Editing Music of the United States (section)

==Popular music==
{{Main|American popular music}}
The United States has produced many popular musicians and composers in the modern world. Beginning with the birth of recorded music, American performers have continued to lead the field of popular music, which out of "all the contributions made by Americans to world culture... has been taken to heart by the entire world".<ref>Ewen, p. 3.</ref><ref>{{cite web |author= Smith, Lisa|url=https://www.cheapoticketing.com/most-and-least-live-music-obsessed-states|title=Music Makes the World Go Around |date=2022-12-14|access-date=2023-02-10}}</ref> Most histories of popular music start with American [[ragtime]] or [[Tin Pan Alley]]; others, however, trace ''popular music'' to the [[Renaissance]] and through [[broadsheet]]s, [[ballad]]s, and other popular traditions.<ref>Clarke, p. 1–19.</ref> Other authors typically look at popular sheet music, tracing ''American popular music'' to [[Spiritual (music)|spirituals]], [[minstrel show]]s, [[vaudeville]], and the patriotic songs of the Civil War.

===Early popular song===
[[File:StephenFoster.jpeg|thumb|left|upright|19th-century song composer [[Stephen Foster]]]]

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The [[American patriotic music|patriotic lay songs]] of the American Revolution constituted the first kind of mainstream popular music. These included "The Liberty Tree" by [[Thomas Paine]]. Cheaply printed as [[broadsheet]]s, early patriotic songs spread across the colonies and were performed at home and at public meetings.<ref>Ewen, p. 9.</ref> [[Fife (instrument)|Fife]] songs were especially celebrated, and were performed on fields of battle during the American Revolution. The longest lasting of these fife songs is "[[Yankee Doodle]]", still well known today. The melody dates back to 1755 and was sung by both American and British troops.<ref>Ewen, p. 11.</ref> Patriotic songs were based mostly on English melodies, with new lyrics added to denounce British colonialism; others, however, used tunes from Ireland, Scotland or elsewhere, or did not utilize a familiar melody. The song "[[Hail, Columbia]]" was a major work<ref>Ewen, p. 17.</ref> that remained an unofficial national anthem until the adoption of "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]". Much of this early American music still survives in [[Sacred Harp]]. Although relatively unknown outside of Shaker Communities, [[Simple Gifts]] was written in 1848 by Elder [[Joseph Brackett]] and the tune has since become internationally famous.<ref name=liberty>{{cite book|last=Fischer|first=David|title=Liberty and freedom: a visual history of America's founding ideas|year=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195162530/page/269 269]–273|isbn=978-0-19-516253-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195162530 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

During the Civil War, when soldiers from across the country commingled, the multifarious strands of American music began to cross-fertilize each other, a process that was aided by the burgeoning [[Rail transport|railroad]] industry and other technological developments that made travel and communication easier. Army units included individuals from across the country, and they rapidly traded tunes, instruments and techniques. The war was an impetus for the creation of distinctly American songs that became and remained wildly popular.<ref name="Struble_2">Struble, p. xvii.</ref> The most popular songs of the Civil War era included "[[Dixie (song)|Dixie]]", written by [[Dan Emmett|Daniel Decatur Emmett]]. The song, originally titled "Dixie's Land", was made for the closing of a [[minstrel show]]; it spread to New Orleans first, where it was published and became "one of the great song successes of the pre-Civil War period".<ref>Ewen, p. 21.</ref> In addition to popular patriotic songs, the Civil War era also produced a great body of [[brass band]] pieces.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Band Music from the Civil War Era {{!}} About this Collection |url=https://www.loc.gov/collections/civil-war-band-music/about-this-collection/ |access-date=June 26, 2023 |website=Library of Congress}}</ref>

[[File:Jolson 1916.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Al Jolson]], circa 1916, is credited with being America's most famous and highest-paid star of the 1920s.]]
Following the Civil War, minstrel shows became the first distinctively American form of music expression. The minstrel show was an indigenous form of American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, usually performed by white people in [[blackface]]. Minstrel shows used African American elements in musical performances, but only in simplified ways; storylines in the shows depicted blacks as natural-born slaves and fools, before eventually becoming associated with [[abolitionism in the United States|abolitionism]].<ref>Clarke, p. 21.</ref> The minstrel show was invented by Daniel Decatur Emmett and the [[Virginia Minstrels]].<ref>Clarke, p. 23.</ref> Minstrel shows produced the first well-remembered popular songwriters in American music history: [[Thomas D. Rice]], Daniel Decatur Emmett, and, most famously, [[Stephen Foster]]. After minstrel shows' popularity faded, [[coon song]]s, a similar phenomenon, became popular.

The composer [[John Philip Sousa]] is closely associated with the most popular trend in American popular music just before the start of the 20th century. Formerly the bandmaster of the [[United States Marine Band]], Sousa wrote military marches like "[[The Stars and Stripes Forever]]" that reflected his "nostalgia for [his] home and country", giving the melody a "stirring virile character".<ref>Ewen, p. 29.</ref><ref name="Bierley1973">{{cite book|first=Paul E.|last=Bierley|title=John Philip Sousa: American Phenomenon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QcabC2avFLsC&pg=PA5|year=1973|publisher=Alfred Music|isbn=978-1-4574-4995-6|page=5|edition=Revised}}</ref>

In the early 20th century, American [[Musical theatre|musical theater]] was a major source for popular songs, many of which influenced blues, jazz, country, and other extant styles of popular music. The center of development for this style was in New York City, where the [[Broadway theatre]]s became among the most renowned venues in the city. Theatrical composers and lyricists like the brothers [[George Gershwin|George]] and [[Ira Gershwin]] created a uniquely American theatrical style that used American vernacular speech and music. Musicals featured popular songs and fast-paced plots that often revolved around love and romance.<ref>Crawford, p. 664–688.</ref>

===Blues and gospel===
{{Main|Blues|gospel music}}
{{Listen
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|description  = Ragtime composition by Scott Joplin
|filename2    =
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[[File:Philip Paul Bliss, 1838-1876, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing left LCCN2005678063.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Philip Paul Bliss]]]]

The blues is a genre of African American folk music that is the basis for much of modern American popular music. Blues can be seen as part of a continuum of musical styles like country, jazz, ragtime, and gospel; though each genre evolved into distinct forms, their [[origins of the blues|origins]] were often indistinct. Early forms of the blues evolved in and around the Mississippi Delta in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The earliest blues music was primarily [[Call and response (music)|call and response]] vocal music, without harmony or accompaniment and without any formal musical structure. Slaves and their descendants created the blues by adapting the field shouts and hollers, turning them into passionate solo songs.<ref>Garofalo, p. 36.</ref> When mixed with the Christian [[spiritual (music)|spiritual]] songs of African American churches and revival meetings, blues became the basis of [[gospel music]]. Modern gospel began in African American churches in the 1920s, in the form of worshipers proclaiming their faith in an improvised, often musical manner (testifying). Composers like [[Thomas A. Dorsey]] composed gospel works that used elements of blues and jazz in traditional hymns and spiritual songs.<ref>Kempton, p. 9–18.</ref>

[[File:BB King onstage (Toronto, 2007).jpg|thumb|right|Blues singer [[B.B. King]]]]
Ragtime was originally a piano style, featuring syncopated rhythms and [[chromaticism]]s.<ref name="Rolling"/> It is primarily a form of dance music utilizing the [[walking bass]], and is generally composed in [[sonata form]]. Ragtime is a refined and evolved form of the African American [[cakewalk]] dance, mixed with styles ranging from European marches<ref>Schuller, Gunther, p. 24, cited in Garofalo, p. 26.</ref> and popular songs to [[jig]]s and other dances played by large African American bands in northern cities during the end of the 19th century. The most famous ragtime performer and composer was [[Scott Joplin]], known for works such as "Maple Leaf Rag".<ref name="Garofalo">Garofalo, p. 26.</ref>

[[File:Janis Joplin - Cash Box 1968.jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[Janis Joplin]] known for her raw, soulful voice and emotional delivery.]]

