Which band first got you into prog? - Progressive Rock Music Forum

nice thread

bump!

Pink Floyd.

I started to get into music in 1991/1992 when I was thirteen. The Queen were my first favourite, and along them came Pink Floyd (who were my second big favourite), Jethro Tull, Mike Oldfield, Genesis, Jarre, Vangelis, Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix, Doors, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin within a year or so.

I liked some contemporary bands, but usually preferred the above. Many of them were still active and I listened their 90s stuff as well.

When I first got into music, I liked a lot of Prog bands without knowing about the genre. At the time, they were blended into the melting pot of rock: Yes, Pink Floyd, Kansas, Jethro Tull, etc.

But, the first groups that were Prog or a bit Proggish that I really got into were Styx, Alan Parsons Project, Asia, Rush, Toto, and Gary Numan.

I also liked The Beach Boys and The Beatles, which might be considered Proto-Prog.

Great question! And, no shame in my answer. I still love listening to those bands today, even Asia! Love that majestic Steve Howe sound!

And, those bands have led me to other interesting bands, including unquestionably Prog artists and bands. Disclaimer: Some on my list I consider Gateway to Prog rather than Prog or Prog-related.

Genesis, Selling England by the Pound.

'Like so many of you
I've got my doubts about how much to contribute
to the already rich among us...'

Robert Wyatt, Gloria Gloom

The Shaggs

https://rateyourmusic.com/~siLLy_puPPy

The Dark Elf wrote:

AFlowerKingCrimson wrote:

The Dark Elf wrote:

Tull, Yes, King Crimson, Moody Blues, ELP and Pink Floyd simultaneously. You heard them all on any given day in the early 70s. People didn't listen to music in a sterile internet vacuum back then. FM radio, unadulterated, non-corporate and rebellious, gave you the whole shebang. Often album by album.

What about Genesis?

In my area of suburban Detroit, no one listened to Genesis until probably Selling England by the Pound. So not really until early 74 at the earliest (it was released late 73). So, they were a couple years behind the groups I mentioned. Actually, from what I remember they weren't really big until The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.

I agree. The OP's question really doesn't apply to those of us who lived through the formative years. It was just "there", on the radio, at dances, at concerts, everywhere. What we now call prog was just part of the mainstream. "Prog" did not exist as a separate genre at that time, so there was no differentiation -- although some FM radio stations did focus more on the longer, artsier, more rebellious tracks that the AM stations found less commercial.

And I also agree with the omission of Genesis. I grew up in the Pittsburgh area, and they just didn't have a following.

Hi,

I'm going to say ... NONE OF THESE ... mainly because I was into it from the very first days, of the Beatles and Rolling Stones, and then Bob Dylan in 1965 when I came to America. A couple of years, and the psych's stuff got me interested and when I moved to California it was history. I was already "progressive" without listing any of those, and things like The Nice, were in my collection, and I had heard JT and Fairport Convention, but so were Moodies, Procol Harum, Crosby, Still and Nash, Spirit, Jefferson Airplane, and even some Grateful Dead although I did not realize it was them at the time. Chicago, The Sons of Champlin, The Doors, Janis, Quicksilver Messenger Service, It's a Beautiful Day and Jimi complete the program.

I was ready for 1972, so to speak, and when it came, to me, it was a SERIOUS EXTENSION of what a lot of the stuff that you heard at the Fillmore was all about ... not a song ... a wonderful piece of music. And I went to it, since the American Record companies made sure to kill everything that was "music" except what they determined were "songs" that could bring in the money.

To this day folks don't see that, when all the advertising and SW excitement notices shows you what is supposed to be good!

By the time things were starting to be called "progressive" and eventually "prog" I was way further out and up from this list ... many of them ended up in my collection, but they helped me determine that this whole thing was not accidental, nor was it a wonder hit that got to the radio, or some ridiculous single that sold more than a million farts and pisses.

All in all ... I couldn't possibly identify you one ... they were all a part of the history of the music for me, not some separate this or that by folks that don't always look at history for the answer. To them I keep feeling this is just a bunch of "songs" and who really cares about anything else!

Edited by moshkito - January 09 2022 at 09:58

Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com

Queensryche (Operation Mindcrime) and Fates Warning (No Exit). I was a teenager thrash metal maniac and those albums blow me away and open a new world to me

Believe it or not, it were The Flower Kings, Spock's Beard and Dream Theater for me

Dream Theater here, but also Yes and Pink Floyd.

Poll Question: Which of these bands is most responsible for getting you into prog?
Poll Choice	Votes	Poll Statistics
Camel	6	[3.21%]
Can	0	[0.00%]
Dream Theater	8	[4.28%]
ELP (Emerson, Lake and Palmer)	13	[6.95%]
Peter Gabriel (solo)	0	[0.00%]
Genesis (any era)	18	[9.63%]
Gentle Giant	0	[0.00%]
Jethro Tull	10	[5.35%]
Kansas	6	[3.21%]
King Crimson	14	[7.49%]
Marillion	6	[3.21%]
The Moody Blues	6	[3.21%]
Opeth	0	[0.00%]
Pink Floyd	35	[18.72%]
Porcupine Tree	1	[0.53%]
Rush	11	[5.88%]
Tool	3	[1.60%]
Devin Townsend	0	[0.00%]
Van der Graaf Generator	3	[1.60%]
Steven Wilson	0	[0.00%]
Yes	30	[16.04%]
Other (please specify(even if it's Asia ;)))	17	[9.09%]
You can not vote in this poll