>>716302025D&D is sword & sorcery more than anything else (or pulp fantasy, the genres are overlapping). D&D originally had very, very, very few Tolkien elements, most predominantly just dwarves and elves as classes, but many, many, many sword & sorcery inspirations.
It took something like 15 years for a D&D setting inspired by Tolkien to emerge (the Forgotten Realms). Interestingly, the Forgotten Realms went to be the most successful D&D setting as a result.
An interesting consequence of early D&D inspirations is that you are as likely as not to see aliens, spaceships, or lightsabers (though never strictly called that) inside your early scenario, as it's a common pulp fiction trope. Which is why Might and Magic had aliens, why Wizardry had aliens, etc.