Blues became a part of American popular music in the 1920s, when [[classic female blues]] singers like [[Bessie Smith]] grew popular. At the same time, record companies launched the field of [[race music]], which was mostly blues targeted at African American audiences. The most famous of these acts went on to inspire much of the later popular development of the blues and blues-derived genres, including the legendary [[delta blues]] musician [[Robert Johnson]] and [[Piedmont blues]] musician [[Blind Willie McTell]]. By the end of the 1940s, however, pure blues was only a minor part of popular music, having been subsumed by offshoots like rhythm & blues and the nascent rock and roll style. Some styles of electric, piano-driven blues, like [[boogie-woogie]], retained a large audience. A bluesy style of gospel also became popular in mainstream America in the 1950s, led by singer [[Mahalia Jackson]].<ref name="Werner">Werner.</ref> The blues genre experienced major revivals in the 1950s with [[Chicago blues]] musicians such as [[Muddy Waters]] and [[Little Walter]],{{sfn|Gilliland|1969|loc=show 4}} as well as in the 1960s in the [[British Invasion]] and [[American folk music revival]] when [[country blues]] musicians like [[Mississippi John Hurt]] and [[Reverend Gary Davis]] were rediscovered. The seminal blues musicians of these periods had tremendous influence on rock musicians such as [[Chuck Berry]] in the 1950s, as well as on the [[British blues]] and [[blues rock]] scenes of the 1960s and 1970s, including [[Eric Clapton]] in Britain and [[Johnny Winter]] in Texas.

===Jazz===
{{Main|Jazz}}
[[File:MortonBricktopRowCropMortonFace.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Jelly Roll Morton]] was an early Jazz pioneer]]
[[Jazz]] is a kind of music characterized by [[swung note|swung]] and [[blue note]]s, call and response vocals, [[polyrhythm]]s and [[improvisation]]. Though originally a kind of dance music, jazz has been a major part of popular music, and has also become a major element of Western classical music. Jazz has roots in West African cultural and musical expression, and in African American music traditions including blues and ragtime, as well as European military band music.<ref>Ferris, p. 228, 233.</ref> Early jazz was closely related to ragtime, with which it could be distinguished by the use of more intricate rhythmic improvisation. The earliest jazz bands adopted much of the vocabulary of the blues, including bent and blue notes and instrumental "growls" and smears otherwise not used on European instruments. Jazz's roots come from the city of [[New Orleans, Louisiana]], populated by Cajuns and black Creoles, who combined the French-Canadian culture of the Cajuns with their own styles of music in the 19th century. Large Creole bands that played for funerals and parades became a major basis for early jazz, which spread from New Orleans to Chicago and other northern urban centers.

[[File:Ella_Fitzgerald_1968.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Ella Fitzgerald]] the Queen of Jazz.]]
Though jazz had long since achieved some limited popularity, it was [[Louis Armstrong]] who became one of the first popular stars and a major force in the development of jazz, along with his friend pianist [[Earl Hines]]. Armstrong, Hines, and their colleagues were improvisers, capable of creating numerous variations on a single melody. Armstrong also popularized [[scat singing]], an improvisational vocal technique in which nonsensical syllables ([[vocable]]s) are sung. Armstrong and Hines were influential in the rise of a kind of pop big band jazz called ''[[swing (genre)|swing]]''. Swing is characterized by a strong rhythm section, usually consisting of [[double bass]] and drums, medium to fast tempo, and rhythmic devices like the swung note, which is common to most jazz. Swing is primarily a fusion of 1930s jazz fused with elements of the blues and Tin Pan Alley.<ref name="Garofalo"/> Swing used bigger bands than other kinds of jazz, leading to bandleaders tightly arranging the material which discouraged improvisation, previously an integral part of jazz. Swing became a major part of African American dance, and came to be accompanied by a popular dance called the [[swing dance]].

Jazz influenced many performers of all the major styles of later popular music, though jazz itself never again became such a major part of American popular music as during the swing era. The later 20th-century American jazz scene did, however, produce some popular crossover stars, such as [[Miles Davis]]. In the middle of the 20th century, jazz evolved into a variety of subgenres, beginning with [[bebop]]. Bebop is a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos, improvisation based on harmonic structure rather than melody, and use of the [[flatted fifth]]. Bebop was developed in the early and mid-1940s, later evolving into styles like [[hard bop]] and [[free jazz]]. Innovators of the style included [[Charlie Parker]] and [[Dizzy Gillespie]], who arose from small jazz clubs in New York City.<ref name="Clarke">Clarke.</ref>

===Country music===
{{Main|Country music}}
[[File:George Strait 2014 2.jpg|thumb|right|[[George Strait]] on the Cowboy Rides Away Tour, Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, March 1, 2014]]

Country music is primarily a fusion of African American blues and spirituals with [[Appalachian folk music]], adapted for pop audiences and popularized beginning in the 1920s. The origins of country are in rural Southern folk music, which was primarily Irish and British, with African and continental European musics.<ref>Malone, p. 77.</ref> Anglo-Celtic tunes, dance music, and balladry were the earliest predecessors of modern country, then known as ''hillbilly music''. Early [[hillbilly]] also borrowed elements of the blues and drew upon more aspects of 19th-century pop songs as hillbilly music evolved into a commercial genre eventually known as ''country and western'' and then simply ''country''.<ref>Sawyers, p. 112.</ref> The earliest country instrumentation revolved around the European-derived [[fiddle]] and the African-derived [[banjo]], with the [[guitar]] later added.<ref>Barraclough, Nick and Kurt Wolff. "High an' Lonesome" in the ''Rough Guide to World Music, Volume 2'', p. 537.</ref> String instruments like the [[ukulele]] and [[steel guitar]] became commonplace due to the popularity of [[music of Hawaii|Hawaiian musical]] groups in the early 20th century.<ref>Garofalo, p. 45.</ref>

[[File:Alison_Krauss_MerleFest_2007_01.jpg|thumb|left|[[Alison Krauss]] holds the most awards in the Country Music field out of any other female artist.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.grammy.com/news/who-are-the-top-grammy-awards-winners-of-all-time | title=Who Are the Top GRAMMY Awards Winners of All Time? Who Has the Most GRAMMYs? }}</ref>]]

The roots of commercial country music are generally traced to 1927, when music talent scout [[Ralph Peer]] recorded [[Jimmie Rodgers (country singer)|Jimmie Rodgers]] and [[The Carter Family]].<ref>Collins, p. 11.</ref> Popular success was very limited, though a small demand spurred some commercial recording. After [[American music during World War II|World War II]], there was increased interest in specialty styles like country music, producing a few major pop stars.<ref>Gillett, p. 9, cited in Garofalo, p. 74.</ref> The most influential country musician of the era was [[Hank Williams]], a bluesy country singer from Alabama.<ref name="Werner"/>{{sfn|Gilliland|1969|loc=show 9}} He remains renowned as one of country music's greatest songwriters and performers, viewed as a "folk poet" with a "honky-tonk swagger" and "working-class sympathies".<ref>Garofalo, p. 75.</ref> Throughout the decade the roughness of [[honky tonk|honky-tonk]] gradually eroded as the [[Nashville sound]] grew more pop-oriented. Producers like [[Chet Atkins]] created the Nashville sound by stripping the hillbilly elements of the instrumentation and using smooth instrumentation and advanced production techniques.{{sfn|Gilliland|1969|loc=show 10}} Eventually, most records from Nashville were in this style, which began to incorporate strings and vocal choirs.<ref>{{AllMusic|access-date=June 6, 2005 |title=Nashville sound/Countrypolitan |class=explore|id=style/d2676 |work=Allmusic}}</ref>

[[File:Loretta_Lynn_LCCN2021643178_(cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Loretta Lynn]] was a country music singer during the 1960s and 1970s]]

