The scope and significance of rock remains without precedent in the history of popular music. Beginning as a minority expression on the fringe of American society, it developed into a distinct counterculture during the 1960s. and a decade later had become a dominant cultural force, affecting and reflecting the moods of american youth and weaving itself into the very fabric of societyThe scope and significance of rock remains without precedent in the history of popular music. Beginning as a minority expression on the fringe of American society, it developed into a distinct counterculture during the 1960s, and a decade later had become a dominant cultural force, affecting and reflecting the moods of American youth and weaving itself into the very fabric of society