In Year by Year in the Rock Era, Herb Hendler chronicles the evolution of rock from its inception in 1954 until its wane in the early 1980s through a year-by-year breakdown of the progression of musical events--the artists, groups, songs, dances, and LPs that rocked the youth generation for nearly three decades. Only a portion of the book relates to rock music itself, while a major part involves indirectly related phenomena such as fashion, alternative lifestyles, film, jargon, and television. Hendler's special focus is on innovation, overall business aspects, sociological factors, landmarks of cyclical change, turning points, demographics, and statistics.