By the early part of the 1960s, however, the Nashville sound had become perceived as too watered-down by many more traditionalist performers and fans, resulting in a number of local scenes like the [[Bakersfield sound]]. A few performers retained popularity, however, such as the long-standing cultural icon [[Johnny Cash]].<ref>Garofalo, p. 140.</ref> The Bakersfield sound began in the mid to late 1950s when performers like [[Wynn Stewart]] and [[Buck Owens]] began using elements of [[Western swing]] and rock, such as the [[breakbeat]], in their music.<ref>Collins.</ref> In the 1960s performers like [[Merle Haggard]] popularized the sound. In the early 1970s, Haggard was also part of [[outlaw country]], alongside singer-songwriters such as [[Willie Nelson]] and [[Waylon Jennings]].<ref name="Clarke"/> Outlaw country was rock-oriented and lyrically focused on the criminal antics of the performers, in contrast to the clean-cut country singers of the Nashville sound.<ref>{{cite web |access-date=June 6, 2005 |title=Hank Williams|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/williams_h.html|work=PBS' American Masters}}</ref> By the middle of the 1980s, the country music charts were dominated by pop singers, alongside a nascent revival of honky-tonk-style country with the rise of performers like [[Dwight Yoakam]]. The 1980s also saw the development of [[alternative country]] performers like [[Uncle Tupelo]], who were opposed to the more pop-oriented style of mainstream country. At the beginning of the 2000s, rock-oriented country acts remained among the best-selling performers in the United States, especially [[Garth Brooks]].<ref name="Garofalo_2">Garofalo.</ref>

===Soul, R&B and funk===
{{Main|Rhythm and blues|soul music|funk}}
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R&B, an abbreviation for ''rhythm and blues'', is a style that arose in the 1930s and 1940s. Early R&B consisted of large rhythm units "smashing away behind screaming blues singers (who) had to shout to be heard above the clanging and strumming of the various electrified instruments and the churning rhythm sections".<ref>Baraka, p. 168, cited in Garofalo, p. 76.</ref> R&B was not extensively recorded and promoted because record companies felt that it was not suited for most audiences, especially middle-class whites, because of the suggestive lyrics and driving rhythms.<ref>Garofalo, p. 76, 78.</ref> Bandleaders like [[Louis Jordan]] innovated the sound of early R&B, using a band with a small horn section and prominent rhythm instrumentation. 

[[File:James Brown Live Hamburg 1973 1702730029.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Singer [[James Brown]] was critical in the transition of rhythm and blues to soul music and pioneering funk music.<ref name="UnterbergerJB"/>]]

By the end of the 1940s, he had had several hits, and helped pave the way for contemporaries like [[Wynonie Harris]] and [[John Lee Hooker]]. Many of the most popular R&B songs were not performed in the rollicking style of Jordan and his contemporaries; instead they were performed by white musicians like [[Pat Boone]] in a more palatable mainstream style, which turned into pop hits.<ref>''Rolling Stone'', p. 99–100.</ref> By the end of the 1950s, however, there was a wave of popular black blues rock and country-influenced R&B performers like [[Chuck Berry]] gaining unprecedented fame among white listeners.<ref>''Rolling Stone'', p. 101–102.</ref>{{sfn|Gilliland|1969|loc=shows 5, 55}}
[[Motown Records]] became highly successful during the early and mid-1960s for producing music of black American roots that defied racial segregation in the music industry and consumer market. Music journalist [[Jerry Wexler]] (who coined the phrase "rhythm and blues") once said of Motown: "[They] did something that you would have to say on paper is impossible. They took black music and beamed it directly to the white American teenager." [[Berry Gordy]] founded Motown in 1959 in [[Detroit|Detroit, Michigan]]. It was one of few R&B record labels that sought to transcend the R&B market (which was definitively black in the American mindset) and specialize in [[crossover music]]. The company emerged as the leading producer (or "assembly line," a reference to its motor-town origins) of black popular music by the early 1960s and marketed its products as "The Motown Sound" or "The Sound of Young America"—which combined elements of soul, funk, disco and R&B.<ref>Flory, p. 1-6.</ref> Notable Motown acts include the [[Four Tops]], [[the Temptations]], [[the Supremes]], [[Smokey Robinson]], [[Stevie Wonder]], and [[the Jackson 5]]. Visual representation was central to Motown's rise; they placed greater emphasis on visual media than other record labels. Many people's first exposure to Motown was by television and film. Motown artists' image of successful black Americans who held themselves with grace and aplomb broadcast a distinct form of middle-class blackness to audiences, which was particularly appealing to whites.<ref>Flory, p. 135-137.</ref>

Soul music is a combination of rhythm and blues and gospel which began in the late 1950s in the United States. It is characterized by its use of gospel-music devices, with a greater emphasis on vocalists and the use of secular themes. The 1950s recordings of [[Ray Charles]], [[Sam Cooke]],{{sfn|Gilliland|1969|loc=shows 15–17}} and [[James Brown (musician)|James Brown]] are commonly considered the beginnings of soul. Charles' ''[[Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music|Modern Sounds]]'' (1962) records featured a fusion of soul and country music, [[country soul]], and crossed racial barriers in music at the time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fontenot |first=Robert |date=November 4, 2019 |title=The Story Behind Musicman Ray Charles |url=https://www.liveabout.com/facts-about-ray-charles-2523174 |access-date=June 26, 2023 |website=liveabout.com |language=en}}</ref> One of Cooke's most well-known songs "[[A Change Is Gonna Come (song)|A Change Is Gonna Come]]" (1964) became accepted as a classic and an anthem of the [[American Civil Rights Movement]] during the 1960s.<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=song|id=t5489815|pure_url=yes}} allmusic: A Change Is Gonna Come]. All Media Guide, LLC. Retrieved on 2009-02-08.</ref> According to [[AllMusic]], James Brown was critical, through "the gospel-impassioned fury of his vocals and the complex polyrhythms of his beats", in "two revolutions in black American music. He was one of the figures most responsible for turning R&B into soul and he was, most would agree, the figure most responsible for turning soul music into the funk of the late '60s and early '70s."<ref name="UnterbergerJB">{{cite web |last=Unterberger|first=Richie|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/james-brown-p3779/biography|title=James Brown|publisher=[[AllMusic]]. [[Rovi Corporation]]|at=Biography|access-date=2012-01-28}}</ref>

[[File:Whitney Houston Welcome Heroes 8 (cropped).JPEG|left|thumb|upright|Singer [[Whitney Houston]], nicknamed "The Voice", was certified as the best-selling female R&B artist of the 20th century by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]].<ref name="riaacentury">{{cite web|date=November 10, 1999|title=The American Recording Industry Announces its Artists of the Century|url=http://www.riaa.net/newsitem.php?news_month_filter=11&news_year_filter=1999&resultpage=&id=3ABF3EC8-EF5B-58F9-E949-3B57F5E313DF|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724032619/http://www.riaa.net/newsitem.php?news_month_filter=11&news_year_filter=1999&resultpage=&id=3ABF3EC8-EF5B-58F9-E949-3B57F5E313DF|archive-date=July 24, 2011|access-date=July 23, 2010|publisher=Recording Industry Association of America}}</ref> She is also among the world's biggest selling music artists of all time, with over 220 million records sold. ]]

