Progressive rock (radio format)
Encyclopedia
Progressive rock is a radio station
programming
format
that prospered in the late 1960s and 1970s, in which the disc jockey
s are given wide latitude in what they may play, similar to the freeform format
but with the proviso that some kind of rock music
is almost always what is played. The name for the format came from around 1968, when serious disc jockeys were playing "progressive 'music for the head'" and discussing social issues in between records.
When FM broadcasting
licenses were first issued by the FCC
, broadcasters were slow to take advantage of the new airwaves available to them because their advertising revenues were generated primarily from existing AM broadcasting
stations and because there were few FM radio receivers owned by the general public. This void created an opportunity for the disenchanted youth counter-culture of the era to express itself by playing music that was largely ignored by mainstream outlets. In this sense, progressive rock radio was more of a social response than a product marketed to fill a need.
This change coincided with the greater emphasis on album
s as opposed to singles
in the rock market. Hugely popular albums such as The Beatles
' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
did not contain any singles, so there was clearly a need for a radio format that would explore beyond the Top 40. This in turn led to rock artists placing greater emphasis on long or experimental album tracks, knowing they could still receive radio airplay.
The progressive rock radio format should not be confused with the progressive rock
music genre. While progressive rock music was certainly played on progressive rock stations, other varieties of rock music were also played. Generally everything from early Beatles and early Dylan
on forward was fair game. Progressive rock radio was generally the only outlet for fringe rock genres such as space rock
and quiet, acoustic-based folk rock
and country rock
(often played on weekend mornings). Progressive stations were also known for having "turntable hits", songs by obscure artists that did not sell much and were not hits by any conventional measure, but which listeners kept calling up and requesting;Sweet Thursday's
"Gilbert Street" was a good example on the East Coast.
The progressive rock radio format grew out of the freeform radio format
, and, sharing the key characteristic of disc jockeys having the freedom to play what they chose, has sometimes been referred to as "freeform rock radio" or "freeform progressive radio" or simply "FM rock radio". But as they evolved there were key differences between the freeform and progressive rock formats:
The archetypal successful and influential progressive rock radio station was WNEW-FM in New York
in the late 1960s, 1970s, and into the 1980s; Keith Emerson
credited it for breaking Emerson, Lake & Palmer
into the United States
market. Other long-running, large-market examples included WMMR
in Philadelphia (credited with helping to break Bruce Springsteen
), WBCN in Boston
, WXRT
in Chicago
, WMMS
in Cleveland, CJOM
and WABX
in Detroit/Windsor
, WZMF
in Milwaukee, KQRS-FM in Minneapolis, WORJ-FM in Orlando
, KSAN
in San Francisco, and KMET in Los Angeles
(many of these stations were owned by Metromedia
), and college radio stations such as WVBR
in Ithaca, New York
, WKNC
in Raleigh, North Carolina
, WBRU
in Providence, Rhode Island
, and WWUH
in Hartford, Connecticut
. Pioneering progressive rock radio disc jockey and program directors included Scott Muni
in New York , Lee Arnold in Orlando and Tom Donahue
in San Francisco.
Over time (some much faster than others), the large-city progressive rock stations usually lost DJ freedom and adopted the more structured and confined album-oriented rock
format in the 1970s or 1980s, and then later the nostalgic classic rock
format in the 1980s or 1990s, while the smaller progressive rock stations sometimes turned to the college rock
or alternative rock
. Where once "progressive
rock radio [was] the key media of ascendant rock culture", as writer Nelson George
put it, by 1987, musician and author Robert Palmer
would write, "The glory days of 'progressive' rock radio - when the disk jockey actually chose the records he played and creatively juxtaposed songs and styles - are long gone." While freeform stations are still around in the 2000s (such as New Jersey's WFMU
), and 95.7 the Ride
in Charlotte, North Carolina
, recalls the format's original sound, there may be no real examples of the specific progressive rock radio format in existence today on the FM dial. The Deep Tracks
channel on Sirius XM Satellite Radio might, however, be regarded as a contemporary equivalent. Some of the spirit of progressive rock radio (albeit in a more mellow, "adult" form) can also be found in the adult album alternative
format.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
programming
Radio programming
Radio programming is the Broadcast programming of a Radio format or content that is organized for Commercial broadcasting and Public broadcasting radio stations....
format
Radio format
A radio format or programming format not to be confused with broadcast programming describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. Radio formats are frequently employed as a marketing tool, and constantly evolve...
that prospered in the late 1960s and 1970s, in which the disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
s are given wide latitude in what they may play, similar to the freeform format
Freeform (radio format)
Freeform, or freeform radio, is a radio station programming format in which the disc jockey is given total control over what music to play, regardless of music genre or commercial interests. Freeform radio stands in contrast to most commercial radio stations, in which DJs have little or no...
but with the proviso that some kind of rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
is almost always what is played. The name for the format came from around 1968, when serious disc jockeys were playing "progressive 'music for the head'" and discussing social issues in between records.
When FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
licenses were first issued by the FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
, broadcasters were slow to take advantage of the new airwaves available to them because their advertising revenues were generated primarily from existing AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
stations and because there were few FM radio receivers owned by the general public. This void created an opportunity for the disenchanted youth counter-culture of the era to express itself by playing music that was largely ignored by mainstream outlets. In this sense, progressive rock radio was more of a social response than a product marketed to fill a need.
This change coincided with the greater emphasis on album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s as opposed to singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in the rock market. Hugely popular albums such as The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the English rock band The Beatles, released on 1 June 1967 on the Parlophone label and produced by George Martin...
did not contain any singles, so there was clearly a need for a radio format that would explore beyond the Top 40. This in turn led to rock artists placing greater emphasis on long or experimental album tracks, knowing they could still receive radio airplay.
The progressive rock radio format should not be confused with the progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
music genre. While progressive rock music was certainly played on progressive rock stations, other varieties of rock music were also played. Generally everything from early Beatles and early Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
on forward was fair game. Progressive rock radio was generally the only outlet for fringe rock genres such as space rock
Space rock
Space rock is a subgenre of rock music; the term originally referred to a group of early, mostly British, 1970s progressive and psychedelic rock bands such as Hawkwind and Pink Floyd, characterised by slow, lengthy instrumental passages dominated by electric organs, synthesizers, experimental...
and quiet, acoustic-based folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
and country rock
Country rock
Country rock is sub-genre of popular music, formed from the fusion of rock with country. The term is generally used to refer to the wave of rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s, beginning with Bob Dylan and The Byrds; reaching its greatest...
(often played on weekend mornings). Progressive stations were also known for having "turntable hits", songs by obscure artists that did not sell much and were not hits by any conventional measure, but which listeners kept calling up and requesting;Sweet Thursday's
Sweet Thursday (band)
Sweet Thursday was a short-lived late-1960s English rock band.The group included famed session keyboard player Nicky Hopkins, who had worked with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck, and many others; folk guitarist, singer, and past session man Alun Davies ; and singer, guitarist, composer...
"Gilbert Street" was a good example on the East Coast.
The progressive rock radio format grew out of the freeform radio format
Freeform (radio format)
Freeform, or freeform radio, is a radio station programming format in which the disc jockey is given total control over what music to play, regardless of music genre or commercial interests. Freeform radio stands in contrast to most commercial radio stations, in which DJs have little or no...
, and, sharing the key characteristic of disc jockeys having the freedom to play what they chose, has sometimes been referred to as "freeform rock radio" or "freeform progressive radio" or simply "FM rock radio". But as they evolved there were key differences between the freeform and progressive rock formats:
- Freeform could play any genre of music; progressive rock generally limited itself to (various kinds of) rock.
- After its early days, freeform tended towards small or "underground" stations in non-commercial or niche markets; progressive rock could and did handle big-signal stations in large markets.
- Progressive rock was intended to be as fully commercially viable as any other mainstream radio format; freeform usually shunned such ambitions.
- The progressive rock format had a large impact on the commercial rock music industry at the time; the freeform format generally did not.
The archetypal successful and influential progressive rock radio station was WNEW-FM in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in the late 1960s, 1970s, and into the 1980s; Keith Emerson
Keith Emerson
Keith Noel Emerson is an English keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of the Keith Emerson Trio, John Brown's Bodies, The T-Bones, V.I.P.s, P.P. Arnold's backing band, and The Nice , he was a founder of Emerson, Lake & Palmer , one of the early supergroups, in 1970...
credited it for breaking Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer, also known as ELP, are an English progressive rock supergroup. They found success in the 1970s and sold over forty million albums and headlined large stadium concerts. The band consists of Keith Emerson , Greg Lake and Carl Palmer...
into the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
market. Other long-running, large-market examples included WMMR
WMMR
WMMR is an active rock radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, broadcasting at 93.3 MHz FM. The station is owned by Greater Media....
in Philadelphia (credited with helping to break Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
), WBCN in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, WXRT
WXRT
WXRT, also known as WXRT 93.1, XRT, and 93-XRT is a AAA radio station in Chicago, Illinois. For many years their slogan has been "Chicago's Finest Rock". WXRT is a primary sponsor of the Chicago nonprofit Rock For Kids.-History:...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, WMMS
WMMS
WMMS — branded 100.7 WMMS: The Buzzard — is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, widely recognized as one of the most influential rock stations in America throughout much of the history of FM broadcasting...
in Cleveland, CJOM
CIMX-FM
CIMX-FM — branded 89X — is a commercial active-leaning alternative rock radio station based in Windsor, Ontario. 89X serves both Essex County, Ontario and Metro Detroit; its 100,000-watt signal reaches most of southwestern Ontario, southeastern Michigan, the Toledo metro area and the western Lake...
and WABX
WYCD
WYCD is a radio station in Detroit, Michigan. The station is the only country music station in the Detroit area. WYCD's offices and studios are located on Woodward Heights . near Interstate 75 in Ferndale, Michigan...
in Detroit/Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
, WZMF
WJMR-FM
WJMR-FM is an urban adult contemporary radio station serving the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, area. They are known on-air as "Jammin' 98.3", and are licensed to Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.-98.3 FM History:...
in Milwaukee, KQRS-FM in Minneapolis, WORJ-FM in Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, KSAN
KSAN-FM
KSAN is a commercial radio station licensed to San Mateo, California, with its transmitter located on San Bruno Mountain. It broadcasts to the San Francisco Bay Area...
in San Francisco, and KMET in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
(many of these stations were owned by Metromedia
Metromedia
Metromedia was a media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and owned Orion Pictures from 1986-1997.- Overview :...
