progressive rock (radio format)

Progressive rock (sometimes known as underground rock) is a radio station programming format that emerged in the late 1960s,Thomas Staudter
"On the Radio With a Mix Very Distinctly His Own"
''The New York Times'', March 24, 2002. Accessed March 23, 2008. in which disc jockeys 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 played.Fritz E. Froehlich, Allen S. Kent, Carolyn M. Hall (eds.), "FM Commercialization in the United States", ''The Froehlich/Kent Encyclopedia of Telecommunications'', CRC Press, 1991. . p. 179. It enjoyed the height of its popularity in the late 1960s and 1970s. The name for the format began being used circa 1968, when serious disc jockeys were playing "progressive 'music for the head and discussing social issues in between records.Mike Olszewski, ''Radio Daze: Stories from the Front in Cleveland's FM Air Wars'', Kent State University Press, 2003. . p. xi. During the late 1960s, as long-playing records began to supplant the single in popularity with rock audiences, progressive rock stations placed more emphasis on album tracks than did their AM counterparts. Throughout the 1970s, as FM stations moved to more structured formats, progressive rock evolved into album-oriented rock (AOR). William Safire, quoting Stephen Holden
"On Language: Don't Touch That Dial"
''The New York Times'', September 7, 1986. Accessed August 23, 2007.

Origins

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 of the counterculture of the 1960s and their counterparts, Hippies and Flower Children, to express themselves 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. Inasmuch as the format was commercial, underground sought to capitalize on the maturing of the Baby Boomers who were growing out of the top 40 radio of their youth, which was still targeting teens.

This change coincided with the greater emphasis on albums as opposed to singles in the rock market. Underground stations clearly disdained Top 40 music and made it a policy to avoid playing it. A dilemma grew because many underground artists were contractually obligated to release a certain amount of singles and FCC regulations required such songs to be 3 minutes long, or less. These "single versions" were often quite different than what was on the originating albums. Underground radio could liberally play what were referred to as "the album versions" of songs, no matter how long they were. By the same token, hugely popular and successful albums such as The Beatles' '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' and Arlo Guthrie's '' Alice's Restaurant'' did not contain any singles. In fact, the actual song " Alice's Restaurant" is the entire Side A of its titular album, coming in at over 18 minutes, making it way over the 3-minute mandate,Doyle, Patrick (November 26, 2014)
Arlo Guthrie looks back on 50 years of Alice's Restaurant
''Rolling Stone''. Retrieved November 22, 2018. grew to fame in part because of persistent airplay from underground radio host Bob Fass,Fisher, Marc.
Something in the Air: Radio, Rock, and the Revolution That Shaped a Generation
'. Page 136. and later became a Thanksgiving tradition on other underground/progressive stations. Many DJs at underground stations also chose to play entire sides of albums that contained multiple tracks, which could range from 20 to 30 minutes. At that time, these actions were considered very bold, so there was clearly a need for a radio format that could not only explore beyond the Top 40, but be allowed to do so with the DJs leading the way. This in turn led to established and new rock artists placing greater emphasis on long or experimental album tracks, knowing they would receive radio airplay.

Definition

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 radio stations, a number of 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, jazz fusion, 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; Bobby Borg, ''The Musician's Handbook: A Practical Guide to Understanding the Music Business'', Watson-Guptill, 2003. . p. 191. 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,Sara Pendergast, Tom
Pendergast, ''St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture'', St. James Press, 2000. 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"Todd Leopold
"Whatever happened to rock 'n' roll radio?"
CNN.com, February 7, 2002. Accessed August 24, 2007. 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; Jesse Walker, ''Rebels on the Air: An Alternative History of Radio in America'', NYU Press, 2001. . pp. 71-100. 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.

