Since its emergence in the late 1940s/early 1950s, rock music’s evolution and influence on generations to follow has been unlike any other. What was considered a youth fad in the ‘50s soon became the voice of entire generations of music lovers who resonated with the individualism, modernism and a sense of hedonism that bubbled in the post-war era. With the phenomenon called The Beatles hitting the rock scene in early 60s, there was no looking back on rock going mainstream. Soon after, The Rolling Stones, bringing in taboo subjects into the conversation with songs like Sympathy For The Devil and Let It Bleed pushed the boundaries of rock n roll and shaped the genre into one of self-expressionism and free thought. Rock music has since become the most popular genre with Pop and Hip-Hop being far behind even 70 years later. Here’s our pick of the best rock bands to have walked, nay, rocked the earth.

The Beatles :

Di Nationaal Archief, Den Haag, Rijksfotoarchief: Fotocollectie Algemeen Nederlands Fotopersbureau (ANEFO), 1945-1989 - negatiefstroken zwart/wit, nummer toegang 2.24.01.05, Wikimedia

Formed in Liverpool, UK, in 1960, The Beatles remain the world’s most popular rock band till date. The Rolling Stone magazine declared them the ‘best things to happen in the twentieth century, let alone the Sixties”. The success of Love me do, the band’s first single, sung by Lennon and McCartney, put this band on the music map. Over the years, The Beatles brought in the not-so-simple love songs with record breaking covers like The Hard Days Night, Rubber Soul and Yellow Submarine to audiences worldwide. The band eventually broke-up in 1970 much to the heartbreak and uproar from fans around the world. Today, the band’s surviving stars, Paul McCartney and Ringo still have an active music career.

Trivia - In 1968, The Beatles famously visited an ashram retreat in Rishikesh, India, to attend a ‘transcendental meditation’ training for 3-6 weeks. They wrote over 30 songs, including the hit numbers Blackbird and Back in the USSR during their stay.

Rolling Stones :

By SolarScott - Flickr, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia

Unlike The Beatles, the Rolling Stones became a sensation for bringing in the dark side of the 1960s counterculture to rock music. The rock band archetypes as we know them today - the long haired, obsessive, gritty artists playing metal were the embodiment of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and the Rolling stones in general, in the ‘60s and ‘70s. With songs often covering taboo subjects like religion, sex, drugs, they opened up conversations which were never thought possible. Songs like Satisfaction, Paint It Black and Angie all take you back to an era where rebellion and psychedelia ruled the rock scene. The Stones continue to perform and tour even today, 50 years since they hit superstardom.   

Trivia : The Stones’ pathbreaking logo, the plush lips with the tongue sticking out, was inspired in part by the image of Goddess Kali, the Indian goddess of everlasting energy.

Pink Floyd :

Source - RollingStone.com

Although Pink Floyd took shape in the mid to late sixties, it was not until the release of The Dark Side of the Moon, that they were spearheaded into the rock-n-roll hall of fame. Their bleak, gloomy themes were often augmented by a combination of profound lyrics and sublime instrument work. Pink Floyd blew our minds with Comfortably Numb, Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Time and the irreplaceable Another Brick in the Wall. With an evolving  discography often exploring emotional voids, they were the quintessential ‘70s Rock Band with equal parts cynicism and hope.  

Trivia : The full length version of Shine on you Crazy Diamond was 26 minutes long. Legend has it that an All India Radio RJ who played the full version on air got fired as a consequence of playing that 26 minute long song on AIR.

Nirvana :

Source - RollingStone.com

Founded by Kurt Cobain and bass player Krist Novoselic in 1987, the band became a whole with the joining of Dave Grohl on drums in 1990. Cobain never wanted to be mainstream but the unintended success of Smells Like Teen Spirit from their 1991 album - Nevermind, propelled them into stardom and top of charts by early 1992. The next few years were followed by several albums and singles’ exploring themes like hopelessness - All apologies, You know you’re right and alienation - Lithium, School. From performing live at the VMAs, to cross-country and world tours to being on top charts, Nirvana looked like they had it all. However, the infamous death of lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain, in April 1994, cut short the band’s life.

Trivia: Dave Grohl went on to found Foo Fighters who went on to become a big name in the turn of the century.  

Pearl Jam :

Source -HuffingtonPost.com

Arguably the most popular of the ‘90s rock bands, the Seattle based Pearl Jam along with Nirvana and Soundgarden led an era of grunge rock with heavy metal, amplified distortion, and songs which conveyed a reaction and rebellion against growing social apathy in the modern world. Their first album, Ten, released in 1991, with songs like I’m still alive, Black and Jeremy made waves for the bold statements, big guitars and the riveting howls and growls that Vedder brought into this album. Unlike Nirvana, Pearl Jam sought out conventional success since inception, which did not sit well with purists like Cobain, who is believed to have repeatedly voiced his distaste of the band and their music.

Trivia : Alive, part of the 3 song “mini-opera”, recounts the story of lead singer Vedders’ life, who discovered as a young man that his father was, in fact, his step-dad. The song is followed by Once and Footsteps.

The evolution - Now and beyond

As rock n roll music evolved, multiple sub-genres captured the imagination of legends over the decades. With classic and pop rock of the ‘60s, acid and progressive rock of the 70s, heavy metal of the 80s and grunge and alt rock of the (early) 90s, the genre had exploded and expanded beyond the confines of conventional culture. The 21st century, with the advent of digital content, has created numerous micro-cultures of rock music aficionados. From Foo Fighters to Belle & Sebastian to Vampire weekend, each claiming a niche in culture and counterculture, rock music is only poised to evolve to capture the hearts and minds of music lovers worldwide.

This article only highlight bands (not individuals) who were instrumental to rock. Some of the greats like Queen, Black Sabbath, Oasis, AC DC, Metallica, Guns n Roses, Def Leppard were exceptional in their music and could easily make it to our extended list.