July 7th is the National Day of Rock and Roll. This music genre, which debuted in the 1950s, captivated audiences for decades. But in 2026, has the music run its course, or is rock and roll a classic that will never go out of style? 

CivicScience data show that the majority of Americans (56%) say that rock and roll is very much alive. This contrasts with the 32% who say it’s a dying genre and the 12% who say it’s already dead.   

Women are nine percentage points more likely than men to say it’s very much alive (60% vs 51%), while men are the first to say that the genre is dead (15% vs 10%). Age and income also play a role, as Baby Boomers and high-income earners outpace with their love of rock and roll, while Gen Z and low-income earners skew towards believing it’s a dying breed.  

However, this demographic data is far from the full story when it comes to what sets rock and roll fans apart from the rest. Here’s what the data show about fans’ and critics’ unique consumer behaviors: 

Cooking Preferences: While 36% of those who believe rock and roll is dead say they ‘love’ to cook, just 29% of those who believe rock and roll is very much alive and well say the same. 

Newspaper Readership: Those who believe rock and roll is very much alive are 11 percentage points more likely to read a print edition of a national newspaper a few times a month than those who believe it’s dead (28% vs 17%). 

Car Repairs: While 45% of those who believe rock n roll is very much alive will take their car for repairs at a local private shop, just 35% of those who say the genre is dead say the same. 

Wake Up Times: Those who believe rock and roll is dead are nine percentage points more likely to wake up between 2am and 6am than those who believe the genre is very much alive (45% vs 36%).

Soap Preferences: Those who believe rock and roll is alive are nearly twice as likely to prefer bar soap as those who say the genre is dead (40% vs 21%). 

Where do you stand? Take this poll now and see how your preference compares with other Americans:

Clearly, what you believe about rock and roll isn’t just a musical preference. It’s a choice that provides insight into a variety of consumer behaviors that exist beyond your favorite playlist.

Love taking polls? Sign up to receive topical polls straight to your inbox every day in The CivicScience Poll of the Day here.

This article’s data comes solely from CivicScience’s database, which contains nearly 700,000 poll questions and 5 billion consumer insights.