Hard rock, arena rock and heavy metal
The 1970s saw the emergence of hard rock as one of the most prominent sub-genres
of rock music. Bands such as Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Nazareth, AC/DC, Black Sabbath,Blue Oyster Cult, and Kiss were highly popular by the mid-1970s. By the second
half of the decade, several bands had achieved stardom, namely, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Aerosmith, Rush, Journey, andBoston.
Arena rock grew in popularity through progressive
bands like Styx ("Come Sail Away"), and hard rock bands like Boston ("More Than a Feeling").
Psychedelic rock declined in popularity after the deaths
of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison and the break-up of The Beatles.
Country rock and Southern rock
Country rock, formed from the fusion
of rock music with Country music, gained its greatest commercial success in
the 1970s, beginning with non-country artists such as Bob Dylan, Gram Parsons, and The Byrds. By the mid-1970s, Linda Ronstadt, along with other newer artists such
as Emmylou Harris and The Eagles, were enjoying mainstream success and
popularity that continues to this day. The Eagles themselves emerged as one of
the most successful rock acts of all time, producing albums that included Hotel California (1976).
During the 1970s, a similar style of country
rock called southern rock (fusing rock,
country, and blues music, and focusing on electric guitars and vocals) was
enjoying popularity with country audiences, thanks to such non-country acts
as The Ozark
Mountain Daredevils, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman
Brothers Band,
and The Marshall
Tucker Band.
Progressive
rock
The American brand of prog rock varied from the eclectic
and innovative Steel Heart, Frank Zappa, Captain Beef heart, and Blood, Sweat and Tears, to more pop rock
oriented bands like Boston, Foreigner, Journey and Styx. These, beside British bands Supertramp and Electric Light
Orchestra,
all demonstrated a prog rock influence and while ranking among the most
commercially successful acts of the 1970s, issuing in the era of pomp or arena rock, which would last until the costs of complex
shows (often with theatrical staging and special effects), would be replaced by
more economical rock festivals as
major live venues in the 1990s.
New
wave
Many American bands in the late seventies
began experimenting with synthesizers, forming the new wave style. The original American bands included Talking Heads, The Cars, and Devo. In the eighties, Britain
would respond with the synthpop style, which broadened the definition
of "new wave".
Power
pop
Combining elements of punk rock and pop music, bands such as The Romantics, The Knack, and Cheap Trick created the "power pop"
sound. Also seeing mild success is Loverboy.
Punk
rock
The mid-1970s saw the rise of punk music from its protopunk-garage band roots in the 1960s and early 1970s.
The Ramones and Blondie were some of the earliest American Punk
rock acts to make it big in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Punk
music has also been heavily associated with a certainpunk fashion and absurdist humour which exemplified
a genuine suspicion of mainstream culture and values. Blondie quickly lost
their punk roots going on to become a pop/ska/reggae band.
Blues
rock
Blues rock remains popular, with Eric Clapton, ZZ Top, and George Thorogood seeing the greatest success. Freddie King started moving from straight blues to
blues rock since the genre was now mostly popular among white audiences. Stress
from nonstop touring resulted in his death at the age of 42 in 1976.
Christian rock
Rock has been criticized by
some Christian religious leaders, who have condemned it as immoral,
anti-Christian and even demonic. However, Christian rock began to develop
in the late 1960s, particularly out of the Jesus movement beginning in Southern California, and
emerged as a sub-genre in the 1970s with artists like Larry Norman, usually seen as the first major
"star" of Christian rock. The genre has been particularly
popular in theUnited States. Many Christian rock
performers have ties to the contemporary
Christian music scene,
while other bands and artists are closely linked to independent music. Since the 1980s Christian rock performers
have gained mainstream success, including figures such as the American
gospel-to-pop crossover artist Amy Grant. While these artists were largely
acceptable in Christian communities the adoption of heavy rock and glam metal
styles by bands like Petra and Stryper, who achieved considerable mainstream
success in the 1980s, was more controversial. From the 1990s there were
increasing numbers of acts who attempted to avoid the Christian band label,
preferring to be seen as groups who were also Christians, including P.O.D and Collective Soul.