The Death of Rock’ n Roll
The rock genre started in the late 1940s and early 1950s, but over the years, it has had its ups and downs. But recently, R&B and hip hop have taken over. My question for this article is if the students of these days still listen to rock or has it died in the new music era.
I wanted to see the difference between rock and hip hop, seeing which is popular, has more album sales, and the growth of both. The popularity of both rock and hip-hop is that hip-hop is more popular with people aged 18-29, while rock listeners are 45 years or older. The sales of rock ‘n roll are on higher demand than hip-hop since rock ‘n roll has had 43.5% of total albums sold in 2025. The biggest thing is the way the music genres grew; hip hop has slightly increased, but during 2020, it was at its peak. The growth of rock ‘n’ roll during 2025 has been at its highest, seeing how it’s one of the fastest-growing genres in 2025.
Musicians that are considered rock’ n roll would be the likes of Queen, Black sabbath, the Cure, Pink Floyd, AC/DC, Deftones, Hot Red Chili Peppers, Led zeppelin, Kiss, Fleetwood mac, the kinks, Linkin Park, blink-182, limp Bizkit, Korn, Slipknot, System of a down, Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana and other solo artist and groups.
I first asked students the question, “Have you ever listened to rock, and if so, what artist was it?” Sam Macduff says he has listened to rock and roll, and the artists he listened to were AC/DC, Queen, Guns & Roses, The Cranberries, and Metallica. Daniel Bautista says he listens to rock, and the artists he listens to are Cohead & Cambria, Van Halen, Split Chain, SWEETSPINE, and Fleshwater. Wendy Mercado says she has listened to rock before, and the artist she has heard was “I don’t know how they found me”. I listen to Rock music, and the reason why I listen to it is that since I was little, I have heard it from my dad and got all my music taste from him.
I have also gone around interviewing students and teachers at Pasco High about the genre of music they prefer. Giselle Nava says her preferred genre is reggaeton and Latin music because her favorite artists are Rauw Alejandro and Bad Bunny. Mrs. Smith, a teacher at Pasco High, says she listens to rock and rap while working out, but if she wants to be in a calm mood, she’ll listen to jazz. Evan Patterson says, “his genre of music is heavy metal since the music makes me feel relaxed. When I feel stressed or anxious, it really helps me calm down.” “Rock, but I also listen to other genres,” is what the auto teacher, Mr. Murguia, said. He also said he grew up listening to it with his dad while working; he also says his dad passed it down to him.
Rock has had many historical events, some being January 20, 1982, the day Ozzy Osborn bit the head off a bat during a show at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa, and another being when Queen played in front of 72,000 people at Wembley Stadium in London, England. The rise of alternative culture brought grunge, pop-punk, and indie rock to the forefront. MTV played a huge role in popularizing artists and shaping trends.
The question of has rock n roll died is a fat NO! If anything, this year has been the return of rock and its return to many people’s playlists. Hip-hop and R&B are still on the leader board.