Pure soul was popularized by [[Otis Redding]] and the other artists of [[Stax Records]] in [[Memphis, Tennessee]]. By the late 1960s, [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]] recording artist [[Aretha Franklin]] had emerged as the most popular female soul star in the country.<ref>Unterberger, Richie. "Aretha Franklin". ''Allmusic''. Retrieved from {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p4305|pure_url=yes}} on August 5, 2006.</ref>{{sfn|Gilliland|1969|loc=shows 51–52}} Known for singing in a wide variety of genres, Franklin is considered one of the all-time greatest American singers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Why Aretha was the greatest singer in US history |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20180816-aretha-greatest-singer-in-us-history |website=BBC |access-date=April 14, 2023}}</ref> Also by this time, soul had splintered into several genres,<ref>Guralnick.</ref> influenced by psychedelic rock and other styles. The social and political ferment of the 1960s inspired artists like [[Marvin Gaye]] and [[Curtis Mayfield]] to release albums with hard-hitting social commentary, while another variety became more dance-oriented music, evolving into [[funk]]. Despite his previous affinity with politically and socially-charged lyrical themes, Gaye helped popularize sexual and romance-themed music and funk,<ref name="edm15">Edmonds (2001), pp. 15–18.</ref> while his 70s recordings, including ''[[Let's Get It On]]'' (1973) and ''[[I Want You (Marvin Gaye album)|I Want You]]'' (1976) helped develop the [[quiet storm]] sound and format.<ref>Weisbard (1995), pp. 202–205.</ref> One of the most influential albums ever recorded, [[Sly & the Family Stone]]'s ''[[There's a Riot Goin' On]]'' (1971) has been considered among the first and best examples of the matured version of funk music, after prototypical instances of the sound in the group's earlier work.<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p5460/biography|pure_url=yes}} allmusic (((Sly & the Family Stone > Biography)))]. All Media Guide, LLC. Retrieved on 2008-10-01.</ref> Artists such as [[Gil Scott-Heron]] and [[The Last Poets]] practiced an eclectic blend of poetry, jazz-funk, and soul, featuring critical political and social commentary with [[Afrocentrism|afrocentric]] sentiment. Scott-Heron's [[Proto-rap]] work, including "[[The Revolution Will Not Be Televised]]" (1971) and ''[[Winter in America]]'' (1974), has had a considerable impact on later hip hop artists,<ref name="houstonpress">[http://www.houstonpress.com/1998-09-03/music/catching-up-with-gil/print Catching Up with Gil – Music – Houston Press]. Village Voice Media. Retrieved on 2008-07-10.</ref> while his unique sound with [[Brian Jackson (musician)|Brian Jackson]] influenced neo soul artists.<ref name="americanvisions">{{cite journal|title= Gil Scott-Heron|journal= American Visions|date= June 1998|last= Bordowitz|first= Hank|issue= 3|volume= 13|page= 40|url= https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-20789554|access-date= |via= |url-access= |archive-date= May 7, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200507170143/https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-20789554|url-status= dead}}</ref>

[[File:MariahRAH270519-51_(49620845103)_(cropped).jpg|thumb|right|160px|[[Mariah Carey]] blends elements of pop, rhythm and blues (R&B), soul, and hip-hop]]

During the mid-1970s, highly slick and commercial bands such as [[Philly soul]] group [[The O'Jays]] and [[blue-eyed soul]] group [[Hall & Oates]] achieved mainstream success. By the end of the 1970s, most music genres, including soul, had been [[disco]]-influenced. With the introduction of influences from [[electro music]] and funk in the late 1970s and early 1980s, soul music became less raw and more slickly produced, resulting in a genre of music that was once again called ''R&B'', usually distinguished from the earlier rhythm and blues by identifying it as ''[[contemporary R&B]]''.

The first contemporary R&B stars arose in the 1980s, with the dance-pop star [[Michael Jackson]], funk-influenced singer [[Prince (artist)|Prince]], and a wave of female vocalists like [[Tina Turner]] and [[Whitney Houston]].<ref name="Garofalo_2" /> Michael Jackson and Prince have been described as the most influential figures in contemporary R&B and popular music because of their eclectic use of elements from a variety of genres.<ref name="The New Blue Music">{{cite book |last= Ripani |first= Richard J. |title= The New Blue Music: Changes in Rhythm & Blues, 1950–1999 |publisher= Univ. Press of Mississippi |year= 2006 |pages= 128, 131–132, 152–153 |isbn= 978-1-57806-862-3}}</ref> Prince was largely responsible for creating the [[Minneapolis sound]]: "a blend of horns, guitars, and electronic synthesizers supported by a steady, bouncing rhythm."<ref>{{cite book |author1=Tom Pendergast |author2=Sara Pendergast |title=St. James encyclopedia of popular culture, Volume 4|publisher=St. James Press|year=2000|page=112|isbn= 978-1-55862-404-7}}</ref> Jackson's work focused on smooth balladry or [[disco]]-influenced dance music; as an artist, he "pulled dance music out of the disco doldrums with his 1979 adult solo debut, ''[[Off the Wall (album)|Off the Wall]]'', merged R&B with rock on ''[[Thriller (Michael Jackson album)|Thriller]]'', and introduced stylized steps such as the robot and [[moonwalk (dance)|moonwalk]] over the course of his career."<ref>{{cite news|author=Dave Larson|title=The Jackson one eclipse the waning moon of Michael's career to become the reigning royalty in the pop superstar universe?|newspaper=[[Dayton Daily News]]|date=1994-02-04|page=14}}</ref> Jackson is often recognized as the "King of Pop" for his achievements.

[[File:Beyoncé at The Lion King European Premiere 2019.png|thumb|upright|left|[[Beyoncé]] was one of the most popular American R&B singers in the 2000s.]]

By 1983, the concept of popular music crossover became inextricably associated with Michael Jackson. ''Thriller'' saw unprecedented success, selling over 10&nbsp;million copies in the United States alone. By 1984, the album captured over 140 gold and platinum awards and was recognized by the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' as the [[List of best-selling albums|best-selling record of all-time]], a title it still holds today.<ref name="Harper 111">{{Cite journal|last=Harper|first=Phillip Brian|date=1989|title=Synesthesia, "Crossover," and Blacks in Popular Music|jstor=466423|journal=Social Text|issue=23|pages=110–111|doi=10.2307/466423}}</ref> [[MTV|MTV's]] broadcast of "[[Billie Jean]]" was the first for any black artist, thereby breaking the "color barrier" of pop music on the small screen.<ref name="Harper 111"/> ''Thriller'' remains the only music video recognized by the [[National Film Registry]].
[[Janet Jackson]] collaborated with former Prince associates [[Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis]] on her third studio album ''[[Control (Janet Jackson album)|Control]]'' (1986); the album's second single "[[Nasty (Janet Jackson song)|Nasty]]" has been described as the origin of the [[new jack swing]] sound, a genre innovated by [[Teddy Riley (producer)|Teddy Riley]].<ref name="The New Blue Music"/> Riley's work on [[Keith Sweat]]'s ''[[Make It Last Forever (album)|Make It Last Forever]]'' (1987), [[Guy (band)|Guy]]'s ''[[Guy (Guy album)|Guy]]'' (1988), and [[Bobby Brown]]'s ''[[Don't Be Cruel]]'' (1998) made new jack swing a staple of contemporary R&B into the mid-1990s.<ref name="The New Blue Music"/> New jack swing was a style and trend of vocal music, often featuring rapped verses and [[drum machine]]s.<ref name="Werner"/> The crossover appeal of early contemporary R&B artists in mainstream popular music, including works by Prince, Michael and Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, [[Anita Baker]], and [[The Pointer Sisters]] became a turning point for black artists in the industry, as their success "was perhaps the first hint that the greater cosmopolitanism of a world market might produce some changes in the complexion of popular music."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Garofalo|first=Reebee|title=From Music Publishing to MP3: Music and Industry in the Twentieth Century|journal=American Music|volume=17|issue=3|year=1999|page=343|doi=10.2307/3052666|jstor=3052666}}</ref>

[[File:H.E.R performing with Coldplay at MOTS World Tour Press Release Photo 2 (cropped).png|thumb|222x222px|[[H.E.R]] known for her signature style, which often includes wearing sunglasses.]]

The use of [[melisma]], a gospel tradition adapted by vocalists [[Whitney Houston]] and [[Mariah Carey]] would become a cornerstone of contemporary R&B singers beginning in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s.<ref name="The New Blue Music"/> Whitney Houston's R&B hits included "[[All the Man That I Need]]" (1990) and "[[I Will Always Love You]]" (1992), later became the best-selling physical single by a female act of all time, with sales of over 20 million copies worldwide. Her 1992 hit soundtrack [[The Bodyguard (1992 film)|''The Bodyguard'']], spent 20 weeks on top of the [[Billboard Hot 200|''Billboard'' Hot 200]], sold over 45 million copies worldwide and remains the best-selling soundtrack album of all time.

