Haha, good question. Well…rock-n-roll IS the predominate music choice of most in the last 50 years or so I’d say. Rock-n-roll revolutionized the music industry and it has never been the same since. Personally I can’t stand country western, jeez, how many “my trucks broke, my girlfriend left me and my dog died” tunes can one listen to without wanting to put a bullet in their brain. lolol

If someone wanted to torture me it could easily be done with a nonstop barrage of CW.
Fuck…about 4 songs in I’d chew my own leg off to get away, divulge top secret information, have sex with my captors, anything but country western, please god, have mercy!

HAHAHAHAHA! (Crosses eyes, smils blankly, speaks with a nasal twang) “We got BOTH kinds ‘a music; Country, and Western!”

Maybe it’s the versatility and forgiving nature of Rock. It addresses the gamut of emotions and experiences. There is something in rock that has an appal and a relevance to so many people. Then too, it is fluid enough to change with the generations and still have a core about it that designates it as rock.

But then again, I’m not a reliable source. What the heck do I know? I still eat peanut butter Cap’n Crunch periodically.

I expect it’s because the phrase lends itself in a lyrical context quite well.

Rock and Roll (and of course Country-Western) seem to be to the contemporary audience what sonnets were to the 15–16th century, art songs (lied, canzon, etc) were to the baroque era, and the dance-hall songs were about a century ago. They are the popular genre (with many sub-genres) and so relate the contemporary stories.

This is a wild guess. Imagine music genres are like languages. Rock ‘n’ Roll is more or less like English…a newer language and one that has gained popularity. It has lost some cutting edge popular members in our time, thus the tributes. Just watch this video of Rock ‘n’ Roll Heaven. How many singers do you recognize?

Classical music is more along the line of the Latin language. Yeah, some people still learn it, and it has great value, but has anyone really produced quality classical music in the past century or two? Check out this list. You might be surprised at how many you are familiar with, even if it is just from a movie or commercial.

Country music is like the language of Zulu. People have heard of it, the vast majority wouldn’t relate to it, and they distance themselves from it.

I find songs, about the genre they are in, boring. It’s like watching a programme on how people watch tv…

I guess maybe because it was such a revolutionary genre when it comes to modern music that a lot of people, artists and listeners alike, hold a big candle to it.

I just gave @Symbeline a GA because she is closest in my mind.

Rock and Roll is more than just the music, it is rebellion expressed in an art form. It is revolution against societal structures and restrictions. It is freedom on a hot summer night in the Midwest, a girl’s rebellion on a winter night with that one guy, breaking the rules by having a kegger on the beach while surfing on a moonlit night.

For those of us who are old, it keeps us fighting old age and stagnation. It’s the soundtrack of our lives.