Popular music can be difficult to define; distinguishing between serious or classical compositions and lighter tunes often referred to as popular can be challenging.
Adorno’s view of popular music seems at odds with how most listeners perceive songs today – even seemingly trivial pop songs can have great meaning for many listeners.
The 1950s
The 1950s witnessed the development of new styles of music that continue to have an influence today. Rock ‘n’ roll and rhythm and blues became immensely popular, breaking down traditional genre boundaries. Elvis Presley is widely credited with popularizing rock and roll and helping bring it into American pop music mainstream; artists like Chuck Berry and Little Richard helped define rhythm and blues’ sound while country western brought more rustic melodies into musical landscape.
Jazz became increasingly popular during the 1950s. Bebop, hard bop and cool jazz became the predominant styles at this time; notable musicians including Lester Young, Ben Webster, Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday and Thelonious Monk made their mark in music scene during this era.
Pop music’s top performers were singer-songwriters like Frank Sinatra, Doris Day and Rosemary Clooney who led with vocal-driven songs that dominated the charts. Classic crooners competed with new wave vocalists with big voices who often drew upon Italian canto bella traditions for inspiration.
Rock ‘n’ roll first emerged as an international musical genre during the late 1950s with groups like Bill Haley and His Comets and Elvis Presley leading its growth. This musical style combined elements from southern blues with uptempo jazz rhythms for maximum impact – this was also the first decade when black R&B artists could outsell white pop performers on music charts.
The 1960s
Young Americans were entranced by an explosion of youth culture during the 1960s that seemed to permeate all aspects of society – music included! Music helped reflect and shape new attitudes regarding sex, drugs, race, materialism religion political authority as well as other topics which defined this decade.
Musical trends that started during this era included rock ‘n roll and psychedelic music, but also included a return to country and folk rock roots, new rhythm and blues styles and more mellow soul music that would influence dance-pop in later decades.
By mid-decade, Dylan had emerged as an influential voice of a generation eager to break free from parents and traditional authority, as well as from politics that caused the Cold War, arms race, and Vietnam conflict. Songs like “The Times They Are a-Changing”, “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” warning of nuclear winter; and “Masters of War”, criticizing military build-up and racial inequality were major landmarks on Dylan’s trajectory as an artist.
Artists such as The Monkees’ “Pleasant Valley Sunday” and the Byrds’ “Eight Miles High” addressed dissatisfaction with modern life by depicting escape to rural areas as sources of spiritual and physical renewal. LSD and marijuana became major elements in youth culture throughout this decade and inspired some of the most groundbreaking musical works created during that era.
The 1970s
The 70s saw the birth of numerous musical genres that remain essential in today’s culture, such as disco. Van McCoy’s “The Hustle,” Gloria Gaynor’s anthem “I Will Survive,” and Bee Gees’ iconic track “Stayin’ Alive” all helped establish disco as one of its signature sounds – leaving a legacy that’s still beloved today. Although disco didn’t last very long, its legacy lives on today with songs people dance along to!
The 1970s also gave way to new genres like rock and jazz, featuring bands like Kiss, The Clash and Sex Pistols who brought an element of anger and nihilism to rock music for the first time. George Benson’s orchestral sound also became immensely popular during this era.
Rock music’s golden era saw rock genres fracture into ever-deepening binaries: hard and soft; prog’s authenticity-fetishism met punk’s artifice-worship, folk’s reverence for nature was mixed with glam’s passion for fashion; however, this chaos found expression through pop songs such as Joni Mitchell’s Blue by Joni Mitchell; Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye, David Bowie’s Hunky Dory by David Bowie as well Carol King Tapestry Led Zeppelin IV by Bob Marley all addressed relevant social and environmental concerns of their day.
The 1980s
With new technologies and music artists pushing boundaries, the 1980s quickly earned themselves a reputation as the decade of excess. Yuppie culture took root, giving those employed ample disposable income that allowed them to indulge in movies, designer clothing, records, and cars.
