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Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM
radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when radio was compelle ...
created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-oriented radio was originally established by U.S. radio stations dedicated to playing album tracks by rock artists from the hard rock to
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...
genres. In the mid-1970s, AOR was characterized by a layered, mellifluous sound and sophisticated production with considerable dependence on melodic hooks. Using research and formal programming to create an album rock format with greater commercial appeal, the AOR format achieved tremendous popularity in the late 1970s and early 1980s. From the early 1980s onward, the "album-oriented radio" term became normally used as the abbreviation of "album-oriented rock," meaning radio stations specialized in classic rock recorded during the late 1960s and 1970s. The term is also commonly conflated with " adult-oriented rock", a radio format that also uses the initialism "AOR" and covers not only album-oriented rock, but also album tracks and "deep cuts" from a range of other rock genres, such as soft rock and pop rock.


History


Freeform and progressive

The album-oriented rock radio format started with programming concepts rooted in 1960s idealism. The freeform and progressive formats developed the repertoire and set the tone that would dominate AOR playlists for much of its heyday. In July 1964, the U.S.
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...
(FCC) adopted a non-duplication rule prohibiting FM radio stations from merely running a
simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simulta ...
of the programming from their AM counterparts. Owners of AM/FM affiliate stations fought these new regulations vigorously, delaying enactment of the new rules until January 1, 1967. When finally enacted, station owners were pressed to come up with alternative programming options. The freeform format in commercial radio was born out of the desire to program the FM airwaves inexpensively. Programmers like Tom Donahue at
KMPX KMPX (channel 29) is a television station licensed to Decatur, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex as an affiliate of the Spanish-language Estrella TV network. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Dallas-licensed ABC ...
in San Francisco developed stations where DJs had freedom to play long sets of music, often covering a variety of genres. Songs were not limited to hits or singles; DJs often played obscure or longer tracks by newer or more adventurous artists rather than those heard on Top 40 stations of the day. This reflected the growth of albums as opposed to singles as rock's main artistic vehicle for expression in the 1960s and 1970s. With a few exceptions, commercial freeform had a relatively brief life. With more and more listeners acquiring FM radios, the stakes became higher for stations to attract market share so that they could sell more advertising at a higher rate. By 1970, many of the stations were moving to institute programming rules with a "clock" and system of " rotation." With this shift, stations' formats in the early 1970s were now billed as progressive. DJs still had much input over the music they played, and the selection was deep and eclectic, ranging from folk to hard rock with other styles such as jazz fusion occasionally thrown in.


