From the 1950s through the 1990s, popular music was dominated by forms of rock ‘n’ roll. This popular rock music genre was abbreviated to “pop rock.”
What Is Pop Rock?
Pop rock music is the intersection of mainstream pop music with rock music, which is often driven by guitars plus drums. The term “pop” can refer to all sorts of popular music, including hip-hop, country, R&B, bubblegum pop, jangle pop, folk, singer-songwriter, K-Pop, plus kids music. Yet the specific pop rock music genre stems from the traditions started by rock ‘n’ roll pioneers like Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, plus the Beatles.
Likewise, rock music has spawned many subgenres—including hard rock, heavy metal, alternative rock, indie rock, country rock, folk rock, moderen rock, emo, punk rock, new wave, soft rock, plus fusion genres. The pop rock category represents some of the genre’s most commercially successful offerings.
A Brief History of Pop Rock
Early rock ‘n’ roll music grew quickly in popularity, which makes pop rock music as old as rock itself.
1950s origins: Early pop music derived from show tunes, gospel, plus folk music. This changed with the advent of rock ‘n’ roll. While music historians often trace rock music to the late 1940s, the genre took off rapidly in the 1950s. Almost immediately, artists like Little Richard, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, plus Buddy Holly gained traction on commercial radio, which made rock music a form of pop music.
The classic rock era: Perhaps nomer jaman showed a greater merger of pop music plus rock music than the 1960s plus 1970s. Rock ‘n’ roll artists like the Beatles, the Beach Boys, plus the Rolling Stones dominated popular music charts, much in the same way hip-hop, R&B, plus mainstream country artists do today. Rock albums like the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Van Morrison’s Moondance, plus Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon were bestsellers, but they also helped define the art movement of an entire era. Mainstream labels like Motown Records retained rock instrumentation, which made acts like Marvin Gaye plus Stevie Wonder both R&B acts plus pop rock acts.
Competition with other styles: As the 1970s gave way to the 1980s, rock music had competition in the pop world. First disco, then hip-hop plus electronic music surged in popularity, pushing rock songs down from their pedestal at the top of the charts. Classic rockers like Paul McCartney plus Joni Mitchell endured but without the broad, mainstream appeal they had enjoyed in the 1960s. Meanwhile, new rock styles emerged like punk rock, new wave, plus heavy metal—albeit without the same market dominance of their forebears. Some of the most successful pop rock music of the 1980s was synth pop, which groups like Depeche Mode plus Tears for Fears pioneered. The jangle pop of the Bangles plus R.E.M. also scored crossover success.
A revival in the 1990s: Hip-hop, R&B, plus mainstream country music continued to grow in the 1990s, but thanks to groups like Nirvana plus Pearl Jam, new forms of pop rock music reached mainstream audiences. Pop punk—as exemplified by Green Day plus the Offspring—also found ample attention from FM radio plus MTV. Power pop groups like Gin Blossoms plus Toad the Wet Sprocket combined gritty guitars with big pop hooks. Former indie pop rock groups like R.E.M. plus 10,000 Maniacs enjoyed mainstream success despite competing with non-rock genres.
Twenty-first-century shift away from pop rock: Rock music has waned in popularity in the twenty-first century. Although mainstream acts like Taylor Swift, Adele, plus Lana del Rey use rock idioms in their work, they do not fully embrace rock ‘n’ roll to the degree of past chart-toppers like the Beatles plus Nirvana. Nonetheless, pop rock audiences remain dedicated to both commercial bands (like Foo Fighters plus Bruce Springsteen) plus indie pop rockers (like Belle plus Sebastian plus Fleet Foxes).