Why did prog rock never have mass popularity?

[hennessybass]

Why did prog rock never have mass popularity?

Because it doesn't have a nice melody that you can hum in your head?
Because it doesn't have a beat you can dance too?
Because it doesn't have familiar harmonic structures and patterns that are accessible to the population at large?

I'm NOT trying to put anything down.

Queen got mentioned above. Rolling stone did a poll, and their #5 best song is a country / rockabilly song - not super progressive.

I love Dark Side... but I think it's a bit of an outlier. Also, it came out at a time (a period of a few decades) when people were buying albums. For decades before and after that time period, people didn't / don't buy albums. Kind of a funny data point.

 

[EatS1stBassist]

View attachment 4900553 View attachment 4900554 View attachment 4900555 View attachment 4900556
Seriously? Where ya been?
Prog | Louder

I have a guitar strap owned by Steve Howe with the Fragile Album Cover carved into it. A

 

[Harper]

Here a photo from a concert by the totally underground, fringe, unpopular prog band Emerson, Lake, and Palmer.

 

[arbiterusa]

Your thoughts?
Why was prog rock less successful than other styles/subgenres of rock music?

It’s boring. Not to musicians but normies. Boring as watching paint dry.

 

[Jimmy Howe]

LOL!
Not to hijack the thread, but to keep it brief - I think that on Dec 31 1980 Rush, Queen, Yes, Genesis, Heart and Renaissance (yeah dark horse there) were at the same airport somewhere in North America, and there was a blizzard. Rather than sleep at the airport, they all rented a bus to drive to a hotel when the bus wrecked, killing all aboard. The record companies were desperate, so they hired a bunch of people that looked like these bands, sounded, like these bands, sort of, but did not have the talent to write anything as good as these bands - they couldn't fake that. Think about it and the sudden, inexplicable drop in album quality with these artists between 1980 and 1981 - this hypothesis explains a lot. (PS it's rumored Zappa may have been on the bus as well, but that depends on who you ask).

I love it! Never heard of that theory. Who knows? Kind’a like the the theory that Theodore Odorno wrote all the Beatles tunes, died and left four untalented songwriters to sink or swim. Could be.

 

[perfektspace6]

As mentioned, a bunch of prog bands filled arenas and stadiums in the 70s. When prog was most popular, musicians that might have otherwise played other types of music went the prog route and produced complex but also very catchy music. When popular mood shifts, musicians tend to shift with it and try to write in a style that can reach a larger audience. So there is always a window of opportunity, which for prog was the 70s and early 80s, where you get a lot of musicians playing in style that is popular that are also able to write great songs with mass appeal. I bet a lot of hair metal guitarists would have been prime candidates to be in a prog band if their time had come a few years prior but you roll with what is successful.

Every genre has it apex and prog had it's moment but the testament is that there are a number of bands that still operate in that space and do very well. One of the more consistent genres since recorded music began.

 

[bass12]

Because it so rarely features a guest appearance by Pitbull or Sean Paul?

 

[Rojd]

The songs weren't quick, easy sound bites for the general populace with short attention spans.

 

[FFEJY]

Strange how history rewrites itself.

If you weren't there, sadly you can no longer rely on history to accurately conjure up the past. It's all been revised by those who were not there.

Prog was MASSIVELY popular for a short time in the mid-70s.

I remember Yes regularly headlining STADIUMS. Those weren't just prog nerds filling those seats.

Hell, prog was so popular at one time that even Black Sabbath tried to get in on the act with "Technical Ecstasy" for no other reason than to chase the (popular) prog trend, according to Tony Iommi himself.

Prog was huuuuuge...for a little while.

Just because the internet says something different doesn't make it fact.

The only ones who know for sure are the ones who were THERE.

 

[Carl Hillman]

Your thoughts?
Why was prog rock less successful than other styles/subgenres of rock music?

A tendency toward long forms, lyrical content beyond "hey, baby let's get down", harmonic content beyond 3 or 4 chords, rhythmic division that went beyond duple and triple time...

Your Average-Schmo-On-The-Street just seems to have an easier time connecting with less complex music.

