When/why did vocals-guitar-bass-drums become the vast majority of rock music group makeups? Even with the occasional keyboardist, bands are almost entirely the same instruments.
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The holy trinity of any popular music (at least before full-on digital production) is:
1. Something to keep time (drums of some kind)
2. Something to lay the musical foundation (bass)
3. Something to play the melody (guitar, keys, vocals, horn, etc.)
With more people, you often dedicate one of the instruments that can play multiple notes at once (guitar, piano) to outlining the chords that underlie the music.
Rock music developed when the most exciting new percussion instrument was a drumkit, and the most exciting new tonal instruments were electric basses and guitars. Voice is eternally relevant in popular music because just about anyone can “play” it at some level, and it’s the only way to communicate more than vague feelings and sonic ideas.
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