Hip hop came to influence contemporary R&B later in the 1980s, first through new jack swing and then in a related series of subgenres called [[hip hop soul]] and [[neo soul]]. Hip hop soul and neo soul developed later, in the 1990s. Typified by the work of [[Mary J. Blige]], [[R. Kelly]] and [[Bobby Brown]], the former is a mixture of contemporary R&B with hip hop beats, while the images and themes of [[gangsta rap]] may be present. The latter is a more experimental, edgier, and generally less mainstream combination of 1960s and 1970s-style soul vocals with some hip hop influence, and has earned some mainstream recognition through the work of [[D'Angelo]], [[Erykah Badu]], [[Alicia Keys]], and [[Lauryn Hill]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nero |first=Mark Edward |date=March 5, 2019 |title=What Is Neo-Soul? |url=https://www.liveabout.com/what-is-neo-soul-2851222 |access-date=June 26, 2023 |website=liveabout.com |language=en}}</ref> D'Angelo's critically acclaimed album ''[[Voodoo (D'Angelo album)|Voodoo]]'' (2000) has been recognized by music writers as a masterpiece and the cornerstone of the neo soul genre.<ref>{{cite web |last=Davis |first=Chris |url=http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/Content?oid=oid%3A40989 |title=Leader of the Pack |publisher=The Memphis Flyer |access-date=2014-08-24}}</ref><ref>[http://beta.reveillemag.com/columns/warp-weft-dangelo-voodoo Warp + Weft: D'Angelo:: Voodoo: Reveille Magazine] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090413080924/http://beta.reveillemag.com/columns/warp-weft-dangelo-voodoo |date=April 13, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Lonnae O'Neal Parker; 700+ words |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-504627.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511205126/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-504627.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-05-11 |title=Neo-Soul's Familiar Face; With 'Voodoo,' D'Angelo Aims to Reclaim His Place in a Movement He Got Rolling |publisher= |access-date=}}</ref>

===Pop music===
{{Main|Pop Music}}
[[File:Madonna_à_Nice_26.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Madonna]] has been nicknamed the "Queen of Pop" since the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2008/oct/28/madonna-pop-art|first=Alan|last=McGee|author-link=Alan McGee|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=August 20, 2008|access-date=April 17, 2013|title=Madonna Pop Art}}</ref> She is noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music and visual presentation.]]

[[Pop Music]] is a genre of [[popular music]] that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the [[United States]] and the [[United Kingdom]]. During the 1950s and 1960s, pop music encompassed [[rock and roll]] and the youth-oriented styles it influenced. ''Rock'' and ''pop'' remained roughly synonymous until the late 1960s, after which ''pop'' became associated with music that was more commercial, ephemeral, and accessible. Although much of the music that appears on [[record chart]]s is seen as pop music, the genre is distinguished from chart music. [[Bing Crosby]] was one of the first artists to be nicknamed "King of Song" or "King of Popular Music". [[Indie pop]], which developed in the late 1970s, marked another departure from the glamour of contemporary pop music, with guitar bands formed on the then-novel premise that one could record and release their own music without having to procure a [[record contract]] from a major label.<ref>{{Citation|title=Twee as Fuck: The Story of Indie Pop |first=Nitsuh |last=Abebe |work=Pitchfork Media |date=24 October 2005 |url=http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/6176-twee-as-fuck/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224073504/http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/6176-twee-as-fuck |archive-date=24 February 2011 }}</ref> By the early 1980s, the promotion of pop music had been greatly affected by the rise of music television channels like [[MTV]], which "favoured those artists such as [[Michael Jackson]] and [[Madonna]] who had a strong visual appeal". The 1980s are commonly remembered for an increase in the use of [[digital recording]], associated with the usage of [[synthesizer]]s, with [[synth-pop]] music and other [[electronic music|electronic]] genres featuring non-traditional instruments increasing in popularity.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/29/arts/rap-music-brash-and-swaggering-enters-mainstream.html | work=The New York Times | first=Glenn | last=Collins | title=Rap Music, Brash And Swaggering, Enters Mainstream | date=1988-08-29}}</ref> By 2014, pop music worldwide had been permeated by [[electronic dance music]]. In 2018, researchers at the [[University of California, Irvine]], concluded that pop music has become 'sadder' since the 1980s. The elements of [[happiness]] and brightness have eventually been replaced with the electronic beats making the pop music more 'sad yet danceable'.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thefader.com/2018/05/16/sadness-in-pop-music-study|title=New study finds pop music has gotten extremely depressing but also more fun to dance to|work=The FADER|access-date=2018-05-21|language=en}}</ref> 

===Rock, metal, and punk===
{{Main|Rock music|heavy metal music|punk rock}}
{{See also|New wave of American heavy metal}}

Rock and roll developed out of country, blues, and R&B. [[Origins of rock and roll|Rock's exact origins]] and early influences have been hotly debated, and are the subjects of much scholarship. Though squarely in the blues tradition, rock took elements from [[Afro-American music|Afro-Caribbean]] and [[Latin music (genre)|Latin music]]al techniques.<ref>Palmer, p. 48; cited in Garofalo, p. 95.</ref> Rock was an urban style, formed in the areas where diverse populations resulted in the mixtures of African American, Latin and European genres ranging from the blues and country to [[polka]] and [[zydeco]].<ref>Lipsitz, p. 214; cited in Garofalo, p. 95.</ref> Rock and roll first entered popular music through a style called ''[[rockabilly]]'',{{sfn|Gilliland|1969|loc=shows 7–8}} which fused the nascent sound with elements of country music. Black-performed rock and roll had previously had limited mainstream success, but it was the white performer [[Elvis Presley]] who first appealed to mainstream audiences with a black style of music, becoming one of the best-selling musicians in history, and brought rock and roll to audiences across the world.<ref>Garofalo, p. 131.</ref>

[[File:ZZTop.jpg|thumb|right|[[ZZ Top]] by 2014, has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide. ZZ Top was inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in 2004.]]

The 1960s saw several important changes in popular music, especially rock. Many of these changes took place through the [[British Invasion]] where bands such as [[The Beatles]], [[The Who]], and [[The Rolling Stones]],{{sfn|Gilliland|1969|loc=shows 27–30, 48–49}} became immensely popular and had a profound effect on American culture and music. These changes included the move from professionally composed songs to the [[singer-songwriter]], and the understanding of popular music as an [[art]], rather than a form of commerce or pure entertainment.<ref>Garofalo, p. 185.</ref> These changes led to the rise of musical movements connected to political goals, such as the [[American Civil Rights Movement]] and the [[opposition to the Vietnam War]]. Rock was at the forefront of this change.

[[File:The Eagles in Berlin.JPG|thumb|left|[[Eagles (band)|The Eagles]] with five number-one singles, six Grammy Awards, five American Music Awards, and six number one albums, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s.]]

