List of rock and roll artists

This is a list of rock and roll performers.

See also: Rock and roll, Popular music, List of popular music performers, Country music, List of country music performers and further links at the bottom of the sections.

Predecessors and precursors (1900 - 1950)

• T-Bone Walker - blues guitarist; "Stormy Monday Blues", "T-Bone Shuffle"
• Ella Fitzgerald - jazz vocalist, known for scat singing; "A Tisket, A Tasket"
• Billie Holiday - jazz vocalist, "Strange Fruit"
• Les Paul - pioneer in the electric guitar
• Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five - innovative pre-rock and roll R&B music; "Saturday Night Fish Fry", "Caldonia"
• Memphis Minnie - blues guitarist
• Robert Johnson - legendary Delta blues guitarist; "Crossroad Blues"
• Stick McGhee & His Buddies - blues guitarist; "Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee"
• The Treniers - swing and early rock and roll pioneers; "Rocking on Sunday Night"
• Sarah Vaughan - jazz vocalist; "Tenderly"

See also: List of jazz musicians, List of blues musicians, List of ragtime musicians, List of boogie woogie musicians, List of swing/big band musicians, List of folk musicians, List of gospel musicians

Early North American rock and roll (1951 - 1963)

• The Beach Boys - surf-pop and early psychedelia band; Pet Sounds, "Good Vibrations"
• Bill Haley & His Comets - key contributor of the rockabilly revolution from R&B to rock and roll; "Rocket 88", "Rock Around the Clock"
• Bo Diddley - singer-songwriter, guitarist, "Bo Diddley", "I'm A Man", "Who Do You Love"
• Bobby Darin - teen idol; "Dream Lover", "Mack the Knife"
• Bobby Lewis - "Tossin' and Turnin'"
• Bruce & Terry - surf duo; "Hey Little Cobra"
• Buddy Holly - rock and roll musician; "Peggy Sue"
• Carl Perkins - rockabilly pioneer; "Blue Suede Shoes"
• The Chantays - surf band; "Pipeline"
• Chuck Berry - singer-songwriter, guitarist, "Maybelline"
• Dave "Baby" Cortez - "The Happy Organ"
• David Allan & the Arrows - soundtrack surf composer; "Blues Theme" from The Wild Angels
• Dick Dale - surf music pioneer; "Let's Go Trippin'"
• Dorsey Burnette - rockabilly singer; "Big Rock Candy Mountain"
• Johnny Burnette - rockabilly singer; "You're Sixteen"
• The Drifters - early rock and roll; "Money Honey"; "I Gotta Get Myself a Woman"
• Eddie Cochran - rockabilly guitar hero; "Summertime Blues"
• Elvis Presley - legendary popularizer of African American rock and roll; "Blue Moon of Kentucky", "Heartbreak Hotel", "Jailhouse Rock", "Are You Lonesome Tonight?"
• Fabian - teen idol; "Tiger"
• Fats Domino - popular New Orleans piano player; "The Fat Man", "Ain't That a Shame"
• Freddy Cannon, hard rock, nicknamed "Boom Boom"
• Gene Vincent - rockabilly musician; "Be-Bop-A-Lula"
• Ike Turner - influential rock and roll pioneer; "Rocket 88"
• Jackie DeShannon - pop-folk singer; "What the World Needs Now"
• Jackie Wilson - legendary soul singer; "Lonely Teardrops", "Baby Workout"
• Jan & Dean - surf and pop doo-wop duo; "Surf City", "Baby Talk"
• Jerry Lee Lewis - pianist, singer; "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On", "Great Balls of Fire"
• Johnny Burnette - rockabilly; "Train Kept A-Rollin'"
• Mr. Gasser & the Weirdos - surf music; Hot Rod Hootenanny
• Paul Anka - pop vocalist; "Lonely Boy", "Diana"
• Pat Boone - pop vocalist; "Tutti Frutti", "Ain't That a Shame"
• Ricky Nelson - an early television teen idol
• Ronnie Hawkins - rockabilly performer; "Forty Days", "Mary Lou"
• Ronny & the Daytonas - surf rock; "G.T.O."
• Roy Orbison - legendary soul and rock and roll singer; "Oh, Pretty Woman"
• Jack Scott - pop balladeer, "Burning Bridges"
• The Surfaris - surf band; "Wipeout"
• Tommy James & the Shondells - pop-rock; "Crimson and Clover", "Hanky Panky", "I Think We're Alone Now"
• Wilbert Harrison - "Kansas City"

See also: List of doo wop musicians, List of R&B musicians, List of girl groups, List of surf rock musicians, List of soul musicians

The "British Invasion" (1962 - 1969)

