This history of pop music is, perhaps surprisingly, not the easiest thing to analyse and track. The primary reason for this is that pop is an abbreviation of the word popular. Therefore, the true history of pop music would go right back to when music began, and trace its way through every genre or style that has been popular in up until the present day.

However, we are going to look at what most people traditionally define as pop.

The Birth of Pop

1950’s rock and roll in the United States was really the birthplace of what we would call pop music today. The term would be used interchangeably with rock and roll or simply rock until around 1967. At this time, as harder, edgier bands like Black Sabbath were starting to emerge onto the music scene, pop music became seen as the opposite of rock.

Pop’s Growing Appeal

The redefining of music’s boundaries was definitely a good thing. There would have been much confusion if the electronic pop acts that were huge in the 1970’s, including ABBA, had been classified as rock artists using the interchangeable method mentioned above.

Despite this new trend of electronic pop becoming popular, bands like The Rolling Stones, as well as individual members of The Beatles, maintained huge crossover appeal. David Bowie is perhaps the best example of an artist who was able to transcend genres. Bowie’s music was usually based on guitars, piano, and a range of other instruments, but had a distinct sound that you couldn’t really class as anything other than pop.

The Pop Pathway

That final sentence tells you a lot about where pop music went in the 1970’s and into the 1980’s. With so many musical genres developing both on the rock side of things in addition to electro, dance, and R&B, it almost became the case that if you didn’t fit into a specific genre, you were a pop artist.

However, it still remained the case that the biggest artists usually found their inspiration in a specific genre before becoming a ‘pop star.’ Michael Jackson, for example, is known as the ‘King of Pop,’ but no one can deny his primary roots were in soul, R&B, funk, and disco.

Pop Today

Modern pop seems to have defined itself as any music that doesn’t fit a specific genre or involves the playing of instruments. While bands like Take That and One Direction probably best fit the ‘pop’ mould today, the biggest stars remain those with crossover genre appeal. Justin Timberlake, for example, is definitely a pop artist despite getting edgier and moving more towards pure R&B during his solo career, while Rihanna is another who mixes genres brilliantly.

Lady Gaga is one example of a current artist that sticks solely to pop music, but along with the bands mentioned above, she is in the minority.

Image Author: Xiaozhuli