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…

Getting his start with one of heavy metal monolith Black Sabbath, singer Ozzy Osbourne split from the band in 1979, and forged a highly successful solo career that quickly eclipsed his former outfit. While Osbourne's strange antics sometimes overshad…

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 …

A theatrical rock band formed in the 1970s heyday of glitter, Kiss brought to life a cast of cartoonish figures sustained by heavy riffs and an endless supply of face paint. With each band member assuming an alter-ego (Gene Simmons, demon; Paul Stanl…

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…

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…

Before Def Leppard, heavy metal was associated with leather, studs, and motorcycles. After a pair of mega-platinum albums in the '80s, Leppard proved that pop hooks, hard rock, and good looks could equal massive success, hatching a slew of imitators …

Blues-rock has rarely gotten more down and dirty than with Texas's famous long-bearded trio ZZ Top. Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard, and Dusty Hill are responsible for some of the greatest party anthems of all time. They produced a number of 1970s rock cl…

Motley Crue were undeniably one of the most popular hard rock/pop-metal acts of the 1980s. Combining the theatrics and glam of Kiss with the hard power pop hooks of Cheap Trick, The Crue out-partied, out-rocked, and out-sold most of their competition…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

One of the longest running and most prolific of hard rock/proto-heavy-metal bands, Deep Purple appeared in the wake of the psychedelic era, sporting a harder sound than anything that had come before. The classic 1970s lineup (featuring virtuoso guita…

Scorpions are one of Germany's most popular rock exports. As part of the first wave of 1970s heavy metal, the band played a tight melodic version of the increasingly harder and heavier rock that was becoming popular at the time. Scorpions would go on…

Initially inspired by the heavy rock of Led Zeppelin and Cream, Rush relied on Geddy Lee's high, Robert Plant-like vocals, Neil Peart's Carl Palmer-on-steroids drumming, and Alex Lifeson's guitar heroics for their explosive power-trio sound. As the 1…

In the early 1980s, aspiring New Jersey musician John Bongiovi assembled a rock band, secured a record deal, and changed his name to Jon Bon Jovi. By 1986, Bon Jovi's brand of melodic hard rock was a runaway hit, with the band's third album, SLIPPERY…

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…

Part of a rising tide of American "pomp-rock" groups of the '70s, Styx combined prog-rock characteristics with hard-rock hooks and pop accessibility. Their high, three-part vocal harmonies and radio-friendly tunes made them wildly successful into the…