Pop artists such as Madonna and Cyndi Lauper made waves in the industry at this time, breaking traditional social norms through music videos with sexualized images that challenged what was considered appropriate at that time. Madonna in particular faced considerable criticism from those with religious and conservative backgrounds due to her dress choices and videos featuring provocative imagery; Madonna would later suffer significant criticism for these actions from her religious followers as she often featured provocative content within them; her videos frequently featuring sexualized images that provoked great debate from conservative circles who often found these controversial acts offensive; both artists were icons who sought to challenge traditional social norms with music videos featuring provocative visuals which would then provoke even further scrutiny by critics from religious and conservative quarters at that time; therefore Madonna became synonymous with breaking them both through breaking social tabonism through music video content produced for releases during these decades that was considered appropriate at that time; she faced much backlash for this from religious and conservative followers alike for what this caused her videos often featured provocative scenes that caused some conservative religious to get angry at what were considered offensive, with many religious members giving her support at this point because her music videos often included provocative imagery that provoked them into public domain, thus incurring much criticism from religious and conservative people alike who found her music videos included sexual images that pushing social norms of this time period than before causing her music videos featured provocative enough for them out- this period, particularly when her videos often included sexualized images seen as she received considerable criticism due to religious conservative people considered inappropriate by peoples like herself from conservative people like herself due to criticism that time due her performance; this caused much criticism being seen as well as criticism coming her music videos contained sexual themes considered inappropriate; this caused much criticism coming her songs would never saw that she received in particular, particularly religious criticizing them more conservative.
The 1980s also witnessed the emergence of synthpop, new wave and hair metal music genres, giving fans something new to dance to while also giving them an outlet to express themselves through fashion choices such as brightly colored spandex with hoop earrings or wild makeup and teased hair; male fans preferred wearing flannel shirts over denim jeans or low pants paired with big jackets for dancing to these genres.
The 1980s also witnessed many veteran pop stars like Paul McCartney, Diana Ross and Cher regaining their footing with solo careers due to baby boomers becoming older and being able to afford albums from bands they had grown up listening to.
The 1990s
The 1990s marked an immense transformation in popular music that reflected our changing times. Grunge bands such as Nirvana, Sound Garden and Bush challenged traditional rock trends while increasing alternative rock’s popularity. Softer sounds were welcomed by artists like Sheryl Crow and Jeff Buckley while country artists continued their dominance through Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash and Alan Jackson; additionally hardcore rap flourished rapidly through Dr. Dre, Eazy-E and Naughty by Nature who amassed large fan bases.
Hip hop was rapidly mainstreaming itself with East Coast rivals 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G gaining worldwide renown. Female rappers such as Queen Latifah and Salt-N-Pepa made waves, too, while many rappers began including samples or interpolations from older songs into their new tracks.
Punk rock gained immense popularity thanks to Green Day and Blink-182, as well as their influence on bands like Fall Out Boy and All Time Low. Furthermore, skate punk gained momentum, leading to another group called Weezer that helped develop an entire genre: Emo music.
In the 1990s, singer-songwriter artists such as Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson saw renewed success within the music industry. R&B became more closely tied with hip hop through new jack swing and classic soul harmonies that bridged this divide.
The 2000s
In the 2000s, teen pop was still immensely popular with groups like *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys continuing to top charts and female groups like Destiny’s Child, TLC, and Spice Girls also remaining highly-acclaimed acts during this decade. Rap music also enjoyed widespread appeal; Eminem had one of five best-selling albums of the decade with Relapse being among its five best sellers; Eminem eventually becoming one of the most sought-after rap artists of all time across multiple genres as well. A subgenre known as ringtone rap also emerged which featured more laid back elements with repetitive hooks; these became immensely popular as mobile phone ringtones during this decade.
This period also saw a revival of rock, as evidenced by Blink-182, Nine Days and Aerosmith becoming mainstream hits. Additionally, indie bands like Animal Collective, Vampire Weekend and Sufjan Stevens reached mainstream status.
The 2000s witnessed the explosion of heavy metal music with AC/DC’s release of Stiff Upper Lip and Black Ice albums respectively in 2000 and 2008. Guns N’ Roses’ comeback and Chinese Democracy from 2008 made this decade one to remember.