section_path: 1970s–1980s: Commercialisation/Soft rock, hard rock, and early heavy metal
section_name: Soft rock, hard rock, and early heavy metal
paragraph_text: Soft rock, hard rock, and early heavy metal
  
  A strange time, 1971—although rock's balkanization into genres was well underway, it was often hard to tell one catch-phrase from the next. " Art-rock " could mean anything from the Velvets to the Moody Blues, and although Led Zeppelin was launched and Black Sabbath celebrated, " heavy metal " remained an amorphous concept.
  
  — Robert Christgau
  
  From the late 1960s it became common to divide mainstream rock music into soft and hard rock. Soft rock was often derived from folk rock, using acoustic instruments and putting more emphasis on melody and harmonies. Major artists included Carole King, Cat Stevens and James Taylor. It reached its commercial peak in the mid- to late 1970s with acts like Billy Joel, America and the reformed Fleetwood Mac, whose Rumours (1977) was the best-selling album of the decade. In contrast, hard rock was more often derived from blues-rock and was played louder and with more intensity. It often emphasised the electric guitar, both as a rhythm instrument using simple repetitive riffs and as a solo lead instrument, and was more likely to be used with distortion and other effects. Key acts included British Invasion bands like the Kinks, as well as psychedelic era performers like Cream, Jimi Hendrix and the Jeff Beck Group. Hard rock-influenced bands that enjoyed international success in the later 1970s included Queen, Thin Lizzy, Aerosmith, AC/DC, and Van Halen.
  
  From the late 1960s the term "heavy metal" began to be used to describe some hard rock played with even more volume and intensity, first as an adjective and by the early 1970s as a noun. The term was first used in music in Steppenwolf 's " Born to Be Wild " (1967) and began to be associated with pioneer bands like San Francisco's Blue Cheer, Cleveland's James Gang and Michigan's Grand Funk Railroad. By 1970 three key British bands had developed the characteristic sounds and styles which would help shape the subgenre. Led Zeppelin added elements of fantasy to their riff laden blues-rock, Deep Purple brought in symphonic and medieval interests from their progressive rock phase and Black Sabbath introduced facets of the gothic and modal harmony, helping to produce a "darker" sound. These elements were taken up by a "second generation" of heavy metal bands into the late 1970s, including: Judas Priest, UFO, Motörhead and Rainbow from Britain; Kiss, Ted Nugent, and Blue Öyster Cult from the US; Rush from Canada and Scorpions from Germany, all marking the expansion in popularity of the subgenre. Despite a lack of airplay and very little presence on the singles charts, late-1970s heavy metal built a considerable following, particularly among adolescent working-class males in North America and Europe. In the 1980s, bands such as Bon Jovi, Guns N' Roses, Skid Row and Def Leppard saw mainstream success, with hard rock and a fusion of hard rock with pop. During the 1990s, hard rock saw a slight decline in popularity, save for some major hits like Guns N' Roses' November Rain. But in the early 2000s, Bon Jovi's " It's My Life " saw a huge increase in popularity of rock and pop rock and helped introduce the genres to a newer fanbase.