Definition for View source for Rock and Roll (Rock)

Rock and Roll (1950s) or Rock, as it later became known, includes a variety of sub-styles including Soul and Punk. Rock is typically vocal music with a hard, driving beat in quadruple meter with strong accents on the second and fourth beats. It often features electric guitar accompaniment and heavy amplification of sound and is usually written in a 12-bar blues form. It is an outgrowth of rhythm and blues and country and western. Soul music is a variety of rock and roll emerging in the 1960s from black performers and emphasizes emotionality, gospel, and the African-American experience. Punk, or New Wave, is a primitive form of rock and roll. Rhythm and blues is a dance music of African-Americans that joins blues, jazz and gospel styles. Country and Western is a folk-like, guitar-based style typically associated with rural white America.