In the early 1960s, rock spawned several subgenres, beginning with [[surf music|surf]]. Surf was an instrumental guitar genre characterized by a distorted sound, associated with the Southern California [[surfing]] youth culture.<ref>Szatmary, p. 69–70.</ref>{{sfn|Gilliland|1969|loc=show 20}} Inspired by the lyrical focus of surf, [[The Beach Boys]] began recording in 1961 with an elaborate, pop-friendly, and harmonic sound.<ref>''Rolling Stone'', p. 251.</ref>{{sfn|Gilliland|1969|loc=show 37}} As their fame grew, The Beach Boys' songwriter [[Brian Wilson]] experimented with new studio techniques and became associated with the [[counterculture]]. The counterculture was a movement that embraced political activism, and was closely connected to the [[hippie]] subculture. The hippies were associated with [[folk rock]], [[country rock]], and [[psychedelic rock]].{{sfn|Gilliland|1969|loc=shows 41–42}} Folk and country rock were associated with the rise of politicized folk music, led by [[Pete Seeger]] and others, especially at the [[Greenwich Village]] music scene in New York.{{sfn|Gilliland|1969|loc=show 18}} Folk rock entered the mainstream in the middle of the 1960s, when the singer-songwriter [[Bob Dylan]] began his career. [[AllMusic]] editor [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] attributes The Beatles' shift toward introspective songwriting in the mid-1960s to Bob Dylan's influence at the time.<ref name="ErlewineBobDylan">{{cite web |last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/bob-dylan-p4147/biography|title=Bob Dylan|publisher=[[AllMusic]]. [[Rovi Corporation]]|at=Biography|access-date=2012-01-28}}</ref> He was followed by a number of country-rock bands and soft, folky singer-songwriters. Psychedelic rock was a hard-driving kind of guitar-based rock, closely associated with the city of [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]]. Though [[Jefferson Airplane]] was the only local band to have a major national hit, the [[Grateful Dead]], a country and bluegrass-flavored [[jam band]], became an iconic part of the psychedelic counterculture, associated with hippies, [[LSD]] and other symbols of that era.{{sfn|Gilliland|1969|loc=shows 41–42}} Some say that the [[Grateful Dead]] were truly the most American [[patriotic]] [[rock band]] to have ever existed; forming and molding a culture that defines Americans today.<ref>Garofalo, p. 196, 218.</ref>

[[File:Aerosmith_B.jpg|thumb|right|[[Aerosmith]] is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "the Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band".]]

Following the turbulent political, social and musical changes of the 1960s and early 1970s, rock music diversified. What was formerly a discrete genre known as ''rock and roll'' evolved into a catchall category called simply ''[[rock music]]'', which came to include diverse styles developed in the US like [[punk rock]]. During the 1970s most of these styles were evolving in the underground music scene, while mainstream audiences began the decade with a wave of [[singer-songwriter]]s who drew on the deeply emotional and personal lyrics of 1960s folk rock. The same period saw the rise of bombastic [[arena rock]] bands, bluesy [[Southern rock]] groups and mellow [[soft rock]] stars. Beginning in the later 1970s, the rock singer and songwriter [[Bruce Springsteen]] became a major star, with anthemic songs and dense, inscrutable lyrics that celebrated the poor and working class.<ref name="Garofalo_2"/>

Punk was a form of rebellious rock that began in the 1970s, and was loud, aggressive, and often very simple. Punk began as a reaction against the popular music of the period, especially [[disco]] and [[arena rock]]. American bands in the field included, most famously, [[The Ramones]] and [[Talking Heads]], the latter playing a more avant-garde style that was closely associated with punk before evolving into mainstream [[New wave music|new wave]].<ref name="Garofalo_2"/> Other major acts include [[Blondie (band)|Blondie]], [[Patti Smith]], and [[Television (band)|Television]]. In the 1980s some punk fans and bands became disillusioned with the growing popularity of the style, resulting in an even more aggressive style called [[hardcore punk]]. Hardcore was a form of sparse punk, consisting of short, fast, intense songs that spoke to disaffected youth, with such influential bands as [[Bad Religion]], [[Bad Brains]], [[Black Flag (band)|Black Flag]], [[Dead Kennedys]], and [[Minor Threat]]. Hardcore began in metropolises like [[Washington, D.C.]], though most major American cities had their own local scenes in the 1980s.<ref>Blush, p. 12–13.</ref>

[[File:Foo_Fighters_Live_21.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Foo Fighters]] have won 12 [[Grammy Award]]s, including [[Grammy Award for Best Rock Album|Best Rock Album]] four times.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mccormick |first=Neil |date=June 28, 2015 |title=Dave Grohl interview: 'I'm going to fix my leg and then I'm going to come back' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/11684482/Dave-Grohl-interview-Im-going-to-fix-my-leg-and-then-Im-going-to-come-back.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150619045037/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/11684482/Dave-Grohl-interview-Im-going-to-fix-my-leg-and-then-Im-going-to-come-back.html |archive-date=June 19, 2015 |access-date=August 5, 2016 |website=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]}}</ref>]]

Hardcore, punk, and garage rock were the roots of ''[[alternative rock]]'', a diverse grouping of rock subgenres that were explicitly opposed to mainstream music, and that arose from the punk and post-punk styles. In the United States, many cities developed local alternative rock scenes, including Minneapolis and Seattle.<ref>Garofalo, p. 446–447.</ref> Seattle's local scene produced [[grunge|grunge music]], a dark and brooding style inspired by hardcore, [[psychedelia]], and alternative rock.<ref>Garofalo, p. 448.</ref> With the addition of a more melodic element to the sound of bands like [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]], [[Pearl Jam]], [[Soundgarden]], and [[Alice in Chains]], grunge became wildly popular across the United States<ref>Szatmary, p. 285.</ref> in 1991. Three years later, bands like [[Green Day]], [[The Offspring]], [[Rancid (band)|Rancid]], [[Bad Religion]], and [[NOFX]] hit the mainstream (with their respective then-new albums ''[[Dookie (album)|Dookie]]'', ''[[Smash (The Offspring album)|Smash]]'', ''[[Let's Go (Rancid album)|Let's Go]]'', ''[[Stranger than Fiction (Bad Religion album)|Stranger than Fiction]]'' and ''[[Punk in Drublic]]'') and brought the [[punk rock in California|California punk]] scene exposure worldwide.

[[File:Metallica at The O2 Arena London 2008.jpg|thumb|[[Metallica]] was one of the most influential bands in [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]], as they bridged the gap between commercial and critical success for the genre.<ref>{{cite web |last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/metallica-p4906/biography|title=Metallica|publisher=Allmusic. Rovi Corporation|at=Biography|access-date=2012-05-04}}</ref> The band became the best-selling rock act of the 1990s.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Rolling Stone:Metallica-Biography|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/metallica/biography|access-date=4 May 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071230030414/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/metallica/biography|archive-date=December 30, 2007 }}</ref>]]

Heavy metal is characterized by aggressive, driving rhythms, amplified and distorted guitars, grandiose lyrics, and virtuosic instrumentation. Heavy metal's origins lie in the hard rock bands who took blues and rock and created a heavy sound built on guitar and drums. The first major American bands came in the early 1970s, like [[Blue Öyster Cult]], [[Kiss (band)|KISS]], and [[Aerosmith]]. Heavy metal remained, however, a largely underground phenomenon. During the 1980s the first major pop-metal style arose and dominated the charts for several years kicked off by metal act [[Quiet Riot]] and dominated by bands such as [[Mötley Crüe]] and [[Ratt]]; this was [[glam metal]], a hard rock and pop fusion with a raucous spirit and a [[glam rock|glam]]-influenced visual aesthetic. Some of these bands, like [[Bon Jovi]], became international stars. The band [[Guns N' Roses]] rose to fame near the end of the decade with an image that was a reaction against the glam metal aesthetic.

By the mid-1980s heavy metal had branched in so many different directions that fans, record companies, and fanzines created numerous subgenres. The United States was especially known for one of these subgenres, [[thrash metal]], which was innovated by bands like [[Metallica]], [[Megadeth]], [[Slayer]], and [[Anthrax (American band)|Anthrax]], with Metallica being the most commercially successful.<ref>Garofalo, p. 187.</ref> The United States was known as one of the birthplaces of [[death metal]] during the mid to late 1980s. The Florida scene was the most well-known, featuring bands like [[Death (metal band)|Death]], [[Cannibal Corpse]], [[Morbid Angel]], [[Deicide (band)|Deicide]], and many others. There are now countless death metal and deathgrind bands across the country.

