More than a mere geographical distinction, the early British Blues of the late '50s and early '60s paid strict adherence to replicating American blues genres, with an admiration for its originators bordering on reverence. But by the time of the blues revival of the mid-'60s, British guitarists – in the main led by Eric Clapton – were starting to bend the form to create their own amalgam. Wedding the string-bending fervor of the B.B., Albert, and Freddie King styles to the extreme volume produced by large amplifiers, British blues largely coalesced into blues rock, with formerly traditional blues artists like the Rolling Stones and Clapton becoming rock stars. The British style has perhaps the closest ties to rock music as opposed to rock & roll, a distinct stylistic descendant of the 1950s. It is this constant shift between preserving older styles and mainstreaming it into the pop marketplace that is the hallmark of British blues