• The Animals - British blues; Animalism
• The Beatles - psychedelic rock band; Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Abbey Road, The White Album
• The Jeff Beck Group pioneers in heavy blues; Truth and Beck Ola
• The Dave Clark Five - British blues; Coast to Coast
• Gerry & the Pacemakers - merseybeat; Ferry Cross the Mersey, Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying
• Herman's Hermits - pop merseybeat; "I'm Into Something Good"
• The Kinks (Village Green Preservation Society)
• Marianne Faithfull - blues-rock; "As Tears Go By"
• The Moody Blues - psychedelia and early progressive rock; Days of Future Passed, On the Threshold of a Dream
• Peter & Gordon - merseybeat; "A World Without Love"
• Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade of Pale
• The Rolling Stones - long-running blues-rock band; Beggar's Banquet, Let It Bleed, Exile on Main Street
• The Small Faces - psychedelic mod band; Ogden's Nut Gone Flake, There Are But Four Small Faces
• Van Morrison & Them - folk-rock; Astral Weeks, Moondance
• The Who - mod and rock; Who's Next?, The Who Sings My Generation, The Who Sell Out
• The Yardbirds - psychedelic blues rock; Five Live Yardbirds, Roger the Engineer

See also: List of British blues musicians

Psychedelia, progressive rock and early hard rock (1968–1974)

• 13th Floor Elevators - psychedelia
• AC/DC - hard rock, heavy metal
• Aerosmith - hard rock
• Alice Cooper
• The Allman Brothers Band - early country rock, jam band
• Badfinger - power-pop
• The Band - folk and rock and roll fusion
• Big Brother & the Holding Company
• Black Sabbath - heavy metal
• Blue Cheer - early heavy metal
• Blue Öyster Cult - heavy metal
• David Bowie - glam, early electronic music
• Buffalo Springfield
• Canned Heat
• Captain Beefheart - blues and psychedelia
• Clear Light
• Cream - blues/psychedelia/progressive rock
• Creedence Clearwater Revival - country rock
• Crosby, Stills and Nash (and Young)
• Deep Purple - heavy metal
• The Doors
• Eagles - country rock
• The Electric Light Orchestra
• The Electric Prunes
• The Fabulous Thunderbirds
• The Faces
• The Flying Burrito Brothers - country rock
• Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention
• Genesis - progressive rock
• Gram Parsons - country rock
• The Grateful Dead - psychedelia
• Harry Nilsson
• Heart - hard rock, early heavy metal
• Hot Tuna
• Humble Pie
• Iron Butterfly - psychedelia, early heavy metal
• Janis Joplin
• Japan
• Jefferson Airplane - psychedelia
• Jethro Tull - progressive folk rock
• Jimi Hendrix - hard rock/psychedelia/blues
• Kansas
• King Crimson - early heavy metal, progressive rock
• Kris Kristofferson
• Led Zeppelin - hard rock/blues, heavy metal
• Love
• Lynyrd Skynyrd - Southern rock
• Moby Grape
• The Monkees
• Moving Sidewalks
• Nirvana
• The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
• Pink Floyd - psychedelia, progressive rock, pioneer of the concept album
• Roxy Music
• Rush - progressive art rock, heavy metal
• Scorpions - heavy metal
• Steppenwolf - hard rock, early heavy metal
• Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel
• Rod Stewart - Gasoline Alley, Every Picture Tells a Story, Never a Dull Moment
• The Stooges - garage and protopunk
• T. Rex - glam rock
• Terry Reid
• Traffic
• The Velvet Underground
• Yes - progressive symphonic rock

See also: List of surf rock musicians, List of psychedelic musicians, List of R&B musicians, List of hard rock musicians, List of country rock musicians, List of progressive rock musicians, List of soul musicians

Punk, metal, and other trends (1975 - 1988)

