USA Seventies 'Prog' that is NOT Jazz Fusion! - Progressive Rock Music Forum

David_D wrote:

I'm not saying that the genre was very popular in USA, I just seem to see a discrepancy between the degree of popularity and the dimensions of the American Progressive Rock scene, and wonder how come.

Has it something to do with the traditions of the American music?

I don't know the answer. But progressive rock in the 70's (USA) wasn't as popular as.. The Eagles, Elton John, Bee Gees, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Jackson 5, Led Zeppelin, The Doobie Brothers, Queen, Kiss, Grateful Dead, ZZ Top, Chicago, etc.

Edited by Grumpyprogfan - September 04 2024 at 13:29

Kansas for me. Happy the Man should maybe be on the list but then again if you put them on you have to have Starcastle and a bunch of other US bands and it could easily get out of hand. Lol.

^No fusion allowed in this thread.

So not many prog bands were popular in USA in the 70's.

I don't recall Canterbury, RPI, Krautrock, Zeuhl, Avant, or Psychedelic being popular. And when was prog ever popular?

Surely Psychedelia has had loads of popularity in the US (more what I might think of as Prog Related Psych or Proto-Prog in PA). Others have listed bands that we deem prog (and fusion) that were popular. As a genre I would not expect Prog to be very popular in the US, but lots of bands that are deemed to have made Prog were popular. Of course one commonly can find more popular mainstream rock and pop but that does not mean that those Prog acts did not have popularity.

Edited by Logan - September 04 2024 at 17:07

Duos for fave acts

^Not my poll

Here is a list of Billboard's top albums of the year during the 70's. Dark Side of the Moon was the only prog album that was album of the year. Sure, Yes, Genesis, ELP, and King Crimson sold albums but not as much (weren't as popular) as these listed.

1970 - Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water (Santana Abraxas did well)
1971 - Carole King - Tapestry (Santana III did well)
1972- Neil Young - Harvest (Tull Thick As A Brick did well)
1973 - Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (Moody Blues Seventh Sojurn and Tull's A Passion Play did well)
1974 - Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
1975 - Elton John - Greatest Hits (Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here did well)
1976 - Peter Frampton - Frampton Comes Alive!
1977 - Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
1978 - Bee Gees' - Saturday Night Fever
1979 - Billy Joel - 52nd Street (Supertramp - Breakfast in America did well)

^^You wrote this thing I've quoted underneath, and what you wrote was mostly wrong. Also in regards to Fusion. Which is why fusion bands were brought up. No one has claimed that any prog band had the most selling album of the year in the USA (although Dark Side... did but that's not prog with a big P). That wasn't the criteria. ELP and Yes filled stadiums in the USA in the 1970's.

The Cal Jam was ABC-TV's first venture into live concerts. The California Jam's 10 hours of music was later cut up into four weekly hour long broadcasts, of which ELP and the other headliners (Deep Purple and Black Sabbath) were the biggest stars.

-So ELP headlined along with Deep Purple and Black Sabbath in front of an audience of 200 000 people. I don't think that would have happened if they weren't popular.

Grumpyprogfan wrote:

^Neither prog nor fusion was "popular" in The States in the 70's. Genesis filled stadiums only when they changed to a more radio friendly format. King Crimson and ELP, weren't popular. Of the big six of prog only Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull were somewhat popular. Rush was an exception, but were more successful in the 80's.

Edited by Saperlipopette! - September 05 2024 at 06:15

Grumpyprogfan wrote:

^Not my poll

But you brought it (fusion) up.

eBay

After some more listenings to Happy the Man's debut, I've ordered it, even I'm not quite sure that I can become very fond of it.

quality over quantity, and all kind of PopcoRn almost beyond

David_D wrote:

After some more listenings to Happy the Man's debut, I've ordered it, even I'm not quite sure that I can become very fond of it.

I think that this album is some of the highest quality American Progressive Rock from the '70s.

quality over quantity, and all kind of PopcoRn almost beyond

Poll Question: Who do you prefer?
Poll Choice	Votes	Poll Statistics
Steely Dan	6	[10.91%]
Frank Zappa	22	[40.00%]
Kansas	17	[30.91%]
Utopia	3	[5.45%]
Captain Beefheart	3	[5.45%]
Styx	2	[3.64%]
Other	2	[3.64%]
You can not vote in this poll