The Rolling Stones are a British rock band that rose to prominence during the British Invasion of the 1960s. Like most early British rock groups, they were influenced by a variety of American musical forms, especially electric blues and early rock 'n' roll. By the mid-1960s, The Stones had fused their influences into a signature, guitar-based sound that established a prototype for hard rock. Second in popularity only to The Beatles, The Stones affected a rebellious, bad-boy image that helped propel their rise from an energetic modern blues outfit to one of the world's biggest and most influential bands.