Music continued to change throughout each decade, but the 1960s were the most influential decade in the history of music. Starting in the early 1950s, rock music was first introduced. Major record labels released recordings of white singers performing renditions of songs previously released by African American singers (Rock and Roll). These interpretations often altered the original texts to make them more appropriate. The biggest star of the 1950s was Elvis Presley, the “King of Rock n' Roll”. With the arrival of the “Baby Boom” generation, a huge population increased after World War II, creating a new segment of young people looking for new entertainment (Rock and Roll). The music of the 60s was the new entertainment for the baby boom generation and influenced America: starting new trends in musical genres, opening up the diversity of artists, counterculture movements and music festivals. Music tends to follow the tendencies of its listeners; genres come and go with popularity. Rock and roll was believed to have had its golden age in the 1960s. It peaked with performances by artists such as Sly and the Family Stone, The Jefferson Airplane, The Who, Grateful Dead, Santana, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles and Janis Joplin (Rock and Roll). The Beatles were one of the best rock and roll groups. “They combined the distinct sounds of Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Elvis Presley, and others that shaped a sound that dominated the sixties with its creativity and style” (Holland 105). Jimi Hendrix introduced a new twist to rock and roll by transforming simple melodies into unusual new sonic experiments which led to the genre called "acid rock" (Holland110). Another popular genre was folk music. The core of popular music was its message. Folksingers of the ...... middle of paper ......l>.Dudley, William. The 60s. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 2000. Print. The American decades. "Hippies and Counterculture, 1960-1969 (overview)." American history. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 8 January 2012 Holland, Gini. The 60s. San Diego, CA: Lucent, 1999. Print."Jimi Hendrix Biography | The Official Jimi Hendrix Site." Jimi Hendrix | The official Jimi Hendrix website. Network. January 8, 2012. "Joan Baez." American history. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 8 January 2012.Martin, Marvin. The Beatles: music has never been the same. New York: F. Watts, 1996. Print.Obst, Lynda Rosen. The Sixties: the decade remembered today, by the people who lived it then. [San Francisco]: Rolling Stone, 1977. Print."Rock and roll." American history. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. January 8, 2012."Santana." American history. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 8 January. 2012.