Stations and personnel

The archetypal successful and influential progressive rock radio station was WNEW-FM in New York in the late 1960s, 1970s, and into the 1980s.Robbie Woliver
"Disc Jockey, 55, Back In His College Booth"
''The New York Times'', April 1, 2001. Accessed March 23, 2008.Glenn Collins
"WNEW-FM, Rock Pioneer, Goes to All-Talk Format"
''The New York Times'', September 14, 1999. Accessed March 23, 2008.Varla Ventura, "Alison Steele: Song of the Nightbird", entry in ''Sheroes: Bold, Brash, and Absolutely Unabashed Superwomen from Susan B. Anthony to Xena'', Conari, 1998. . pp. 196-198. For instance, Keith Emerson credited it for breaking Emerson, Lake & Palmer into the United States market.Keith Emerson
"Remembering Scott Muni"
keithemerson.com, September 29, 2004. Accessed August 24, 2007. Other long-running, large-market examples included WMMR in Philadelphia"David Dye, NPR Biography"
NPR. Accessed August 24, 2007. (credited with helping to break Bruce Springsteen),Joe Howard
"Bill Weston’s Resurrection Of Legendary Rocker WMMR"
, Radio Ink, October 16, 2006. Accessed August 24, 2007. WBCN in Boston, WHFS in Washington, D.C., WXRT in Chicago, WMMS in Cleveland, WEBN in Cincinnati, CJOM, WWWW and WABX in Detroit/ Windsor, WZMF in Milwaukee, KQRS-FM in Minneapolis, WOWI in Norfolk, WORJ-FM in Orlando, KSHE in St. Louis, KDKB in Phoenix, KMET in Los Angeles, KSAN in San Francisco, KZAP and KSFM (102.5) in Sacramento, KZEW in Dallas, KATT-FM in Oklahoma City, and KTIM in San Rafael.Paul Friedlander, ''Rock and Roll: A Social History'', Westview Press, 1996. . p. 199. Many of the higher-profile stations among these were owned by Metromedia. College progressive rock radio stations included WVBR in Ithaca, New York, WKNC in Raleigh, North Carolina,"The history of WKNC"
, WKNC-FM. Accessed August 24, 2007. WBRU in Providence, Rhode Island,"WBRU"
Encyclopedia Brunoniana, Brown University. Accessed August 24, 2007. WRPI in Troy, New York, and WWUH in Hartford, Connecticut.

Pioneering progressive rock radio disc jockey and program directors included Scott Muni in New York,"Classic Vinyl and Sirius remember Scott Muni"
, Sirius Satellite Radio, October 1, 2004. Accessed August 24, 2007."Scott Muni and Johnny Michaels"
Rock Radio Scrapbook. Accessed August 24, 2007. Lee Arnold in Orlando, Tom Donahue in San Francisco,"A Brief History Of 106.9 FM In San Francisco"
, Bay Area Radio Museum. Accessed August 24, 2007. and Jim Santella in Buffalo.

Later developments

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 (AOR) format in the late 1970s and 1980s, and then later the nostalgic classic rock format in the 1980s and 1990s, while the smaller stations sometimes turned to college rock or alternative rock.Keith Moerer
"Who Killed Rock Radio?"
, '' Spin'', February 1998. Accessed August 24, 2007. The trend had begun in the early 1970s as national station owners such as Gordon McLendon had decided that the format was too unprofessional to serve a broad audience, believing that his underground stations were not achieving their potential (in reality, most of the reason for any ratings lagging was a lag in FM receiver adoption; McLendon's Buffalo station WPHD had the market's best ratings with its freeform program hosted by Jim Santella, but only in the evening hours where listeners had home receivers). Where once "progressive
rock radio asthe key media of ascendant rock culture", as writer Nelson George put it, Nelson George, ''The Death of Rhythm and Blues'', Pantheon Books, 1988. . 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." Robert Palmer
"Critic's Notebook: Now, Good Music Is Where You Find It"
''The New York Times'', October 29, 1987. Accessed August 23, 2007.

While freeform stations are still around in the 2000s, such as New Jersey's WFMU, and for a while WXRC in Charlotte, North Carolina, recalled the format's original sound, Mark Washburn, "95.7 FM Has New 'Ride' for Listeners - Progressive Hits from '60s And '70s Will Be Station's New Format", '' The Charlotte Observer'', September 5, 2002. there may be no real examples of the specific progressive rock radio format in existence today on the FM dial. The closest thing to a progressive rock station may be the Deep Tracks channel on Sirius XM Satellite Radio, which plays some of the music originally heard on progressive rock radio, but without pronounced disc jockey personalities or the full feel of the original format. "Stuck in the Psychedelic Era," a syndicated program heard on some non-commercial stations, recreates the format, but rarely includes any recordings made after 1970. 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."Adult Album Alternative (AAA)" entry
, New York Radio Guide. Access August 23, 2007.

References

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Radio formats
Rock radio formats