U2's Bono was one of the few real rock heroes of the 1980s, leading the Irish band to international recognition with a charged, political approach to music. The band's early efforts brought a stadium-size presence to alt-rock, with Bono's expressive …

From the youthful arrogance of their early 1960s recordings to their ambitious rock operas and the more introspective FM rock staples of their mid-1970s albums, the Who raged like a rock-&-roll inferno. Pete Townshend's guitar fireworks and Keith Moo…

Originally part of the early 1960s British blues/R&B scene, the Rolling Stones rapidly ascended the heights of fame with a perfect combination of hit singles and media-grabbing scandals. By the '70s, Keith Richards had become a bona fide guitar hero,…

Throughout the 1970s, the Eagles couldn't lose. Each record was bigger than the last; each single seemed to play all summer long. At the forefront of the country-rock movement, the Eagles also typified so-called soft-rock and album rock. Their master…

Over the course of four decades, Eric Clapton has carried the British blues legacy into the mainstream of pop music. From his mid-1960s days with the Yardbirds and John Mayall, through his years as guitar god with Cream and Blind Faith, and eventuall…

From their first Syd Barrett-led psych-pop record to their concept albums and elaborately presented live shows of the 1970s, these space-rock pioneers reached unprecedented heights of commercial and aesthetic success. Their '73 opus, DARK SIDE OF THE…

Bruce Springsteen came out of New Jersey in the early 1970s sounding like a cross between Bob Dylan and early Tom Waits, backed by the rambunctious E Street Band. After toughening up his sound, Springsteen created his 1975 masterpiece, BORN TO RUN, w…

Creedence Clearwater Revival seemed like something of an anomaly in the psychedelic 1960s. Far removed from the mind-expanding, flower-power explorations of their California contemporaries, they were a gritty, hard-hitting band respectful of their bl…

While the 1980s Los Angeles rock scene will forever be associated with pretty-boy glam metal, it also spawned Guns N' Roses, one of the most in-your-face, streetwise, and controversial bands of the era. Axl Rose & company's roots lay in The Stones, A…

Van Halen rode the crest of 1970s riff-rock into 1980s abandon. Always able to produce a smile and a killer hook, their songs captured a West Coast attitude that combined Eddie Van Halen's guitar gymnastics and the high-energy antics of vocalist Davi…

A hard-rocking, no-holds-barred American group fronted by the wiry Steven Tyler, Aerosmith plays heavy riffs with a blues underpinning. After huge hits and sold-out tours in the 1970s, the band sank into oblivion for the first half of the '80s. They …

During their 1970s heyday, Lynryd Skynyrd emerged as the preeminent practitioners of Southern rock. Their triple-guitar attack and country-tinged songs carved a permanent spot on the playlists of classic rock radio. Since its first release in 1973 th…

Queen embodied 1970s glam rock--mixing heavy riffs and intricate vocal harmonies with a gender-bending image. Freddie Mercury's operatic voice and Brian May's guitar were multi-tracked ad infinitum to create pomp-rock in the grandest sense. In the '8…

Masterminded by songwriter/guitarist Tom Scholz, Boston became one of the biggest bands of the 1970s with their immaculately produced brand of classic rock. By combining the epic scale of prog-rock with the immediate impact of killer pop hooks, Bosto…

Bob Dylan began as a Woody Guthrie acolyte, imitating the dust-bowl balladeer as faithfully as a baby boomer from Hibbing, Minnesota, could. It wasn't long before he found his own voice, spearheading the early-1960s folk revival as well as the singer…

Of all the artists to emerge in the late 1960s, none inspired greater awe than Jimi Hendrix. After touring with numerous R&B bands, the guitarist moved to London in 1966 and assembled the Jimi Hendrix Experience. His U.S. return at the Monterey Pop F…

This Athens band's initial mix of Velvet Underground strum, Byrds-like Rickenbacker jangle, and charismatically oblique singing, became the sound of the 1980s as legions of bands followed suit. But even as imitators codified R.E.M.'s approach into th…

Debuting in 1978, the Boston-based Cars managed to acheive both massive commercial success and New Wave credibilty with their mix of power pop, Roxy Music-influenced art-rock, and melodic synth hooks. Despite his fame, leader Ric Ocasek proved to be …

When one thinks of the archetypal power-ballad powerhouse Journey, it's hard not to automatically picture an arena full of fans hoisting cigarette lighters. While singer Steve Perry's voice was custom-made for Journey's heartbreaking love songs, guit…

From his beginnings as a sensitive singer and pianist through his ascent to superstardom, Elton John has enjoyed one of the longest and most successful careers in rock & roll. With his outrageous costumes and campy theatricality, the man formerly kno…