Piano rock

Infobox Music genre
name=Piano rock
color=crimson
bgcolor=white
stylistic_origins=Pop rock

Progressive rock
cultural_origins=1950s in the United States
instruments=Vocals, piano, electric piano, guitar, bass, drum kit, synthesizer
popularity=Worldwide since the 1970s
derivatives=Piano pop
other_topics=Neo-progressive rock

Piano rock, sometimes referred to as piano pop, is a term for a style of rock music that is based around the piano, and sometimes around piano-related instruments, such as the Fender Rhodes, the Wurlitzer electric piano, and keyboard-based synthesizers, rather than the guitar as is the case with traditional rock music.

History

The roots of piano rock can be traced to 1950s rock-and-roll pioneers Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Fats Domino. Many of their frantic performance styles, such as kicking the piano bench out of the way to play standing, raking their hands up and down the keyboard for dramatic effect, and even sitting on the keyboard are now commonplace in modern piano rock and often seen in the performances of Billy Joel and Elton John.Fact|date=February 2008

Elton John, Freddie Mercury of Queen and Billy Joel can be considered the modern-day ground-breakers in the genre, with hits throughout the '70s, '80s, and '90s merging the rhythm and blues sounds of pianists Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder with Jerry Lee Lewis-inspired rock and pop idioms.Fact|date=February 2008 Pianist Roy Bittan made contributions to the genre with his playing on such albums as Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run", Meat Loaf's "Bat out of Hell", and Dire Straits' "Making Movies".

Artists such as Muse, Coldplay, We Shot the Moon, Tori Amos, Ben Folds, Rufus Wainwright, Keane, The Whitlams, Something Corporate, and Fiona Apple have kept piano rock in the public consciousness throughout the '90s and into the 2000s. Recently, artists such as Secondhand Serenade, Straylight Run, Jack's Mannequin, Gabe Dixon Band, Relient K, Regina Spektor, Vanessa Carlton, Jamie Cullum, Nellie McKay, Sarah Slean, Tim Minchin, Anna Nalick, Sara Bareilles, The Fray, Five For Fighting, Kate Nash, OneRepublic, and Scouting For Girls have kept its fan base going.

See also

* Popular music
* Symphonic metal