 

[bassicmike]

The argument isn't about popularity.

It's Mass Popularity.

Two different things.

 

[Mark 63]

It’s nobody gets laid music

 

[taliesin]

As others have noted the premise is wrong.

From the late 60’s right through to the late 70’s progressive rock was very popular - alongside other styles.

Yes, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, ELP and a bit later Genesis had top 10 albums and sold out arenas and stadiums.

There were many reasons for the decline in popularity but to say it was never a popular style of music is not accurate.

 

[58kites]

This is nothing new.
Lots of Jazz music wasn't going to compete with Frank Sinatra and Barbara Streisand in my parents generation for their party music.
My Dad listened to a lot of Jazz but when a bunch of my parents friends were going to get together in a social setting, you heard music that was more easy listening.
Prog Rock is not typically party rock, dance rock, bar rock, back yard barbeque music.
It's for concerts and for listening in slightly less social settings.

There has been easier listening music and more intense music for a very long time.
Opera, orchestral, improvisational jazz, piano recitals, violin concertos are/were one thing...
...and country and western, bluegrass, pop music, rock n roll, rockabilly, are/were another.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Right! It takes work, time and patience to be intellectual. Cerebral music demands attention.
Most people want the lyrics to be cut and dry. I think ambiguity in Prog lyrics makes for a much more interesting listening experience. It can mean anything the listener wants it to mean.

Sometimes, not.

 

[Jeff Scott]

LOL!
Not to hijack the thread, but to keep it brief - I think that on Dec 31 1980 Rush, Queen, Yes, Genesis, Heart and Renaissance (yeah dark horse there) were at the same airport somewhere in North America, and there was a blizzard. Rather than sleep at the airport, they all rented a bus to drive to a hotel when the bus wrecked, killing all aboard. The record companies were desperate, so they hired a bunch of people that looked like these bands, sounded, like these bands, sort of, but did not have the talent to write anything as good as these bands - they couldn't fake that. Think about it and the sudden, inexplicable drop in album quality with these artists between 1980 and 1981 - this hypothesis explains a lot. (PS it's rumored Zappa may have been on the bus as well, but that depends on who you ask).

Yeah, sadly in Renaissance's case (my favorite of the bunch), they were never the same band post Song For All Seasons, IMO.

 

[Jimmy Howe]

Why did prog rock never have mass popularity?

Because it doesn't have a nice melody that you can hum in your head?
Because it doesn't have a beat you can dance too?
Because it doesn't have familiar harmonic structures and patterns that are accessible to the population at large?

I'm NOT trying to put anything down.

Queen got mentioned above. Rolling stone did a poll, and their #5 best song is a country / rockabilly song - not super progressive.

I love Dark Side... but I think it's a bit of an outlier. Also, it came out at a time (a period of a few decades) when people were buying albums. For decades before and after that time period, people didn't / don't buy albums. Kind of a funny data point.

Close To The Edge by Yes has a melody you can whistle.

 

[Spidey2112]

What is this 'never' you speak of?

 

[Jeff Scott]

Completely depends on what specific genre of Prog or type (I know, I swear I'm not that much of a nerd.) Odd, avant-garde type Italian prog rock? Just not everyone's jam and that's not what those artist were going for, they wanted to create something. Yes, Rush, Jethro Tull (all awesome bands) I would say from my POV are pretty popular to me and anyone I know. I mean yeah some of them aren't the tops of classic rock bands but I still think most people know who they are, Rush is always on the radio, and I listen to indie/pop type of stations a lot and they are always on spotify recommendations on nearly every rock playlist. Also what defines Prog-Rock is hard. Tool is pretty much Prog-Rock/Prog-Metal but the band themselves Prog-Rock,they said they do consider themselves Prog-Psych. (Yeah I know) So if you mean lesser know prog-rock maybe it was too complex for most music listeners, it's not for everyone's thing at first glance etc. Modern prog acts or classic ones did something that attracted audiences I guess.

Where does Riverside fit into this?

 

[Spidey2112]

I have a guitar strap owned by Steve Howe with the Fragile Album Cover carved into it. AView attachment 4900730

So cool!