===Hip hop===
{{Main|Hip hop music}}

[[Hip hop culture|Hip hop]] is a cultural movement, of which music is a part. [[Hip hop music]] for the most part is itself composed of two parts: [[rapping]], the delivery of swift, highly rhythmic and lyrical vocals; and [[DJ]]ing and/or [[music production|producing]], the production of instrumentation through [[sampling (music)|sampling]], [[musical instrument|instrumentation]], [[turntablism]], or [[beatboxing]], the production of musical sounds through vocalized tones.<ref>Garofalo, p. 408–409.</ref> Hip hop arose in the early 1970s in [[The Bronx]], New York City. Jamaican immigrant [[DJ Kool Herc]] is widely regarded as the progenitor of hip hop; he brought with him from Jamaica the practice of [[Deejay (Jamaican)|toasting]] over the rhythms of popular songs. Emcees originally arose to introduce the soul, funk, and R&B songs that the DJs played, and to keep the crowd excited and dancing; over time, the DJs began isolating the percussion break of songs (when the rhythm climaxes), producing a repeated beat that the emcees rapped over.
[[File:Eminem (cropped).jpg|alt=|left|thumb|upright=.9|[[Eminem]] in 1999. He was the best-selling music artist of the 2000s in the United States.]]
Unlike Motown which predicated its mainstream success on the class appeal of its acts that rendered racial identity irrelevant, hip hop of 1980s, particularly hip hop that crossed over to rock-and-roll, was predicated on its (implicit but emphatic) primary identification with black identity.<ref name="Harper 118">{{Cite journal|last=Harper|first=Phillip Brian|date=1989|title=Synesthesia, "Crossover," and Blacks in Popular Music|jstor=466423|journal=Social Text|issue=23|pages=118|doi=10.2307/466423}}</ref> By the beginning of the 1980s, there were popular hip hop songs, and the celebrities of the scene, like [[LL Cool J]], gained mainstream renown. Other performers experimented with politicized lyrics and social awareness, or fused hip hop with jazz, heavy metal, [[techno]], funk and soul. New styles appeared in the latter part of the 1980s, like [[alternative hip hop]] and the closely related [[jazz rap]] fusion, pioneered by rappers like [[De La Soul]].

[[Gangsta rap]] is a kind of hip hop, most importantly characterized by a lyrical focus on macho sexuality, physicality, and a dangerous criminal image.<ref>Werner, p. 290.</ref> Though the origins of gangsta rap can be traced back to the mid-1980s style of Philadelphia's [[Schoolly D]] and the West Coast's [[Ice-T]], the style broadened and came to apply to many different regions in the country, to rappers from New York, such as [[Notorious B.I.G.]] and influential [[hip hop]] group [[Wu-Tang Clan]], and to rappers on the West Coast, such as [[Too Short]] and [[N.W.A]]. A distinctive [[West Coast rap]] scene spawned the early 1990s [[G-funk]] sound, which paired gangsta rap lyrics with a thick and hazy sound, often from 1970s funk [[sampling (music)|samples]]; the best-known proponents were the rappers [[2Pac]], [[Dr. Dre]], [[Ice Cube]], and [[Snoop Dogg]]. Gangsta rap continued to exert a major presence in American popular music through the end of the 1990s and early into the 21st century.

The dominance of gangsta rap in mainstream hip-hop was supplanted in the late-2000s, largely due to the mainstream success of hip-hop artists such as [[Kanye West]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Callahan-Bever, Noah |url=http://www.complex.com/music/2015/09/the-day-kanye-west-killed-gangsta-rap |title=The Day Kanye West Killed Gangsta Rap |work=[[Complex (magazine)|Complex]] |date=2015-09-11 |access-date=2016-02-17}}</ref> The outcome of a highly publicized [[Graduation (album)#Release|sales competition]] between the simultaneous release of his and gangsta rapper [[50 Cent]]'s third studio albums, ''[[Graduation (album)|Graduation]]'' and ''[[Curtis (50 Cent album)|Curtis]]'' respectively, has since been accredited to the decline.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Swash |first=Rosie |date=June 13, 2011 |title=Kanye v 50 Cent |language=en-GB |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/13/kanye-vs-50-cent |access-date=2011-08-09 |issn=}}</ref> The competition resulted in record-breaking sales performances by both albums and West outsold 50 Cent, selling nearly a million copies of ''Graduation'' in the first week alone.<ref name="Rodriguez">{{cite web |author= Rodriguez, Jayson|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1570001/20070918/west_kanye.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071002025402/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1570001/20070918/west_kanye.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 2, 2007|title=Kanye West Pounds 50 Cent In First Week Of Album Showdown |publisher=MTV. Viacom |date=2007-09-19|access-date=2007-09-19}}</ref> Industry observers remark that West's victory over 50 Cent proved that rap music did not have to conform to gangsta-rap conventions in order to be commercially successful.<ref>{{cite web |author=Theisen, Adam|title=Rap's Latest Heavyweight Championship|url=http://www.michigandaily.com/arts/02adam-theisen-kanye-west-kendrick-lamar19|work=[[The Michigan Daily]]|publisher=The Michigan Daily|date=2015-02-18 |access-date=2015-05-08}}</ref> [[File: Pulitzer2018-portraits-kendrick-lamar.jpg|thumb|[[Kendrick Lamar]] was the first rapper to win a [[Pulitzer Prize for Music|Pulitzer Prize]] in [[2018 Pulitzer Prize|2018]]]] West effectively paved the way for a new wave of hip-hop artists, including [[Drake (rapper)|Drake]], [[Kendrick Lamar]] and [[J. Cole]], who did not follow the [[hardcore hip hop|hardcore]]-[[gangsta rap|gangster]] mold and became platinum-selling artists,<ref name="XXL">{{cite journal |author=Detrick, Ben|author-link=XXL (magazine) |title=Reality Check |journal= [[XXL Magazine|XXL]]|date=December 2010 |pages=114}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=S., Nathan|title=Is Kanye West's ''Graduation'' Album a Masterpiece?|url=http://www.djbooth.net/index/news/entry/2015-05-13-kanye-west-graduation-debate|work=DJBooth.net|publisher=The DJ Booth LLC|date=2015-02-18 |access-date=2015-05-08}}</ref> while the second former won a [[Pulitzer Prize for Music]] in [[2018 Pulitzer Prize|2018]], being the first musician outside the [[classical music|classical]] and [[jazz music|jazz]] genres to be honored.

[[Jay-Z]] became an internationally renowned hip hop icon in the wake of the deaths of [[The Notorious B.I.G.]] and [[Tupac Shakur]] in the mid-1990s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bailey|first=Julius|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y6ZUnXUvpQYC&pg=PA84|title=Jay-Z: Essays on Hip Hop's Philosopher King|publisher=[[McFarland & Company|McFarland]]|date=February 28, 2011|isbn=978-0-7864-6329-9|page=84}}</ref> [[Kanye West]] was mentored by Jay-Z and produced for him,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pendergast |first1=Sara |last2=Pendergast |first2=Tom |title=Contemporary Black Biography: Profiles from the International Black Community |edition=illustrated |volume=52 |date=January 13, 2006 |publisher=[[Gale (publisher)|Gale Research]] |location=Farmington Hills, Michigan |isbn=0-7876-7924-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/contemporaryblac0052unse/page/174 174] |url=https://archive.org/details/contemporaryblac0052unse/page/174 }}</ref> before attaining a similar level of success.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bailey|first=Julius|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y6ZUnXUvpQYC&pg=PA80|title=Jay-Z: Essays on Hip Hop's Philosopher King|publisher=McFarland|date=February 28, 2011|isbn=978-0-7864-6329-9|page=80}}</ref>

