Hard Rock

Hard rock is a variation of rock and roll music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage and psychedelic rock. It is typified by a heavy use of distorted electric guitars, bass guitar and drums. The term "hard rock" is often used as an umbrella term for genres such as punk, grunge and heavy metal in order to distinguish them from the more radio-friendly pop rock genre.
Hard rock is strongly influenced by blues music; the most frequently used scale in hard rock is the pentatonic, which is a typical blues scale. Unlike traditional rock and roll (which takes elements of the "old" blues), hard rock incorporates elements of "British blues", a style of blues played with more modern instruments such as electric guitars, drums, keyboards and electric bass. A notable departure from traditional blues forms is that hard rock is seldom restricted to the I, IV, and V chords prevalent in 12- or 16-bar blues, but includes other chords, typically major chords rooted on tones of the minor scale.
The term "hard rock" is often applied to many styles of rock music, their only common feature being that they deviate from pop rock, though this is generally incorrect. Two such examples are punk rock and grunge. Punk rock uses a faster tempo and fewer riffs (often using power chords). (Wilkipedia)

British Invasion: The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are an English band whose blues, rhythm and blues and rock and roll-infused music became popular during the "British Invasion" in the early 1960s. The band was formed in London in 1962 by Brian Jones, and eventually was led by the songwriting partnership of singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards. The Stones' image of unkempt and surly youth is one many musicians still emulate. During their 1969 American tour, the Stones were introduced and have often since been referred to as "The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World." The band have released 55 albums of original work and compilations, and have had 37 top-10 singles. In 1989 the Rolling Stones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2004 The Rolling Stones were ranked #4 in Rolling Stone Magazine's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. They have sold over 200 million albums worldwide. (Wilkipedia) Link

Yardbirds

The Yardbirds are an English rock band, noted for starting the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck. A blues-based band whose sound evolved into experimental pop rock, they had a string of hits including “For Your Love”, “Over, Under, Sideways, Down” and “Heart Full Of Soul”. They were a crucial link between British R&B and psychedelia; their guitarists were extremely influential in music.
The Yardbirds were pioneers in almost every guitar innovation of the '60s: fuzz tone, feedback, distortion, improved amplification, and were one of the first to put an emphasis on complex lead guitar parts and experimentation. The term, "Yardbird" is used in the southern United States as slang for 'chicken' (as in poultry), and it is a slang expression for "prisoner," i.e. one hanging out in the prison yard.
The bulk of the band's conceptual ideas, as well as their songwriting, came from the quartet of singer Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist/bassist Chris Dreja, and bassist/producer Paul Samwell-Smith, all of whom co-wrote the Yardbird's original hits and constituted the 'core' of the group. (Wilkipedia) Link

The Who

The Who are an English rock band that first formed in 1964 and grew to be considered one of the greatest[1] and most influential[2] bands in the world. They have been described, moreover, as "possibly the greatest live band ever."[3] The primary lineup consisted of Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle and Keith Moon.
The Who rose to fame in the United Kingdom with a series of top ten hit singles (including the celebrated "My Generation") and top five albums, beginning in 1965 with "I Can't Explain". They first hit the top ten in the USA in 1967 with "I Can See For Miles". The 1969 release of Tommy was the first in a series of top five albums for the group in the USA.
Keith Moon died in 1978, after which the band released two more studio albums, Face Dances and It's Hard, with drummer Kenney Jones, before officially disbanding in 1983. They reformed on several occasions during the 1980s and 1990s to perform at special events such as Live Aid and for tours such as the tour celebrating their 25th anniversary and the 20th anniversary of Tommy. The band focused on live performance during this period. In 2000, the three surviving members began to discuss the possibility of recording an album of new material, but Entwistle died in 2002, which delayed recording. The two remaining members, Townshend and Daltrey, continue to perform as The Who. Their most recent studio album, Endless Wire, was released in 2006. (Wilkipedia). Link

The Kinks

The Kinks were an English rock group formed in 1963 by lead singer-songwriter Ray Davies, his brother, lead guitarist and vocalist Dave Davies, and bassist Pete Quaife. The band's early hard-driving singles set a standard in the mid-1960s for rock & roll, while albums such as Face to Face, Something Else, Village Green, Arthur and Muswell Hillbillies are highly regarded by fans, critics, and peers alike, and are considered amongst the most influential recordings of the era. In the United States, The Kinks are categorised as a British Invasion band, along with the other members of the so-called Big Four (including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who). Despite being less commercially successful than these three contemporaries, the band is cited among them as one of the most important and influential rock bands of all time.( Wilkipedia ). Link

Scottish Invasion : Nazareth

Nazareth was formed in December 1969 in Dunfermline, Scotland, out of the ashes of semi-professional local group The Shadettes (formed in 1961) by vocalist Dan McCafferty, guitarist Manny Charlton (ex Mark V and The Red Hawks), bassist Pete Agnew, and drummer Darrell Sweet. They took their name from the first line of The Band's classic song, "The Weight" ("I pulled into Nazareth / Was feelin' about half past dead...")
The band moved to London, England in 1970, and released their self-titled debut album in 1971. After getting some attention with their second album Exercises, released in 1972, Nazareth issued Razamanaz in early 1973. This collection spawned two UK Top Ten hits, "Broken Down Angel" and "Bad Bad Boy." This was followed by Loud 'N' Proud in late 1973, which contained another hit single with a hard-rocking cover of Joni Mitchell's song "This Flight Tonight". Then came another album Rampant, in 1974, that was equally successful although it did not yield a single. A non-album song, again a cover version, this time of Tomorrow's "My White Bicycle", was a UK Top 20 entry in 1975.
Hair of the Dog was released in 1975. The title track of that album (popularly, though incorrectly, known as "Son Of A Bitch" due to its chorus lyrics) became a staple of 1970s rock radio. The American version of the album included a song originally recorded by The Everly Brothers, and also covered by Roy Orbison, the expressively melodic ballad "Love Hurts", that was released as a hit single in the UK and in the U.S., where it went platinum. In addition, the track became the band's only U.S. Top Ten hit.
Recently announced is a summer reunion tour of Canada with opening act, Headpins. (Wilkipedia). Link

Irish Invasion: Thin Lizzy

Thin Lizzy are a hard rock band who formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1969. The band was originally led by bassist, songwriter and singer Phil Lynott. They are best known for their 1976 songs Jailbreak and The Boys Are Back in Town, both major international hits still played regularly on hard rock and classic rock radio stations.
Critic John Dugan writes that "As the band's creative force, Lynott was a more insightful and intelligent writer than many of his ilk, preferring slice-of-life working-class dramas of love and hate influenced by Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, and virtually all of the Irish literary tradition." Van Morrison was a major influence as revealed in an interview with Phil Lynott in the movie Thin Lizzy the Rocker: A Portrait of Phillip Lynott. American groups Little Feat and Bob Seger also influenced Lizzy. Their music covered much territory (including hints of country and traditional folk music), but is generally classified as traditional heavy metal or hard rock. (Wilkipedia). Link