http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=g.124&rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fart-progressive-rock%2Frock-opera%2Fmusic-videos.rssAfter the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper in 1967, many rock musicians began to think that rock should aspire to grand, conceptual song cycles instead of mere "songs." The Who's<I> Tommy</I> (1969) -- the saga of the deaf, dumb, and blind "Pinball Wizard" masterminded by Pete Townsend -- defines the genre. Rock Opera met the Jesus Freak movement in <I>Jesus Christ Superstar</I> in 1971. The Who followed <I>Tommy</I> with <I>Quadrophenia</I> in 1973. In the '90s, <I>Tommy</I> migrated to Broadway and became a national touring show, proving to some that the whole thing was more akin to <I>West Side Story</I> than rock 'n' roll from the start. Rock Operas vary in style and tone, but often merge traditional pop elements -- choirs, strings, classic pop song forms -- with rock 'n' roll.Rock Operaen720Sat, 28 Nov 2009 07:32:15 -0800 http://static.realone.com/rotw/images/logo_rhapsody_113x22.gif http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=g.124&rws=%2Frock-pop%2Fart-progressive-rock%2Frock-opera%2Fmusic-videos.rss After the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper in 1967, many rock musicians began to think that rock should aspire to grand, conceptual song cycles instead of mere "songs." The Who's<I> Tommy</I> (1969) -- the saga of the deaf, dumb, and blind "Pinball Wizard" masterminded by Pete Townsend -- defines the genre. Rock Opera met the Jesus Freak movement in <I>Jesus Christ Superstar</I> in 1971. The Who followed <I>Tommy</I> with <I>Quadrophenia</I> in 1973. In the '90s, <I>Tommy</I> migrated to Broadway and became a national touring show, proving to some that the whole thing was more akin to <I>West Side Story</I> than rock 'n' roll from the start. Rock Operas vary in style and tone, but often merge traditional pop elements -- choirs, strings, classic pop song forms -- with rock 'n' roll.