Rock 'n Roll
Rock and Roll is a generic term, and can refer to music such as R&B, soul, funk, punk, heavy metal, hip-hop, alternative, grunge, and more. The term itself was originally coined by a Cleveland DJ, and was used to describe a new sound of music that featured a strong back beat and electric guitars.
It would seem that Rock began around the fifties when Caucasian audiences began warming up to African-American music like Blues and Jazz. At the same time, the popularity of Country music, a then white-dominated art, was also on the rise. Rock 'n Roll combined the best of both genres, and was loved by audiences of any color.
Record companies then gave the people what they wanted, which led to the legendary success of such artists like Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and the man-who-would-be-king of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley. At first, it was seen as an overnight sensation that would come and go with the latest fad, but it has been a constant, yet ever-changing music staple in modern times.
Rock flourished during the 'happy days' of the fifties and teen idols. The sixties brought in the British invasion with the Beatles and Rolling Stones, and the anthem of the hippie generation that made its greatest stand at Woodstock. Disco swept through the nation during the seventies, and the eighties brought a surge of new talent that eventually led to the alternative era of the nineties. Rock has become a mixture of all kinds of genres that is difficult to define, as new talent continues to take to the stage. Yet Rock and Roll seems to have one thing in common as it continues to rebel against the establishment, or, as Jack Black stated in The School of Rock, "stick it to the man".