classic rock

Information about classic rock

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Classic rock was originally conceived as a radio station programming format which evolved from the album oriented rock (AOR) format in the early-1980s. In the United States, this rock music format now features a large but limited playlist of songs ranging from the late-1960s through the late 1980s with more emphasis on the earlier hits by artists associated with the loosely-defined "classic rock era".

Key artists and albums

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The core albums, artists, and songs most often represented in classic rock radio represent a subset of the albums and artists that were actually popular during the so-called "classic rock era". The most enduring classic rock songs and artists have proven to appeal to new generations of listeners as well as older listeners who knew the music when it originally appeared.

British hard rock and progressive rock bands make up a central pillar of classic rock artists; significant among these are The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Procol Harum, Queen, Supertramp, Uriah Heep, Deep Purple, The Kinks, Black Sabbath, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Jethro Tull, Yes, and Cream. Many different songs from these acts are likely to appear on the playlists of classic rock stations.

Certain American rock artists are also classic rock mainstays, including Jimi Hendrix, Aerosmith, The Doors, Heart, Eagles, Jefferson Airplane, Lynyrd Skynyrd, .38 Special, The Allman Brothers Band, Big Brother and the Holding Company (as well as Janis Joplin's solo work), Styx, Boston, Fleetwood Mac, Grand Funk Railroad, Journey, Foreigner, REO Speedwagon, Donnie Iris, The Grateful Dead, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, the James Gang, Steve Miller Band, Alice Cooper, Tom Petty, Blue Öyster Cult, Joe Walsh, and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Many other bands may appear occasionally on classic rock stations; however, this presence may be limited to a few familiar songs. For example, while bands like Steppenwolf and Kiss recorded over a dozen studio albums, only their best known songs, "Born to Be Wild" and "Magic Carpet Ride" from the former and "Rock and Roll All Nite" from the latter, are likely to be heard within the classic rock format.

Concept albums indirectly led to the album-rock format and remain a major component of classic rock. Notable are the four Pink Floyd concept albums, including The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon, as well as The Who's two major rock operas: Tommy and Quadrophenia. The Who's 1971 album Who's Next is one of the most often-played classic rock albums of all time.

The 1970s "arena rock" era is perhaps of the largest subset of the classic rock format, though in most cases artists are represented by only a few of their largest hits (often Top 40 "crossover" singles) and a few popular album cuts. Acts such as AC/DC, Styx, Grand Funk, ELO, Kiss, Bad Company, Queen, and Peter Frampton are all part of classic rock playlists, as is the era's Southern rock superstars such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, The Allman Brothers, and The Eagles. While the '70s works of singer-songwriters like Billy Joel, Jackson Browne, and Elton John are popular within the classic rock format, their later works are usually not.

Some classic rock playlists may include hard rock/heavy metal bands such as Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Rush, Guns N' Roses and Van Halen. Particular songs or eras from these acts may be more appropriate for the format than others, and nearly every station fine-tunes its playlist by adding or deleting songs and artists to differentiate itself from competing stations.

Furthermore, some classic rock stations have begun to implement acts from the early 1990s. Examples include grunge/alternative musicians such as Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Alice in Chains as well as the jam-band influenced Black Crowes, Blues Traveler, Spin Doctors, Widespread Panic and Phish.

Classic rock radio artists are almost exclusively white (African-American Jimi Hendrix being the primary exception, as well as Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynott, Queen's Freddie Mercury and the racially mixed band War) and predominantly male (with Anne Wilson and Nancy Wilson of Heart, Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, Nico and Maureen Tucker of the The Velvet Underground, Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane, Linda Ronstadt, Joan Jett, Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac and Janis Joplin as exceptions). Little of the diverse funk, disco, soul, blues, or singer-songwriter styles that co-existed with rock music survives in the classic rock format, though they may have been played contemporaneously on AOR predecessor stations.

Classic Hits format

Main article: Classic hits


A variation on the classic rock theme is "classic hits", which provides most of the playlist of classic rock with the addition of contemporaneous R&B and pop hits as well, striking a balance between the mostly '70s-focused classic rock format and the more broad-based oldies format.

Symphonic "classic rock"

Classic rock is also the name of a series of albums by The London Symphony Orchestra featuring orchestral arrangements of classic rock tracks. These albums featured "classical" arrangements of hits by such artists as Frank Zappa, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Harry Nilsson, 10cc, Procol Harum and others.

The “Classic Rock” series began in 1979 on the RSO label and inspired two additional series on RCA, including the famous “Hooked On Classics” series, conducted by Louis Clark of Electric Light Orchestra, and one of symphonic albums dedicated to the works of specific bands conducted by David Palmer of Jethro Tull. Symphonic albums in that series included ones dedicated to such bands as Jethro Tull, Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd, Queen and The Beatles.

