A type of
music originating in the American south by African Americans. It was first known as "rhythm and blues" which has now come to mean a completely different type of
music. Its primary influence was blues, until the 1950s when white people started playing rock and combined it with country and folk. Rock
music is characterized by the use of instruments such as guitars and bass. It was first made popular by
black artists like Chuck Berry, then made more mainstream by Elvis. It re-emerged after a brief halt with the "British Invasion" in the early '60s led by the Beatles. British bands continued to dominate the genre with bands like the Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, and many others. It reached its height between 1967 and 77 before falling into different categories.
Today there are hundreds of different types of rock
music including classic, metal,
punk, southern, rockabilly, ska, grunge, emo,
pop-rock, folk-rock, psychedelic and prog.