1970s

In October 1971, WPLJ in New York began to shift its freeform progressive rock format into a tighter, hit-oriented rock format similar to what would later become known as AOR. WPLJ's parent company, ABC, installed similar formats on all of its FM stations, including
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in Los Angeles and
WRIF WRIF (101.1 FM) is a commercial active rock radio station licensed in Detroit, Michigan and serving Metro Detroit as well as bordering city Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The station is currently owned by Beasley Media Group. WRIF is a grandfathered ...
in Detroit. In 1973,
Lee Abrams Lee Abrams (born 1952) is an American media executive who has held a number of posts for large and influential companies, and is generally credited with developing the Album Oriented Rock format first heard at WQDR Raleigh and thereafter employ ...
, formerly at WRIF, successfully installed a similar format, later known as SuperStars, at WQDR in Raleigh, North Carolina. In 1972, Ron Jacobs, program director at
KGB-FM KGB-FM (101.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to San Diego, California. It is owned and operated by iHeartMedia and broadcasts a classic rock music format. KGB-FM's studios are located in San Diego's Kearny Mesa neighborhood on the ...
in
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, began using detailed listener research and expanded playlists in shifting the top 40 station toward a
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...
format. Meanwhile, at competing station KPRI, program director Mike Harrison was similarly applying top 40 concepts to the progressive format, which he dubbed "album-oriented rock." In the mid-1970s, as program directors began to put more controls over what songs were played on air, progressive stations evolved into the album-oriented rock format. Stations still played longer songs and deep album tracks (rather than just singles), but program directors and consultants took on a greater role in song selection, generally limiting airplay to just a few "focus tracks" from a particular album and concentrating on artists with a more "commercial" sound than what had been featured a few years earlier. Noted DJ " Kid Leo" Travagliante of station
WMMS WMMS (100.7 FM) – branded ''100.7 WMMS: The Buzzard'' – is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. Widely regarded as one of the most influential rock s ...
in Cleveland observed the changes in a 1975 interview: "I think the '60s are ending about now. Now we are really starting the '70s. The emphasis is shifting back to entertainment instead of being 'relevant' ... In fact, I wouldn't call our station progressive radio. That's outdated. I call it radio. But I heard a good word in the trades, AOR. That's Album-Oriented Rock. That's a name for the '70s." Radio consultants Kent Burkhart and Lee Abrams had a significant impact on AOR programming. Beginning in the mid-1970s, they began contracting with what would become over 100 stations by the 1980s. Abrams' SuperStars format, previously developed at WQDR, was based on extensive research, focused on the most popular artists such as Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles, and also included older material from those artists. While his format was not quite as constricted as Top 40 radio, it was considerably more restricted than freeform or progressive radio. Their firm advised program directors for a substantial segment of AOR stations all over the U.S. By the late 1970s, AOR radio stations discarded the wide range of genres embraced earlier on to focus on a more narrowly defined rock sound. The occasional folk,
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
and blues selections became rarer, and most Black artists were effectively eliminated from airplay. Whereas earlier
soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
, funk and R&B artists like Stevie Wonder,
War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
,
Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (born March 15, 1943), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who is most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the ...
and others had been championed by the format, AOR was no longer representing these styles and took a stance against disco. In 1979,
Steve Dahl Steven Robert Dahl (born November 20, 1954) is an American radio personality. He is the owner and operator of the Steve Dahl Network, a subscription-based podcasting network. Dahl gained a measure of national attention after organizing and hostin ...
of WLUP in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
destroyed disco records on his radio show, culminating in the notorious
Disco Demolition Night Disco Demolition Night was a Major League Baseball (MLB) promotion on Thursday, July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, that ended in a riot. At the climax of the event, a crate filled with disco records was blown up on the field ...
at Comiskey Park. What links the freeform, progressive and AOR formats is the continuity of rock artists and songs carried through each phase. Programmers and DJs of the freeform and progressive phases continued to cultivate a repertoire of rock music and style of delivery that became the foundations of AOR and classic rock radio. Those AOR stations, which decided to stay demographically rooted, became classic rock stations by eschewing newer bands and styles for which their older listeners might have tuned out. Those that did not fully evolve into classic rock stations generally attempted to keep their older listeners through careful dayparting – playing large amounts of classic rock during the workday, while newer material was played at night when the listener base skewed younger.


Programming

Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles. The best example is Top 40, though other formats, like
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...
, smooth jazz and
urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...
all utilize the same basic principles, with the most popular songs repeating every two to six hours, depending on their rank in the rotation. Generally, there is a strict order or list to be followed, and the DJ does not make decisions about what selections are played. AOR, while still based on the rotation concept, focused on the album as a whole rather than singles. In the early 1970s, many DJs had the freedom to choose which track(s) to play off a given album – as well as latitude to decide in what order to play the records. Consequently, AOR radio gave mainstream exposure to album tracks that never became hits on the record charts that were limited to singles; '' Billboard'', for instance, did not establish an airplay chart for album tracks until 1981. Later in the 1970s, AOR formats became tighter and song selection shifted to the program director or music director rather than the DJ. Still, when an AOR station added an album to rotation, they would often focus on numerous tracks at once, rather than playing the singles as they were individually released.


