In its purest form, Rock & Roll has three chords, a strong, insistent back beat, and a catchy melody. Early rock & roll drew from a variety of sources, primarily blues, R&B, and country, but also gospel, traditional pop, jazz, and folk. All of these influences combined in a simple, blues-based song structure that was fast, danceable, and catchy. The first wave of rock & rollers - Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Bo Diddley, Bill Haley, Gene Vincent, the Everly Brothers, and Carl Perkins, among many others - set the template for rock & roll that was followed over the next four decades. During each decade, a number of artists replicated the sound of the first rockers, while some expanded that definition and others completely exploded the constrictions of the genre. From the British Invasion, folk-rock, psychedelia, and through hard rock, heavy metal, glam rock, and punk, most subgenres of rock & roll initially demonstrated an allegiance to the basic structure of rock & roll. Once these permutations emerged, traditional rock & roll faded away from the pop charts, yet there were always artists that kept the flame alive. Some, like the Rolling Stones and the Faces, adhered to the basic rules of traditional rock & roll but played the music fast and loose. Others, like proto-punk rockers the Velvet Underground, the New York Dolls, and the Stooges, kept the basic song structure, but played it with more menace. Still others, like Dave Edmunds and Graham Parker, became rock & roll traditionalists, writing and recording music that never wavered from the sound of the late '50s and early '60s. Although the term "rock & roll" came to refer to a number of different music styles in the decades following its inception, the essential form of the music never changed.

DJ Summerstorm's Classic Rock Internet Radio Picks
• Zepplin- The Ocean
• War- Low Rider
• The Doors- Light My Fire
• The Band- Up On Cripple Creek
• Ted Nugent- Cat Scratch Fever
• Steve Miller Band- The Joker
• Pink Floyd- Money
• Mountain- Mississippi Queen
• Lynard Skynard- Simple Man
• Little Feat- Dixie Chicken
• Kiss- Rock and Roll All Night
• Johnny Winters- Mojo Boogie
• Jimmy Hendrix- Foxy Lady
• Jethro Tull- Aqua Lung
• Iron Butterfly- In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
• Guess Who- American Woman
• Golden Earring- Radar Love
• Foghat- Slow Ride
• Blue Oyster Cult- Don't Fear The Reaper
• Creedance Clearwater Revival- Suzie Q

DJ Roland's Classic Rock Internet Radio Picks
• Creedence Clearwater Revival - Lodi
• The Band - The Weight
• Rolling Stones - Satisfaction
• Uriah Heep - Easy Livin
• Traffic - Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys
• Steppenwolf - Born To Be Wild
• Moody Blues - Nights In White Satin
• Grand Funk Railroad - I'm Your Captain (Closer To Home)
• Animals - House Of The Rising Sun
• Jethro Tull - Locomotive Breath
• Ted Nugent - Stranglehold
• Yes - Roundabout
• Black Sabbath - War Pigs
• Kinks - Lola
• Cream - White Room
• Jimmy Hendrix - Purple Haze
• Led Zeppelin - Stairway To Heaven
• Rainbow - Man On The Silver Mountain
• Allman Brothers Band - Midnight Rider
• Grateful Dead - Truckin