Acts like Creed (band), Creed, Staind, Puddle of Mudd and Nickelback took the genre into the 2000s with considerable commercial success, abandoning most of the angst and anger of the original movement for more conventional anthems, narratives and romantic songs. They were followed in this vein by new acts including Shinedown and Seether.T. Grierson
"Post-Grunge: A History of Post-Grunge Rock"
, ''About.com'', retrieved 1 January 2010.
Acts with more conventional hard rock sounds included Andrew W.K., Beautiful Creatures (band), Beautiful Creatures and Buckcherry, whose breakthrough album ''15 (Buckcherry album), 15'' (2006) went platinum and spawned the single "Sorry (Buckcherry song), Sorry" (2007). These were joined by bands with hard rock leanings that emerged in the mid-2000s from the
garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...
, Southern Rock, or post punk revival, including Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Kings of Leon, and Queens of the Stone Age from the US, Three Days Grace from Canada, Jet (band), Jet from Australia and The Datsuns from New Zealand. In 2009 Them Crooked Vultures, a supergroup that brought together Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl, Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme and Led Zeppelin bass player John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones attracted attention as a live act and released a Them Crooked Vultures (album), self-titled debut album that was a hit in the US and UK."Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures"
Acharts.us, retrieved 2 October 2010.


See also

* Female performers of hard rock music * Active rock – a radio format emphasizing hard rock * List of hard rock musicians (A–M) * List of hard rock musicians (N–Z)


References


Further reading

* Nicolas Bénard, ''La culture Hard Rock'', Paris, Dilecta, 2008. * Nicolas Bénard, ''Métalorama, ethnologie d'une culture contemporaine, 1983–2010'', Rosières-en-Haye, Camion Blanc, 2011. * Fast, Susan (2001). ''In the Houses of the Holy: Led Zeppelin and the Power of Rock Music''. Oxford University Press. * Fast, Susan (2005). "Led Zeppelin and the Construction of Masculinity," in ''Music Cultures in the United States'', ed. Ellen Koskoff. Routledge. * Guibert, Gérôme, and Fabien Hein (ed.) (2007), "Les Scènes Metal. Sciences sociales et pratiques culturelles radicales", ''Volume! La revue des musiques populaires'', n°5-2, Bordeaux: Éditions Mélanie Seteun. * Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', Oxford: Berg, 2007, * Kahn-Harris, Keith and Fabien Hein (2007), "Metal studies: a bibliography", ''Volume! La revue des musiques populaires'', n°5-2, Bordeaux: Éditions Mélanie Seteun.
Downloadable here
* Weinstein, Deena (1991). ''Heavy Metal: A Cultural Sociology''. Lexington. . Revised edition: (2000). ''Heavy Metal: The Music and its Culture''. Da Capo. .


External links

* {{Timeline of heavy metal and hard rock music Hard rock, History of rock music 1960s in music Rock music genres