This was a reverse twist on symphonic rock, in which it had long been the practice of many of the more sophisticated rock bands to interpret the classical repertoire.

See list of popular songs based on classical music.

See also

External links

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Radio broadcasting is an audio (sound) broadcasting service, traditionally broadcast through the air as radio waves (a form of electromagnetic radiation) from a
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A radio format or programming format describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. Radio formats are frequently employed as a marketing tool, and constantly evolve.
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Album-oriented rock (sometimes referred to as Adult-oriented rock), abbreviated AOR and originally called album-oriented radio, was originally an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.
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Motto
"In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
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Rock music is a form of popular music with a prominent vocal melody accompanied by guitar, drums, and bass. Many styles of rock music also use keyboard instruments such as organ, piano, or synthesizers.
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In its most general form, a playlist is simply a list of songs. The term has several specialized meanings in the realms of radio broadcasting and personal computers.
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Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century

1930s 1940s 1950s - 1960s - 1970s 1980s 1990s
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964
1965 1966 1967 1968 1969

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Their 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive.
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Hard rock is a variation of rock and roll music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage and psychedelic rock. It is typified by a heavy use of distorted electric guitars, bass guitar and drums.
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Progressive rock, sometimes shortened to "prog" or "prog rock", is a form of rock music that evolved in the late 1960s and early 1970s, principally from psychedelic rock, blues rock, folk rock, hard rock, classical music, and jazz fusion, but also from a wide-ranging
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The Beatles were an English musical group from Liverpool whose members were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. They are one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music.
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The Who are an English rock band that first formed in 1964, and grew to be considered one of the greatest[1] and most influential[2] bands in the world.
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Pink Floyd are an English rock band that initially earned recognition for their psychedelic rock music, and, as they evolved, for their progressive rock music. They are known for philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative cover art, and elaborate live shows.
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Led Zeppelin were an English rock band that formed in September 1968. Led Zeppelin consisted of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham. With their heavy, guitar-driven sound, Led Zeppelin are regarded as one of the first heavy metal bands.
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Procol Harum is an English rock band, formed in the 1960s, who built an important foundation for what would become progressive rock, or perhaps more closely, symphonic rock.
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Queen are an English rock band formed in 1970 in London by guitarist Brian May, singer Freddie Mercury and drummer Roger Taylor, with bassist John Deacon joining the following year.
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Supertramp are a British progressive rock band that had a series of top-selling albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Their early music included ambitious concept albums, but they are best known for their later hits including "Dreamer", "Goodbye Stranger", "Give a
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Uriah Heep are an English rock band, formed in December 1969 when record producer Gerry Bron invited keyboardist Ken Hensley (previously a member of The Gods and Toe Fat) to join Spice, a band signed to his own Bronze Records label.
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Deep Purple are an English hard rock band formed in Hertfordshire in 1968.[1] Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered one of the pioneers of heavy metal and hard rock,[2]
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The Kinks were an English rock group formed in 1963 by lead singer-songwriter Ray Davies, his brother, lead guitarist and vocalist Dave Davies, and bassist Pete Quaife. The band's early hard-driving singles set a standard in the mid-1960s for rock & roll, while albums such as
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Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham. The original band line up of Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Terence "Geezer" Butler (bass), and Bill Ward (drums) is the same as the current line up (2007) although there have been many shifts of personnel
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Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP) were an English progressive rock group. In the 1970s, the band was extremely popular, selling over 30 million albums and headlining huge concerts.
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Jethro Tull are a Grammy Award winning English rock band that formed in 1967-1968[1]. Their music is marked by the distinctive vocal style and lead flute work of front man Ian Anderson.
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Yes are an English progressive rock band that formed in London in 1968. Their music uses complex arrangements, unusual time signatures, virtuoso musicianship, dramatic dynamic and metrical changes, a blend of musical styles, vocal harmonies, and a unique lyrical style.
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Cream were a classic 1960s British rock band, comprised of guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker. Celebrated as the first great power trio and supergroup of rock, their sound was characterised by a hybrid of blues, pop and psychedelic rock.
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Jimi Hendrix (November 27 1942 – September 18 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Hendrix is considered one of the greatest and most influential guitarists in rock music history.
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Aerosmith is a prominent American hard rock band, regarded by some as "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band".[1][2][3]

Although they are known as "the bad boys from Boston"[4]
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Heart is an American rock band which came out of Bellevue, a suburb of Seattle, Washington. Going through several lineup changes, the only constant members of the group are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson.
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Eagles (commonly referred to as "The Eagles") are an American rock band that was formed in Los Angeles, California in the early 1970s. With five number-one singles and four number-one albums, the Eagles
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