General English Level 4 Version 2.1 © 2004 acl Pty Ltd GELEV4 Unit 05 Topic 04.doc READING 02 The history of pop Here is a brief history of pop music and how it began. It looks at a few of the most famous pop musicians. Do you know them? Have you heard their music? Pop music is any music that is popular. Ninety-five percent of the music that people listen to today is pop, including bubblegum, rap, rock, rhythm and blues, and metal. Pop music is different from other music such as classical, opera and folk music. Pop music is changing all the time. 1950s rock and roll is today's rap and techno. Rock and roll was the first music to appeal to teenagers. It mixed African-American rhythm and blues with country music. In the 1950s Elvis Presley made rock and roll famous worldwide. The 1990s saw the introduction of many different kinds of music which had developed from rock and roll. Look at the time line showing the history of pop. 1936 1949 Early 1956 1960s 1970s 1978 1979 1980s Mid 1990s Today 1950s 1980s 1936 The first electric guitar was played. 1949 45 rpm records were sold in America. Each record had only one song on each side. A new generation of pop vocalists was born. Early 1950s A disc jockey on the radio played rhythm and blues and called it rock and roll. 1956 Elvis Presley played. 1960s The Beatles appeared. 1970s Groups such as AC/DC added extra loud sound and energy to create heavy metal. Other singers, who combined sweet pop tunes with cute looks, created teen idol music. On the dance floor disco music appeared. 1978 Sony introduced the Walkman, which was the first portable stereo. 175