Female rappers [[Nicki Minaj]], [[Cardi B]], [[Saweetie]], [[Doja Cat]], [[Iggy Azalea]], [[City Girls]] and [[Megan Thee Stallion]] also entered the mainstream.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.collegian.psu.edu/arts_and_entertainment/women-in-the-hip-hop-industry-have-made-their-mark-on-the-2010s-opinion/article_64ef3b28-1623-11ea-8355-7ffc7398e246.html|title=Women in the hip-hop industry have made their mark on the 2010s &#124; Opinion|author=Alyshia Hercules|newspaper=[[Daily Collegian]]|access-date=January 16, 2022}}</ref> There are many women that have notably influenced the hip hop culture. However, a few names that cannot go unsaid are MC Sha-rock, [[MC Lyte]], [[Queen Latifah]], [[Lauryn Hill]], [[Missy Elliot]], [[Lil Kim]], [[Erykah Badu]], [[Foxy Brown (rapper)|Foxy Brown]], and many more. Of this list MC Sha-rock is considered the historian/pioneer of female hip-hop culture. She started her career as a break-dancer in the Bronx, New York and later became "The hip-hop's culture's first female emcee/rapper".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Biography and History of MC Sha-Rock|url=http://mcsharockonline.com/Biography/biography.html|access-date=December 5, 2020|website=mcsharockonline.com}}</ref> Her career has been long-lived. From being a former member of the Funky 4+1 more to having MC rhyming battles with groups such as Grandmaster Flash and Furious 5. Another notable pioneer of female hip-hop is the famous Queen Latifah, Born Dana Elaine Owens in Newark, New Jersey. Queen Latifah started her career from a young age, as early as 17. But, not long after it began it soon took-off. She released her first full-length album, ''All Hail the Queen'', in 1989.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Pelton|first=Tristan Michael|title=Queen Latifah (1970– )|date=June 16, 2007 |url=https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/queen-latifah-1970/|access-date=December 5, 2020|language=en-US}}</ref> As she continued to release music she grew more and more popular, and her fame increased amidst the hip-hop culture. However, Queen Latifah was not an ordinary rapper. She rapped about the issues surrounding being a black woman and overall social injustice issues that appear in the music industry. These early pioneers have led female rap culture and impacted today's popular female hip-hop artists. For example, such popular artists may include Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, [[Miss Mulatto]], [[Flo Milli]], [[Cupcakke]] and many others. Each artists has their own identity in the rap game, however as hip-hop evolves so does the style of music. Cardi B's first studio album, ''[[Invasion of Privacy (album)|Invasion of Privacy]]'' (2018), debuted at number one on the [[Billboard 200|'' Billboard'' 200]] and was named the number-one female rap album of the 2010s by ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''. Critically acclaimed, it made Cardi B the only woman to win the [[Grammy Award for Best Rap Album]] as a solo artist, and marked the first female rap album in fifteen years to be nominated for [[Grammy Award for Album of the Year|Album of the Year]].

===Other niche styles and Latin American music===
{{See also|Latin American music in the United States}}

[[File:Map of USA showing Latin music.png|thumb|right|[[Latin music (genre)|Latin music]] in the United States]]
The American music industry is dominated by large companies that produce, market, and distribute certain kinds of music. Generally, these companies do not produce, or produce in only very limited quantities, recordings in styles that do not appeal to very large audiences. Smaller companies often fill in the void, offering a wide variety of recordings in styles ranging from [[polka]] to [[salsa music|salsa]]. Many small music industries are built around a core fanbase who may be based largely in one region, such as [[Tejano music|Tejano]] or [[music of Hawaii|Hawaiian music]], or they may be widely dispersed, such as the audience for Jewish [[klezmer]].

[[File:Christina_Aguilera_Sanremo.jpg|left|upright|thumb|Christina Aguilera's album {{Lang|es|[[Mi Reflejo]]}} peaked at number-one on the Billboard Top Latin Albums and Latin Pop Albums charts where it spent 19 weeks at the top of both charts. The album was the best-selling Latin pop album of 2000.|alt=]]
Among the Hispanic American musicians who were pioneers in the early stages of [[rock and roll]] were [[Ritchie Valens]], who scored several hits, most notably "[[La Bamba (song)|La Bamba]]" and [[Herman Santiago]] wrote the lyrics to the iconic rock and roll song "[[Why Do Fools Fall in Love (song)|Why Do Fools Fall in Love]]". Songs that became popular in the United States and are heard during the Holiday/Christmas season are "¿Dónde Está Santa Claus?" is a novelty Christmas song with 12-year-old Augie Ríos was a record hit in 1959 which featured the Mark Jeffrey Orchestra. "{{Lang|es|[[Feliz Navidad (song)|Feliz Navidad]]|italic=no}}"(1970) by [[José Feliciano]] is another famous Latin song.

The single largest niche industry is based on Latin music. Latin music has long influenced American popular music, and was an especially crucial part of the development of jazz. Modern pop Latin styles include a wide array of genres imported from across Latin America, including Colombian [[cumbia]], Puerto Rican [[reggaeton]], and Mexican [[corrido]]. Latin popular music in the United States began with a wave of dance bands in the 1930s and 1950s. The most popular styles included the [[conga]], [[Cuban Rumba|rumba]], and [[mambo (music)|mambo]]. In the 1950s [[Perez Prado]] made the [[cha-cha-cha (music)|cha-cha-cha]] famous, and the rise of [[Afro-Cuban jazz]] opened many ears to the harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic possibilities of Latin music. The most famous American form of Latin music, however, is [[salsa music|salsa]]. Salsa incorporates many styles and variations; the term can be used to describe most forms of popular Cuban-derived genres. Most specifically, however, ''salsa'' refers to a particular style that was developed by mid-1970s groups of New York City-area Cuban and Puerto Rican immigrants, and stylistic descendants like 1980s [[salsa romantica]].<ref>Morales.</ref> Salsa rhythms are complicated, with several patterns played simultaneously. The [[clave (rhythm)|clave rhythm]] forms the basis of salsa songs and is used by the performers as a common rhythmic ground for their own [[phrase (music)|phrases]].<ref>Rough Guide.</ref>

[[File:Together Demi Lovato.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Demi Lovato]] rose to prominence in 2008 when they starred in the Disney Channel television film Camp Rock and signed a recording contract with Hollywood Records.|alt=]]
[[Latin American music]] has long influenced American popular music, [[jazz]], [[rhythm and blues]], and even [[country music]]. This includes music from Spanish, Portuguese, and (sometimes) French-speaking countries and territories of Latin America.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TQPXAQAAQBAJ&q=latin%20music%20spanish%20portuguese&pg=PA639|title=Music in American Life: An Encyclopedia of the Songs, Styles, Stars, and Stories That Shaped Our Culture|last=Edmondson|first=Jacqueline|year=2013|publisher=ABC-CLIO|page=639|isbn=9780313393488}}</ref>

Today, the American record industry defines Latin music as any type of release with lyrics mostly in Spanish.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Arenas|first1=Fernando|title=Lusophone Africa: Beyond Independence|date=2011|publisher=University of Minnesota Press|location=Minneapolis|isbn=9780816669837|page=220|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eThbx7A_mEEC&pg=PA220|access-date=September 10, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Barkley|first1=Elizabeth F.|title=Crossroads: the multicultural roots of America's popular music|date=2007|publisher=Pearson Prentice Hall|location=Upper Saddle River, NJ|isbn=9780131930735|page=232|edition=2.|quote=The U.S. record industry defines Latin music as simply any release with lvrics that are mostly in Spanish.}}</ref> Mainstream artists and producers tend to feature more on songs from Latin artists and it has also become more likely that English language songs crossover to Spanish radio and vice versa.

The United States played a significant role in the development of [[electronic dance music]], specifically [[house music|house]] and [[techno]], which originated in [[Chicago]] and [[Detroit]], respectively.

Today Latin American music has become a term for music performed by Latinos regardless of whether it has a Latin element or not. Acts such as [[Shakira]], [[Jennifer Lopez]], [[Enrique Iglesias]], [[Pitbull (rapper)|Pitbull]], [[Selena Gomez]], [[Christina Aguilera]], [[Gloria Estefan]], [[Demi Lovato]], [[Mariah Carey]], [[Becky G]], [[Paulina Rubio]], and [[Camila Cabello]] are prominent on the pop charts. Iglesias who holds the record for most #1s on Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks released a bilingual album, inspired by urban acts he releases two completely different songs to Latin and pop formats at the same time.