Criticism

In the early 1980s, AOR radio was criticized by the Black Music Association, a
trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partic ...
, and other industry observers for the lack of Black artists included in their programming. AOR programmers responded that the lack of diversity was the result of increased specialization of radio formats driven by ratings and audience demographics. In 1983, the success of
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
's album '' Thriller'' led to the album's track " Beat It," which featured Eddie Van Halen, being added to the playlists of many AOR channels. At the same time, other Black artists also made inroads into AOR radio: Jackson ("Beat It"),
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...
("
Little Red Corvette "Little Red Corvette" is a song by American recording artist Prince. The song combines a Linn LM-1 beat and slow synth buildup with a rock chorus, over which Prince, using several automobile metaphors, recalls a one-night stand with a beautiful ...
") and Eddy Grant ("
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") debuted on ''Billboards
Top Tracks Classic Vinyl is a Sirius XM Radio channel focusing on classic rock music mostly from the late-1960s to the mid-1970s, with the channel's name meant to indicate that it consists of music that first appeared on vinyl records. This encompasses musi ...
chart during the same week in April 1983. Through the remainder of the 1980s, Jon Butcher, Tracy Chapman, Living Colour,
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...
and Lenny Kravitz also received AOR airplay.


Spin-off formats

In the 1980s, some AOR radio stations added
glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam ...
bands such as Mötley Crüe and Bon Jovi, while others embraced modern rock acts such as
the Fixx The Fixx are a rock band from London, England, founded in 1979. The band's hits include " One Thing Leads to Another", " Saved by Zero", " Are We Ourselves?", and " Secret Separation", each of which charted in the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot ...
, INXS and U2. But by the end of the decade, AOR stations were playing fewer and fewer new artists, and the rise of grunge, alternative rock and hip-hop accelerated the fade-out of the album-oriented rock format. By the early 1990s, many AOR stations switched exclusively to the classic rock format or segued to other current formats with somewhat of an AOR approach: * Rock 40 – A service-marked format developed by Joint Communications in 1987 and referred to as "Male CHR" (contemporary hits radio) by Burkhart, Douglas & Associates, which had difficulty because it was too close to other AOR formats and did not appeal to CHR fans because of the lack of music other than rock.
Lee Abrams Lee Abrams (born 1952) is an American media executive who has held a number of posts for large and influential companies, and is generally credited with developing the Album Oriented Rock format first heard at WQDR Raleigh and thereafter employ ...
said the format was "too wimpy for the real rockers and too hard for the mainstream people." Most of these stations were considered in the radio trade publications to be Top 40/CHR stations rather than AOR. For a time in the mid- to late 1980s, Cleveland's
WMMS WMMS (100.7 FM) – branded ''100.7 WMMS: The Buzzard'' – is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. Widely regarded as one of the most influential rock s ...
considered themselves to be a Rock 40 station. From 1989 until 1991, WAAF in Worcester–Boston, Massachusetts, considered themselves to be a Rock 40 station. The most successful Rock 40 station, however, when it came to duration with the format was
KEGL KEGL (97.1 FM) is a radio station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, United States. The station broadcasts to the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. KEGL is owned and operated by iHeartMedia. The station's studios are located along Dallas Parkway in Fa ...
''The Eagle'' in Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas, which was mostly a rock-leaning Top 40 station from 1981 until 1992. * Active rock – The modern-day mainstream rock/AOR merge. Playing artists such as
Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots (also known by the initialism STP) is an American rock band from San Diego, California, that originally consisted of Scott Weiland (lead vocals), brothers Dean (guitar) and Robert DeLeo (bass, backing vocals), and Eric Kr ...
,
Nickelback Nickelback is a Canadian rock band formed in 1995 in Hanna, Alberta. It is composed of guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist Ryan Peake, bassist Mike Kroeger, and drummer Daniel Adair. It wen ...
, Creed, Foo Fighters, Linkin Park and Korn. The active rock format was pioneered by the now-defunct KNAC-FM of Long Beach–Los Angeles, California, in 1986. KNAC program director/DJ Tom Marshall and music director/DJ Michael Davis had previously worked at rock station KFMG in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Active rock was also pioneered by the nationally syndicated
