The modern concept of the self-indulgent 'Rock Star' was really born in the 1970s.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. In the 1960s
• D. In the 1980s

Answer: (A)

The idea here is that the image of a rock musician living a life of excess, celebrity, and dramatic persona became a recognizable and lasting type in the 1970s. During that decade, glam and arena rock turned stage presence, fashion, and larger-than-life personal myth into a public culture—artists like Bowie, Mick Jagger, Freddie Mercury, and Elton John crafted personas and spectacles that fans followed as part of the music experience. That combination of musical fame and public lifestyle created the modern rock star as a celebrity with a signature look and lifestyle, not just a talented performer. While there were extravagant stars before, the consolidated self-indulgent rock-star archetype really took shape in the 1970s, setting the template that 1980s fame and MTV would later build on.