Rock music is one of the most popular music genres in the world. Rock and roll has been around since the 1950s, and has since developed into several different genres of music from surf rock to death metal, and has inspired pop music in general.

Understand

“ Rock music is for the hurt, the broken, and anybody else who can handle it. ”

—Unknown

Destinations

• 1 London. A considerable number of world-famous rock bands and artists are from the UK, and many of them from London or the London region (or spent part of their career there). As such there are all kinds of rock-related places to see here, such as the house where the Beatles held their rooftop concert in 1969, or the Cart and Horses pub in Stratford regarded as the birthplace of Iron Maiden. (updated Oct 2018)
• 2 Liverpool. Liverpool has a rich musical heritage. In particular, the heritage associated with The Beatles, for whom Liverpool was their hometown. Fans can visit the Beatles Story, the Beatles Museum, the Cavern club, take the Magical Mystery Tour to Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields. The National Trust has John Lennon and Paul McCartneys childhood homes open to the public, and you can stay in Hard Days Night hotel. The only permanent exhibition to British popular music moved to Liverpool in 2015, called The British Music Experience. There is also the Royal Philharmonic Hall. (updated Aug 2019)

See

• 1 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Admission: Adults: $23.50, Seniors (60+): $21.25, Children (ages 9-12): $13.75, Children (8 & under): Free.  
• 2 Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum, 191 Beale St (corner of Third St; on the plaza of FedExForum). Daily 10AM-7PM (last admission 6:15PM). A short video is shown at frequent intervals and then you are given a headset so that you can listen to commentary and numerous songs as you walk through the exhibits. Sponsored by the Smithsonian. The museum used to be housed in the Gibson guitar factory across the street, which puts visitors right on the factory floor. Famous musicians periodically visit to pick up custom guitars or to play a set at the Gibson Lounge, in the west end of the building. Adults $10. 

• 3 Graceland (updated Oct 2016)

• 4 Buddy Holly Crash Site (The Day the Music Died) (near Clear Lake (Iowa)). In the early morning of February 3, 1959 a plane carrying rock musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson who were touring the Midwest together, crashed just after takeoff, killing them and the pilot. The accident taking the life of three popular rock musicians has been dubbed "The Day the Music Died" and has been referred to as such in popular culture. There are several memorials at the crash site. (updated Oct 2018)
• 5 Bethel Woods Center for the Arts (updated Mar 2015)
• 6 ABBA the Museum  
• 7 Finnish Music Hall of Fame  
• 8 Metallica House, 3132 Carlson Blvd (El Cerrito, 4 blocks west of the Plaza BART station.). This non-descript house housed the members of heavy metal band Metallica from 1983-1986. In the house and garage they wrote and rehearsed the songs for Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets. 

Do

A metal concert

See also: Music festivals

Eat and drink

Traditional Rock and Roll is highly associated with 1950s American cuisine, and especially burgers, fries, and shakes. Many traditional diners will play classic rock songs on their jukeboxes or via speakers. Later rock sub-genres are more heavily associated with pubs, dives, and bars.

• Hard Rock Cafe is a global chain of restaurants in 74 countries as of 2018. Each restaurant is like a mini-museum of rock and roll, its walls covered with guitars, records, costumes, and other memorabilia—much of it donated and signed by the original artists. TVs throughout play music videos. Most of the locations also have a stage for live bands (or occasional sing-a-longs). Hard Rock International also operates a handful of Hard Rock Hotels.
• 1 Blueberry Hill, 6504 Delmar Blvd, St. Louis, ☏ +1 314 727-4444. A true landmark restaurant and bar, open till 3AM. Chuck Berry used to play here frequently. Absolutely filled with pop-culture memorabilia spanning decades, including lunchboxes, concert posters, toys, sports trading cards, and other Americana. This place is definitely not one to miss. 
• 2 Bodom Bar & Sauna, Merituulentie 35 (Espoo, Finland), ☏ +358 50 011 1121. A restaurant bar dedicated to the Finnish metal band Children of Bodom. Public sauna included. 

Get around

Classic American (and to some extent European) cars and motorcycles are part of the rock'n'roll lifestyle. While the periodization is not exact, production of private vehicles took off in the years following World War II, with cheap fuel and expansion of suburbs and motorways. Cars became faster and heavier until the 1973 oil crisis and environmentalist concerns, which encouraged more compact models.

See also

• Jazz is one of the progenitors of rock music and has a long history, especially in the U.S.
• Nordic music; the Nordic countries have a prolific rock'n'roll scene, especially the harder flavors; in some case with inspiration from Vikings and the Old Norse
• Music in Britain and Ireland; in addition to the US, UK can be considered the other "superpower" in the history of rock.