), and college radio stations such as WVBR
WVBR
WVBR-FM is a college radio station that broadcasts to Ithaca, New York, and surrounding areas. It operates at 3 kilowatts from a transmitter on Hungerford Hill, in Ithaca. A translator on 105.5 FM provides a cleaner signal to certain areas of Ithaca...
in Ithaca, New York
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
, WKNC
WKNC
WKNC-FM , North Carolina State University's student-run radio station, is a College radio station in the United States. Broadcasting with an effective radiated power of 25,000 watts, its signal covers much of the Research Triangle and outlying areas. The station is entirely student-run, from the...
in Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
, WBRU
WBRU
WBRU is a commercial alternative rock radio station in Providence, Rhode Island that broadcasts on 95.5 FM. It was the first student-owned-and-operated campus radio station in the United States when it started as the Brown Network at Brown University in 1936...
in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
, and WWUH
WWUH
WWUH is a non-commercial radio station licensed to the University of Hartford in West Hartford, Connecticut, USA. The station was started on July 15, 1968 and has a Public Alternative Radio format....
in Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
. Pioneering progressive rock radio disc jockey and program directors included Scott Muni
Scott Muni
Scott Muni was an American disc jockey, who worked at the heyday of the AM Top 40 format and then was a pioneer of FM progressive rock radio.-Biography:...
in New York , Lee Arnold in Orlando and Tom Donahue
Tom Donahue
Tom "Big Daddy" Donahue , was a pioneering rock and roll radio disc jockey, record producer and concert promoter....
in San Francisco.
Over time (some much faster than others), the large-city progressive rock stations usually lost DJ freedom and adopted the more structured and confined album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
format in the 1970s or 1980s, and then later the nostalgic classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
format in the 1980s or 1990s, while the smaller progressive rock stations sometimes turned to the college rock
College rock
College rock is a term that was used in the United States to describe 1980s alternative rock before the term "alternative" came into common usage. The term's use of the word "college" refers to campus radio stations located at institutions of higher education in Canada and the United States, where...
or alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
. Where once "progressive
rock radio [was] the key media of ascendant rock culture", as writer Nelson George
Nelson George
Nelson George is an African American author, columnist, music and culture critic, journalist, and filmmaker. He has been nominated twice for the National Book Critics Circle Award....
put it, by 1987, musician and author Robert Palmer
Robert Palmer (author/producer)
Robert Franklin Palmer Jr. was a 20th century American writer, musicologist, clarinetist, saxophonist, and blues producer...
would write, "The glory days of 'progressive' rock radio - when the disk jockey actually chose the records he played and creatively juxtaposed songs and styles - are long gone." While freeform stations are still around in the 2000s (such as New Jersey's WFMU
WFMU
WFMU is a listener-supported, independent community radio station headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, broadcasting at 91.1 MHz FM, presenting a freeform radio format...
), and 95.7 the Ride
WXRC
WXRC is a 70s rock-based Classic Hits radio station located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The station is licensed to Hickory, North Carolina and broadcasts with an ERP of 100 kW.-History:...
in Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
, recalls the format's original sound, there may be no real examples of the specific progressive rock radio format in existence today on the FM dial. The Deep Tracks
Deep Tracks
Deep Tracks is a Sirius XM Radio channel featuring deep cuts of classic rock music, which encompasses lesser known album tracks, one-hit wonders, concert recordings, "forgotten 45s" and "B-side" tracks. The channel's format resembles progressive rock radio of the early 1970s.Earle Bailey is Deep...
channel on Sirius XM Satellite Radio might, however, be regarded as a contemporary equivalent. Some of the spirit of progressive rock radio (albeit in a more mellow, "adult" form) can also be found in the adult album alternative
Adult album alternative
Adult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats....
format.
See also
- Music radioMusic radioMusic radio is a radio format in which music is the main broadcast content. After television replaced old time radio's dramatic content, music formats became dominant in many countries...
- Freeform (radio format)Freeform (radio format)Freeform, or freeform radio, is a radio station programming format in which the disc jockey is given total control over what music to play, regardless of music genre or commercial interests. Freeform radio stands in contrast to most commercial radio stations, in which DJs have little or no...
- Album-oriented rockAlbum-oriented rockAlbum-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
- Classic rockClassic rockClassic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...