Mannheim school
Steam rollers have had an influence on popular music, for example, the group Buffalo Springfield named themselves after (the manufacturer of) a steam roller parked outside the house. The song "Steamroller Blues" was written and performed by James Taylor in 1970 and subsequently became a favourite of live concerts by Elvis Presley. Verdi's Il Trovatore Anvil Chorus is associated with steamrolling and power in some parts of the world. The name of American music group Mannheim Steamroller is the result of blending the word "steamroller" with "Mannheim roller", an 18th-century German musical technique characterized by a crescendo passage having a rising melodic line over an ostinato bass line, popularized by the Mannheim school of composition. See also Steam (Peter Gabriel song).