Who invented prog?

ghost_of_morphy wrote: No one person invented prog.  A lot of groups assembled and refined elements of prog, from the early '60's onward.   On the other hand, if you want to know who released the first prog album, it was The Moody Blues.

Right.  There is no firm answer, I think its a personal opinion thing.  For me there was great significance in the changing form and long wailing of "Interstellar Overdrive", which if I remember my books was happening live in clubs as early as fall 1966.  That is where things begin from my perspective even if many will write off IO as just psych.  A line is crossed.

It doesn't begin with Crimson in my book, many things were popping before '69.

Prog wasn't invented by a band. It was the product of new mindset the youth had. It's a traditon:

Edited by kingfriso - May 18 2009 at 00:50

King Crimson. You have got to be kidding. Listen to Revolver than Rubber Soul, then give your head a shake. King Crimson, ha !!!!!!!!!

Ivan_Melgar_M wrote: Prog was a product of musical evolution, and for that reason a process, you can't say it started here or there.   Iván

I agree, it's like asking where does life begin? But it's a annoying answer. It's more fun to speculate on the subject


Edited by rdtprog - May 18 2009 at 15:44

Slartibartfast wrote: Thomas Edison

Brilliant!

the Rolling Stones  since they are famous for not changing/progressing so  much in  and resultetd in   musicians that went to form KC, VDGG, GG, Yes and Genesiswho were  inspired to make somthing more challenging music for ther own sake but still play under the umbrella called Rock (n Roll)

npjnpj wrote: It was either John Peel or Lester Bangs, I think.   And if it wasn't one of them, it was Al Gore one afternoon while he was taking a break from inventing the internet.

earlyprog wrote: Prog was a cultural phenmenon. It was expressed in music, first (circa 1964) via segments of songs (Animals, Beatles, Yardbirds, Who, Beach Boys), then (circa 1966) entire songs (Soft Machine, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Doors) and finally (1968) via entire albums (possibly, Ars longa vita Brevis, East Of Eden 'Mercator Projected', Vanilla Fudge 'Renaissance', The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, HP Lovecraft II, Touch, Soft Machine).   But it seems that prog rock as an album concept was introduced on ItCotCK.   On the live scene, possibly Soft Machine and Pink Floyd were playing entire gigs of 'prog' in 1966.

Edited by el dingo - May 20 2009 at 07:03

Other invented prog.

Wikipedia says:

The Nice were an English progressive rock band from the 1960s, known for their unique blend of rock, jazz and classical music. Their debut album, The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack was released in 1967 to immediate acclaim. It is often considered the first progressive rock album.

rushfan4 wrote: It was either Thomas Edison or Nikolai Tesla depending on your point of view.

Atually, without Tesla it very well could be that electronic music has progressed as far as it has. How could prog exist without mellotrons or hammond organs? Maybe the electric guitar might not have been as prominent as it has been if it wasn't for AC.

I would have to say that I think In the Court of the Crimson King is the first fully fledged prog album, although I'm not saying The Moody Blues weren't prog, they seem more cross-over to me. ITCOTCK seems a lot less conventional because Days of Future Passed still has the feeling of conventional songs within the overall album, but KC has parts that are completely unconventional, like the ending of Moon Child. Still, I guess The Moody Blues did come firster.