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Description of Hard Rock

 
As the 1960s saw rock acts like Jimi Hendrix and the Who turn up their amps, bands began to augment their guitar sounds with distortion. Their blues-based structures, with driving rock guitars and pop hooks, were the rudiments of Hard Rock. The basics of Hard Rock haven't changed, but the myriad styles it has spawned -- from Heavy Metal to Power Pop -- have taken those simple elements in hundreds of directions.
 

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Hard Rock Key Artists

 
AC/DC

Australian
hard-rock/heavy-metal
band AC/DC features
knickers-clad guitarist
Angus Young, who becam...

Aerosmith

Mid-1970s grease rock
Stones-worship act who
made some of the meanest
and leanest of their
generation. Then they qu...

Alice Cooper

Between 1950s showman
Screamin' Jay Hawkins
emerging from a coffin and
Kiss' Gene Simmons spitting
"blood" in the 1970s, no o...

Bad Company

The members of Bad
Company were stars before
their first concert in March
1974. Paul Rodgers and
Simon Kirke had been me...

Billy Squier

Admittedly overblown yet
utterly infectious hard rock
from the slickest dude to
ever wear bandanas tied
around his legs. With Zep...

Blue Oyster Cult

Intellectual, smart-ass Metal
made by rock critics. For
proof that BOC rules, listen
to "Cities On Flame With
Rock and Roll." One of th...

Cactus

Sadly overlooked '70s Hard
Rock supergroup formed
by the rhythm section from
Vanilla Fudge: Tim Bogert
and Carmine Appice.

Deep Purple

Proto-Metal Hard Rock band
formed in the '60s and
continued on into the '80s.
Fronted by singer Ian Gillan.
After leaving Deep Purple...

Guns N' Roses

The preeminent Hard Rock
band from the '80s, GNR
played as hard as they
partied, from 1985 till they
called it quits in 1996. The...

James Gang

Before the coke ("Hotel
California") but after the LSD
("The Bomber"), Joe Walsh
kicked out the jammy jams
with James Gang. James G...

KISS

Highly theatrical face
painters and metal mongers
KISS played cheez-whizz
rock 'n' roll and made no
apologies. Glam power lic...

Led Zeppelin

It wasn't just Led Zeppelin's
thunderous volume,
sledgehammer beat, and
edge-of-mayhem
arrangements that made it...

Mountain

Classic hard rock band
fronted by the massive
singer-guitarist Leslie West.
No pressure: Mountain's
fourth live gig was an hou...

Nazareth

Boogie-prone hard rockers
famous for their
screech-filled cover of
"Love Hurts." "Hair of the
Dog" is another good one....

Pat Travers

Pat Travers' out-Nuge-ing
the Nuge may be a bit much
sometimes, but you can't
deny the brilliance of
"Snortin' Whiskey."

Queen

Queen's excessive blend of
metal and majesty was one
of the biggest draws of the
'70s. In England, Queen is
second only to the Beatle...

Steppenwolf

Steppenwolf is best known
for the biker-metal anthem
"Born to Be Wild" but don't
forget the classic "Magic
Carpet Ride." Bandleader...

The Runaways

The Runaways were an
exploitative but totally rad
all-girl hard rock band
created by sleazoid genius
Kim Fowley. Joan Jett an...

Uriah Heep

U.K. metal band with one of
the best names ever, not to
mention totally freaky
album art. Apparently they
played music, too. The ba...

Van Halen

The premier American hard
rock band of the late '70s
and early '80s. Eddie Van
Halen influenced a
generation of guitarists. V...

Zebra

In the mid-1970s, these New
Orleans-bred Led Zeppelin
enthusiasts helped build the
bridge from Hard Rock to
Hair Metal.

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