Rockin' Hard to Hard Rock.....

Hard rock is another subgenre of rock music, like Rock and Roll, and originated in the late 1960s in Britain. A typical hard rock band consists of electric and base guitars, drums, and pianos. Hard Rock was greatly influenced by the blues, particularly the "British Blues," which introduced more modern instruments to the sound of music, particularly the electric guitar and loud drum set, in the 1950s. The basis for this edgy genre of rock music was basically: the louder, the better. Instruments as well as vocals were all kicked up a notched. Groups such as The Kinks, Cream, The Who, and Deep Purple, as well as solo artists Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix too the world by storm with their new "heavy metal" sound. The 1970s made the genre even bigger by with the introduction of Queen, Guns 'N Roses, AC/DC, Metallica, Kiss, and Boston, just to name a few. And those legends were part of only the first "era" of Hard Rock, followed by two more.

The second era, covering the 1980s, is a time when many of the "classics" bands ended, and new ones began. This era introduced Def Leppard, Van Halen, Motley Crue, and Bon Jovi, and although this era was not as big as the first, these artists still left their mark on the music industry. The third era, picking up in the 1990s-present, carried on with some of the artists from the second era, but also adapted a more eclectic feel to the music, deeming the new name: "alternative rock." Artists such as Rage Against the Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Towers of London are some of the newest popular rock artists today, but are often viewed as "mainstream."

The playlist contains new songs from the classic hard rock artists from the first era, and are some of the most popular songs in the world to date. They are still frequently heard/played on classic rock radio stations, at sporting events by the pep-bands, or even on the hugely popular "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" games, which features music from this time and genre.

Playlist: Songs 91-96