3 Legendary Songs That Created Whole New Genres

Genres and subgenres come and go. It’s the nature of music. Sounds and tastes change with the ebb and flow of popular culture and music technology, and it continues to evolve today. However, back in the 20th century, quite a few legendary songs dropped that inadvertently created whole new genres. Let’s look at just a few examples, shall we?

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“Funky Drummer” by James Brown (1970)

What would funk be today without James Brown? Would it even exist? Who knows! What we do know is that “Funky Drummer”, released in 1970, would become one of the most influential songs in funk, hip-hop, and rock history. It has been sampled across genres thousands of times, and it boasts an eight-bar loop and drum break that is instantly recognizable to anyone who was alive in the 20th century. “Funky Drummer” is just one of dozens of amazing James Brown songs, but it might be the most historically relevant work of his career.

“That’s All Right” by Elvis Presley (1954)

Who knew that Elvis Presley would kick off a whole new genre with the debut of this classic rock and roll tune from 1954? Presley definitely didn’t invent rock and roll, but this was the song that put the guitar-heavy mix of blues, gospel, and country that had been popular among African American musicians in the mainstream consciousness. Presley didn’t invent rock and roll, but he definitely popularized it among the masses in the United States. It’s not surprising at all that teens, in particular, embraced this song the most and helped kickstart an era of rock music that would continue to evolve for decades.

“Black Sabbath” by Black Sabbath (1970)

I’m sure there are many music historians out there who could pick out plenty of proto-metal songs that “started” the genre in the 1960s. However, Black Sabbath’s self-titled track was very likely the one to kick off the genre’s popularity. A new evolution of rock music, heavy metal’s roots can be traced back to this song, which was a pretty stark departure from conventional rock music at the time. “Black Sabbath” more than earns a spot on our list of songs that created new genres. This very song was one of the first heavy metal tracks, full of darkness and hard-hitting power, to inspire metal musicians and bands to come. And it still goes hard, even today.

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