Z Rock Z Rock was a nationally syndicated radio network based in Dallas, Texas, United States that, from the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s, played heavy metal and hard rock music. The format was one of several 24-hour satellite-delivered music for ...
network, which lasted from 1986 to 1996, and expanded upon by
WXTB WXTB (97.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial active rock Radio broadcasting, radio station owned by iHeartMedia and licensed to Clearwater, Florida, Clearwater, Florida, serving the Tampa Bay Area. The WXTB studios are located in South Tampa, ...
out of Clearwater, Florida, starting in 1990. *
Adult album alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, 2 ...
(known as Triple A or AAA) – Echoed a softer AOR without hard rock or heavy metal. For a time, Seattle's
KMTT KMTT (910 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Vancouver, Washington, broadcasting to the Portland, Oregon and Clark County, Washington. KMTT is owned by Audacy, Inc. and airs a sports format with programming from ESPN Radio. The stud ...
even promoted "Freeform Fridays" and the Grey Pony Tail Special to highlight the halcyon days of FM radio.
WXRT WXRT (93.1 FM), also known as XRT and 93-XRT is an adult album alternative (AAA) radio station in Chicago, Illinois. For many years, their slogan has been "Chicago's Finest Rock". "Chicago's Home For Music Lovers" has been used as its slogan si ...
in Chicago is a long-running AAA station. Other Triple A stations with strong and long heritage are
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in Portland, Oregon; KSPN-FM in Aspen, Colorado; KFMU-FM in Oak Creek–Steamboat Springs, Colorado;
WNCS NCS may refer to: Biology and chemistry * N-Chlorosuccinimide, an organic chemical * Neotenic complex syndrome * Nerve conduction study, a medical diagnostic test * Neuronal calcium sensor, a family of proteins * Thiocyanate, an organic compou ...
''The Point'' in Montpelier–Burlington, VT; WMWV in Conway, New Hampshire; WDST in Woodstock, New York;
WRSI WRSI (93.9 FM, "93.9 The River") is a radio station licensed to serve Turners Falls, Massachusetts. The station is owned by Saga Communications and licensed to Saga Communications of New England, LLC. It airs an adult album alternative music fo ...
in Turners Falls–Northampton, Massachusetts;
WXPN WXPN (88.5 FM) is a non-commercial, public radio station licensed to The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that broadcasts an adult album alternative (AAA) radio format, along with many other format shows ...
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and
KBCO KBCO (97.3 FM) is a radio station in Denver that is licensed to Boulder, Colorado. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts an adult album alternative (AAA) format. Its studios are located alongside its sister stations in southeast Denver, while it ...
in Denver– Boulder, Colorado. * Modern rock or alternative rock – Pioneers in this format were KROQ-FM in Los Angeles, XETRA-FM (91X) in San Diego, KTCL in Denver (but was licensed to Fort Collins in the 1970s through 1990s), the late KCGL-FM, KJQN (now
Bible Broadcasting Network The Bible Broadcasting Network (BBN) is a listener-supported global Conservative Christian radio network staffed and headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was founded in 1971 by Lowell Davey, who was the network's president until his dea ...
O&O KYFO-FM) in Ogden–Salt Lake City, Utah; and
WOXY WOXY may refer to: * WOXY.com, a defunct Internet radio station * WOXY (FM) WOXY (97.7 FM) is a radio station licensed to Mason, Ohio as part of the Cincinnati market. Nicknamed La Mega 97.7, the station broadcasts a Spanish variety music form ...
(97X) in Mason–Cincinnati, Ohio (which today broadcasts a Spanish variety format as La Mega 97.7 while keeping the WOXY calls), all of which took the AOR programming approach to music with new wave,
punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
, college rock and grunge/alternative leanings, mostly in the 1980s. * Classic rock – Developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. The classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s, primarily focusing on commercially successful blues rock and hard rock popularized in the 1970s AOR format. The radio format became increasingly popular with the baby boomer demographic by the end of the 1990s.


See also

*
Album era The album era was a period in English-language popular music from the mid-1960s to the mid-2000s in which the album was the dominant form of recorded music expression and consumption. It was primarily driven by three successive music recording ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Album-Oriented Rock Rock music genres Rock radio formats Rock