Rock's stylistic characteristics, development, and scenes. Focuses on musical style and development; performer-centered biographies belong in Artists.
Test your knowledge with these top questions!
Which guitarist closed Woodstock 1969 with a distorted "Star-Spangled Banner"?
Hendrix played on Monday morning to a much smaller crowd after festival delays stretched into an extra day.
Which motorcycle club served as security at the 1969 Altamont Free Concert?
The club was reportedly paid with 500 dollars worth of beer, a decision widely blamed for the violence.
Which national anthem did Jimi Hendrix perform at Woodstock in 1969?
Jimi Hendrix used feedback and distortion to suggest battle sounds during the Monday-morning performance.
Which singer broke through at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 with Big Brother and the Holding Company?
Joplin's powerful set made her a star and helped Big Brother and the Holding Company land a major-label deal.
Whose dairy farm hosted the 1969 Woodstock festival in Bethel, New York?
Yasgur leased his farmland for the festival and spoke to the crowd in support during the weekend.
Which Pink Floyd song honors Syd Barrett as a "crazy diamond"?
The nine-part song opens the 1975 album Wish You Were Here as a tribute to Barrett.
Which Jimi Hendrix song features the lyric "Excuse me while I kiss the sky"?
Many listeners mishear the line as kiss this guy, making it one of rock's most famous misheard lyrics.
Which Doors song became the band's first number-one hit in 1967?
The radio single cut the long album instrumental break to under three minutes.
Which Rolling Stones hit opens with the lyric "I can't get no satisfaction"?
Keith Richards woke with the famous three-note riff and caught it on a cassette before falling back asleep.
Which New Jersey town titles Bruce Springsteen's 1973 debut album Greetings from Asbury Park?
Springsteen played Asbury Park clubs like The Stone Pony before the town became central to his early image.