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TImeline of Pinoy Rock
[source:wikipedia]

One of the first popular Filipino rock stars was Bobby Gonzalez, whose major hit was "Hahabul-Habol." Eddie Mesa, another teen idol from the period, became known as the Elvis Presley of the Philippines. Back then, Filipino rock bands were referred to as "combos," and many of them used nontraditional instruments like floor-bass bongos, maracas, and gas tanks.

1960s
In the early 1960s, as electric instruments and new technology became available, instrumental American and British bands like The Shadows and The Ventures flourished. Filipino instrumental bands arose as well in this period; bands like The Deltas, The Celtics, RJ & the Riots, The Technicolors, The Hi-Jacks, and The Electromaniacs. These bands spawned the first Filipino singer-songwriters.

In 1963, the so-called British Music Invasion brought bands like The Beatles to mainstream audiences worldwide. Their widespread popularity and their embrace of the counterculture injected the possibility of socio-political lyrics with mature comments on real life into popular music. Immensely influenced by this new breed of British artists, many Filipino bands began adopting similar musical styles; and this produced acts like Downbeats, Tilt Down Men, The Moonstrucks, The Dynasouls, and Bits & Pieces. Some groups enhanced their style by adding unconventional instruments like a horn-and-brass section, trumpet, flute, and saxophone. Examples of such bands included Drop Outs, The Howlers, The Originals, The Houserockers, Clubmen, and The Imperials.

1970s
Into the early 1970s, Pinoy Rock was growing more nationalistic and socio-political in nature, as well as using Tagalog more often. Performers included Freddie Aguilar, Asin, Florante, Apo Hiking Society, Anakbayan, Juan de la Cruz Band, and Banyuhay. OPM (Original Pilipino music) also became popular. The songs like "Ang Miss Universe ng Buhay Ko" (Miss Universe of My Life) of Hotdogs combined Filipino and English words within the same song. This helped innovate the so-called Manila sound. Asin, Freddie Aguilar, and Florante fused Pinoy Rock with Folk music; while other artists mixed Pinoy Rock with other styles.

In 1978, Freddie Aguilar's debut single, "Anak," became the most commercially successful Filipino recording in history. The song became known also in other Asian countries and in Europe.

Today, many music journalists refer to the works of these pioneering artists as Classic Pinoy Rock, perhaps to distinguish them from the works of relatively younger Pinoy Rock bands, especially those that emerged in the 1980s through the 1990s.

1980s
In the early up to mid-1980s, Pinoy Rock became the music of Filipino protestors. Gary Granada and the band Buklod had socially relevant lyrics for their songs. Aguilar's Bayan Ko (My Country) became an anthem during the 1986 EDSA Revolution. A subculture rejected this kind of socially aware lyrics. A Filipino brand of Punk Rock also began to flourish during this period, as led by bands like Betrayed, G.I. & the Idiots, The Jerks, Urban Bandits, and WUDS. Simultaneously, other brands of Pinoy Rock were starting to develop; for instance, Joey Ayala at ang Bagong Lumad (fronted by Joey Ayala) adopted an Ethnic sound, even using indigenous instruments like kubing and kudyapi while Cocojam combined it with Reggae.

The most popular Pinoy Rock band in the Philippines in the '80s was The Dawn, whose early songs were largely influenced by New Wave music, the dominant Alternative music genre in the Philippines during that period. The Dawn came to prominence in 1986, when its independently released single "Enveloped Ideas" became an instant favorite among listeners of DWXB 102.7, a now-defunct FM radio station popular in the mid-'80s that heavily played New Wave music and other similar genres. Many music journalists and enthusiasts, as well as musicians themselves, attribute the flourishing in the mid-'80s of New Wave- and Punk Rock-influenced bands to DWXB 102, which began playing independently released singles of unsigned local bands. This helped many of the struggling bands in this era to achieve cult status. These bands included Deans December, Ethnic Faces, Identity Crisis, and Violent Playground, all of which were able to record and release their respective albums in the years that followed. Other Pinoy Rock groups took their cue from these pioneers and started recording their own songs; and this proved beneficial to the Pinoy Rock scene, which brought back creativity and originality to the awareness of fledgling musicians. Among the lot, The Dawn, After Image, and Introvoys proved to be the enduring and more successful. Each of them was able to sustain a relatively long career.

1990s
Introvoys and After Image were among the prominent bands in the early 1990s; but their popularity were later overshadowed by Eraserheads, which many Filipino music enthusiasts regard as the Pinoy rock icon of the 1990s. In 1993, with the release of Eraserheads' first commercially released album, Ultraelectromagneticpop, a new type of Pinoy rock emerged and many Pinoy rock bands followed their lead. It was also in this period when NU Rock Awards was born. Socially relevant lyrics persisted as well, as exemplified by the band Yano, whose lyricism dwelled mostly on social and political issues.

Bands that emerged after the commercial success of Eraserheads adopted a variety of influences both in image and music. Many of these groups fell under a particular genre; however, crossing over of styles is most often inevitable.

In the late 1990s, bands that adopted the Nu Metal style dominated the Pinoy rock music scene. These bands include Greyhoundz, Cheese, and Slapshock.

2000s
In the early 2000s with Hip hop and R&B influenced bands dominated the Philippine music scene, causing Pinoy Rock to take the backseat. Only a number of Pinoy Rock bands had managed to stay in the mainstream during this period; artists like Barbie's Cradle and Moonstar 88. Noel Cabangon, formerly of Buklod, re-released the song Kanlungan and became popular.

In 2002 an unsigned New Wave group called The Pin-Up Girls found themselves making front-page headlines after being tagged as the first Filipino Rock band to be signed by a U.S. label. Michael Sutton, a Filipino-Scottish staff writer for The All-Music Guide and the A&R Representative of Know-It-All Records, based in Seattle, Washington, discovered The Pin-Up Girls through a random aircheck of Metro Manila's Alternative Rock radio station DWNU 107. Sutton added the group to the label's roster, releasing the Taste Test EP a year later. The EP hit no. 1 on a New Jersey-based radio station, helping to bring Pinoy Rock into the awareness of the American audience. Sutton left Know-It-All Records in late 2004, bringing The Pin-Up Girls to his own label.

In the U.S., DJ Jason Baquilod continues to expose a multitude of Filipino acts, from R&B to Metal to Alternative, to a worldwide audience on his WRMN broadcasts.

In 2004, Bamboo, former lead vocalist of Rivermaya, formed a band bearing his name. The commercial success of their debut album, As the Music Plays, has somehow recharged the Pinoy Rock music scene. Another wave of Pinoy Rock bands emerged after this; artists like 6 Cycle Mind, Girl in Park, Kitchie Nadal, Sponge Cola,Sugar Free, Itchyworms, Kamikazee, and Kjwan.

In the passage of time and many musical styles in the Philippines, the term Pinoy Rock has become as diverse as the Rock music genre itself. Today, many music journalists and music enthusiasts regard Pinoy Rock as the brand of Rock music originating in the Philippines. And just like the Rock genre, it may be further divided into more specific genres of music.