• Lee Aaron
• Bad Brains
• Bad Religion
• The Bangles
• Black Flag
• Blondie
• Bob Geldof
• Bon Jovi
• The Boomtown Rats
• Bryan Adams
• Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band
• Budgie - heavy metal
• Camper Van Beethoven - alternative rock
• The Cars
• Cheap Trick
• The Clash - punk rock
• The Cult
• The Cure - Gothic rock
• The Damned
• Danzig - heavy metal
• Dave Edmunds
• Dead Kennedys - punk rock
• Dead Milkmen - punk rock/pop
• Def Leppard
• Depeche Mode - New Wave
• Dio - heavy metal
• Dokken - heavy metal
• Donna Summer - disco
• Duran Duran - New Wave
• Echo & the Bunnymen
• Elvis Costello
• Erasure - New Wave
• The Fall
• The Gears
• Graham Parker
• Guns N' Roses - heavy metal
• Hanoi Rocks
• Hüsker Dü - alternative rock
• The Indigo Girls
• Iron Maiden - heavy metal
• The Jam - punk rock
• Joe Jackson
• Joy Division - post-punk
• Judas Priest - heavy metal
• Kiss - heavy metal
• The Knack
• The Mau Mau's
• Meat Loaf
• Megadeth - heavy metal
• Metallica - heavy metal
• Midnight Oil
• Minor Threat - hardcore punk
• The Misfits
• The Modern Lovers
• Mötley Crüe
• Motorhead - heavy metal
• New Order
• New York Dolls
• Nick Lowe
• Ozzy Osbourne - heavy metal
• Patti Smith
• The Plasmatics
• Poison
• The Police
• Prince
• The Pretenders
• Prism
• Queen
• Queensryche - heavy metal
• The Ramones - punk rock
• Rockpile
• The Romantics
• Red Hot Chili Peppers - funk, alternative rock
• R.E.M. - alternative rock
• The Replacements - alternative rock
• The Sex Pistols - punk
• Slayer - heavy metal
• The Slits
• The Smiths - alternative rock
• Sonic Youth - alternative rock
• Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes
• Squeeze
• Steve Miller Band
• Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble - blues rock
• Talking Heads - New Wave
• Television
• Thin Lizzy - heavy metal
• Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
• Tom Waits
• Triumph
• U2
• UFO
• Uriah Heep
• Van Halen - heavy metal
• Van der Graaf Generator
• Violent Femmes - alternative rock
• Wishbone Ash
• Whitesnake - heavy metal
• X (US) - punk rock]], alternative rock
• X (Australia) - punk rock
• XTC

See also: List of forerunners of punk music, List of musicians in the first wave of punk music, List of musicians in the second wave of punk music, List of heavy metal musicians, List of progressive rock musicians, List of New Wave bands and artists, List of post-punk bands, List of alternative rock musicians, List of folk musicians, List of funk musicians, List of soul musicians

Contemporary rock (1988 to the present)

• 10,000 Maniacs
• Alanis Morissette
• Alice In Chains
• Barefoot Bison
• Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
• blink-182
• The Bloodhound Gang
• Blues Traveler
• Blur - Britpop
• bob hund
• The Breeders - alternative rock
• The D4
• Dream Theater-Prog
• The Darkness
• Dave Matthews Band
• The Datsuns
• Energy Orchard
• Evanescence
• Everon
• The Faint
• Faith Hill
• Fishbone
• Foo Fighters - alternative rock
• Fountains Of Wayne
• Franz Ferdinand - indie rock
• Goldfinger - ska, punk
• Green Day - punk rock
• Hazerfan
• Hole
• Hootie and the Blowfish
• Brodie Foster Hubbard
• Joan Osborne
• Kelly Clarkson - pop-rock
• Kid Rock - rap-rock
• KoЯn
• Less
• Limp Bizkit - nu metal
• Linkin Park - nu metal
• Living Colour
• Manic Street Preachers
• The Mighty, Mighty Bosstones - ska
• The Mooney Suzuki
• Morissey
• MxPx - punk
• Nine Inch Nails
• Nirvana - grunge
• No Doubt - alternative rock with ska and new wave influences
• NOFX - punk
• Oasis - Britpop
• The Offspring - punk
• Pantera - heavy metal
• Pavement - indie rock
• Pearl Jam - grunge
• Pennywise - punk
• Phish
• Pixies - alternative rock
• PJ Harvey
• Placebo
• Primus
• Radiohead - alternative rock
• Rammstein
• Rusted Root
• Sarah McLachlan
• Sepultura
• The Shins - indie rock
• Sinombre
• Sleater-Kinney
• The Smashing Pumpkins- alternative rock
• Soundgarden - grunge
• Skin Games
• Stereolab
• Stereophonics
• The Stone Roses - Madchester
• Stone Temple Pilots
• The Strokes - indie rock
• Sublime
• Sum 41
• Superchunk
• System of a Down
• Suzanne Vega
• The Oblivians
• Third Eye Blind
• Tool
• The Tragically Hip
• The Vandals
• The Verve
• Weezer - alternative rock
• Wheel of Doom
• The White Stripes - Garage rock revival
• The Young Werewolves

See also: List of heavy metal musicians, List of rappers, List of Britpop musicians, List of jam bands, List of alternative rock musicians, List of electronic musicians, List of musicians in the second wave of punk music

Latino rock

• Alejandra Guzman
• Enrique Guzman
• Fey
• Fiel A La Vega
• Gloria Estefan
• La Ley
• Maná
• Melody
• Miguel Bose
• Paulina Rubio
• Pilar Montenegro
• Santana
• Shakira
• Yuri