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Like mankind punk rock has evolved from a common ancestor and into a variety of forms. Protopunk music and garage rock in the 1960s paved the way for punk rock development in the mid-1970s. The Who's anthem "My Generation" influenced much of the music in the next decade. The Sex Pistols from Britain and the US's own Ramones and Television were trailblazers for punk rock in the 1970s. Television created the messy hair, ripped shirt, and leather jacket style we know today as punk. And the phrase "1-2-3-4!" was created by the Ramones who shouted it before the start of every song. Eventually this rebel form of rock and roll began to spread in popularity.

Compared to the 10 to 15 minute slow, melodic, guitar solo filled music of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Peter Frampton, punk rock was short, fast and hard. The lyrics were, and still are, anarchist with a unique clothing style. The genre also took pride with being disassociated with mainstream music. By the end of the 1970s bands such as The Damned, The Pattie Smith Group, Blondie, and The Talking Heads inspired by the trailblazer bands had joined the punk rock explosion.

But before the 1970s did end a new type of punk had emerged: American hardcore. Between 1977 and 1979 a score of American bands such as The Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, and The Misfits made their first public appearance. This new genre was thicker, heavier, and faster than standard punk rock. The lyrics usually were about war, anarchism, capitalism, and government. Today there are still some bands that carry the American hardcore label such as Anti-Flag and the Suicide Machines.

As the eighties came upon punk rock, the genre started to drift away from the original punk rock and evolve with the emergence of pop and alternative rock. This decade included the unveiling of a more pop-oriented punk rock. New wave punk and pop punk made their debuts in this decade. Elvis Costello, Duran Duran, and Depeche Mode headed the new wave genre while NOFX and The Offspring lead the pop punk variety. Pop punk has continued to this day but with Green Day, Sum 41, and Simple Plan as the most popular choices.

Punk rock enjoyed a revival after a slow eighties period where pop and rap took center stage. Green Day and Bad Religion both signed to major deals and recorded top hits. The Vans Warped Tour and the mall chain store Hot Topic pushed the genre even more into popularity and mainstream. Sum 41, Good Charlotte, and Blink-182 also sold millions of albums at the turn of the century.

The popularity of pop punk has helped the genre carry over from the eighties and into the nineties and over into the new millennium. Unfortunately the modern age of punk rock has included the continued disappearance of old school punk rock. The Talking Heads broke up in 1991 and Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan of the New York Dolls died that very same year too. Joey Ramone and Johnny Ramone died in 2001 and 2004.

The Van's Warped Tour opening in 1995 opened the gates for more punk rock bands to emerge every year. This tour was the final phase for punk rock. It has come from garages in the sixties, to smoky bars of the seventies and eighties, to the limelight in the nineties. The future of this genre to me is up in the air. But for sure the genre will continue to grow and change.

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