Music on Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk) is strongly influenced by the proximity to New York City and by the
youth culture of the
suburbs.
Psychedelic rock was widely popular in the 1960s as flocks of disaffected youth travelled to NYC to participate in protest and the culture of the time.
Rhythm and blues also has a history on Long Island, most notably
Huntington-born
Mariah Carey, one of the top-selling musicians of all time. In the late 1970s through the 1980s, the influence of radio station
WLIR made Long Island one of the first places in the nation to hear and embrace European
New Wave bands, including
Depeche Mode,
Pet Shop Boys, and
Culture Club. In the 1990s,
hip hop music became popular. Rap pioneers
Rakim,
EPMD,
De La Soul,
MF Doom, and
Public Enemy grew up on Long Island. Long Island was the home of a bustling
emo scene in the 2000s, with bands such as
Brand New,
Taking Back Sunday,
Straylight Run,
From Autumn to Ashes and
As Tall as Lions.Rock bands from Long Island include
the Rascals,
the Ramones (from Queens),
Dream Theater,
Blue Öyster Cult,
Twisted Sister, and guitar virtuosos
Donald (Buck Dharma) Roeser,
John Petrucci,
Steve Vai, and
Joe Satriani, and drummer
Mike Portnoy. Rock and pop singer
Billy Joel grew up in
Hicksville, and his music references Long Island and his youth.