When was prog labeled?

Catcher10 wrote: So the words "progressive rock" were used in 1967 to describe Cream/Eric Clapton by Melody Maker. But I highly doubt there is a single PA member who will agree that Cream is the genesis of progressive rock music as a genre that we know today. The words may have been used in 1967 but the genre was not defined till the 70's as we know it today.  So we can agree that the first time the words "progressive rock" were used was 1967....?

The label was created in 1967, the label that didn't mean exactly the same thing as it means today. Cream is very often included in the same "proto-prog" category as the Beatles, the Nice, Moody Blues, Procol Harum. Would I call them first progressive rock band? No. Were Cream progressive (innovative, groundbreaking) for year 1967? Yes. I would definitely say that some of their songs are complex, innovative, influencial. We are looking on progressive rock from different perspective than Chris Welch in 1967.

Edited by enigmatic - February 23 2022 at 12:08

^ What else from 1967 do you not remember?   

So the words "progressive rock" were used in 1967 to describe Cream/Eric Clapton by Melody Maker. But I highly doubt there is a single PA member who will agree that Cream is the genesis of progressive rock music as a genre that we know today.

enigmatic wrote: SteveG wrote: enigmatic wrote: SteveG Grumpyprogfan's question was "Does anyone know when the label progressive rock or prog come to be?" Label, not when Progressive rock was defined. And again I agree with you, it wasn't defined until the 1980s. Without a definition, you don't have a genre. SteveG - question for you, since you are from the UK and few years older than me. What was your first contact with progressive rock? When for the first time you heard "progressive rock" term mentioned?

I was a transplanted American who came to the UK in the late 70s, by which time the watch word was punk, so I never heard anyone refer to prog rock. Not anyone who was cool, anyway. 

Edited by SteveG - February 23 2022 at 09:14

I have Edward Macan's book and he doesn't specifically give the reference for where he got that information. It would have been nice if he had supplied footnotes. His book does have a rather extensive bibliography, but gives no indication which source in that bibliography this information is from. Ideally we would prefer primary sources (like contemporary music magazines from the late 1960s; interviews of people that used that term in the late 1960s; recordings of radio broadcasts that used it (if they survive); ephemeral objects like posters or correspondence; etc.)

Edited by progaardvark - February 23 2022 at 08:03

I first heard the phrase "progressive rock" on a radio spot for a Jimi Hendrix concert.

SteveG Grumpyprogfan's question was "Does anyone know when the label progressive rock or prog come to be?" Label, not when Progressive rock was defined. And again I agree with you, it wasn't defined until the 1980s.

Edited by enigmatic - February 23 2022 at 07:45

SteveG - I totally agree with you. "Progressive rock" meant something different in late 60s than now or in early 70s, and described different music/bands. The term has evolved with time.

Edited by enigmatic - February 23 2022 at 07:27

David_D wrote: Heart of the Matter wrote: So, by the end of Sixties it was already in use, and spreading after that from Britain to the world (at least in its musical sense). That's the best we may expect to precise the "date", it's not a battle nor a revolution after all. I'd say, by the end of 60's it was in use in the way Macan and Caravan describe it. They are the best sources, we've got.

Agree and thanks, David. It took the term progressive rock a long time to get USA, for some.