Rock & roll was one of the defining musical styles of the 1950s, influencing artists as diverse as the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan in later decades. Rock & roll had clear roots in a range of musical genres, from blues to swing, and evolved over the course of the 1940s and the '50s. Common instruments included guitars, electric bass as well as drums. Crucial to the classic rock & roll sound was a blues rhythm played on guitar, backed up by the beat of a drum. As well as influencing music, the popularity of rock & roll had a profound effect on 1950s youth culture, dance styles and entertainment such as movies.
Rockabilly merged rock & roll with hillbilly --- a form of country music -- and added elements borrowed from genres such as rhythm and blues and swing. The first rockabilly group was arguably the Maddox Brothers who played hillbilly with gusto and were known for their slapped bass technique. The style developed, thanks to the influence of musicians who would meet and mix in gospel and sounds from boogie woogie jams, creating a multi-faceted hybrid music.
Historically, bluegrass was a style of mountain music practiced for centuries by British immigrants to the U.S. and generally took the form of unaccompanied vocal music. The genre emerged in the 1950s after years in isolation and performers incorporated more instruments such as fiddles, guitars and banjos into the bluegrass sound. As in some jazz music, the bluegrass style often featured musicians swapping roles during a song, with performers taking turns to play the melody and accompaniment. Bluegrass artists who gained renown in the 1950s included Jimmy Martin and Bill Monroe.
Doo-Wop was named after the sound commonly made by its artists, appropriate since the doo-wop style relied on the strong vocals of its performers. Often, these vocals were unaccompanied and emphasis was instead placed on the lyrics and harmonies constructed by multiple singers. Popular doo-wop artists in the 1950s included The Drifters, The Platters and Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers.
A form of worship music which originated in the churches of African-Americans, gospel grew to immense popularity during the 1940s and 1950s. Touring artists were numerous and many churches staged gospel performances in their communities with both whole choirs and soloists involved. Artists such as Mahalia Jackson and Ward Singer made best-selling recordings. Numerous subgenres existed and continue to thrive, including black gospel and contemporary gospel.