When was prog labeled?

In 1971...I was a teenager and surrounded by a family of Classical musicians who were calling it "Art Rock". In The Wake Of Poseidon was called "Art Rock ". I don't recall when that term faded into oblivion or exactly when people generally began referencing it as "Progressive Rock". I just recall seeing a flying piano, keyboardists stacking keyboards and dressed in robes or capes...Wakeman and Argent. Progressive Rock bands produced a stage show by using props and this was part of their representation to be theatrical.


The Classical side to Progressive Rock is the process of utilizing something that was written centuries ago and further creating your own rhythms and changes around it. It is not value to state that Progressive Rock musicians are stealing Classical Music...as it is of standard practices and teachings in the noble sense. They usually don't sit with a recording of J.S. Bach saying..." Okay..man..let's steal this...Instead they work around the piece. The first four albums by The Enid are completely
instrumental Classical Rock. Although it may produce eerie sections on "The Demon King" and melodic texture on "The Fool" , sounding like Rock,...the whole process is like a study which can take hours of work.

The term Prog or Neo Prog I was unfamiliar with in the early 2000s. Prog bands in the last 30 years are in fact still approaching the music as a study...to a degree..bands like ..........Anglagard, Solaris, Miriodor, and several others are still writing the same style that existed in the music of Gentle Giant such as the study of counterpoint or the experimentation of counterpoint to fuse it into Rock . This was a huge experiment existing in the early 70s. Keith Emerson was groundbreaking in that sense because he worked hard at combining Classical with Rock for years. He was incredible at combining the 2 styles of music and very successful at writing in a way that the music obviously made sense as it traveled..as it progressed from one particular section of music to the next...just like Classical Music does. It's like a journey. A Voyage. It's composed around that feeling. It's Progressive Rock

David_D wrote: <span style="white-space:pre">     </span>^^ very interesting and enjoyable to read, Jacob

Thank you..David D....I always enjoy your posts..

SteveG wrote: That's very nice, but when was it labeled?

Edited by enigmatic - February 23 2022 at 09:19

Very interesting article, please read it, especially the section Links to Peel.:
https://peel.fandom.com/wiki/Progressive_Rock


Edited by enigmatic - February 23 2022 at 06:38

enigmatic wrote: SteveG wrote: That's very nice, but when was it labeled? SteveG - I will summarize it for you and others. So far we have 3 leads: 1. Liner notes to Caravan's debut album from 1969.  2. DJ John Peel - "I believe the term "Progressive Rock" was first mentioned by DJ John Peel in 1967 on his Top Gear radio show on BBC Radio 1" (Paul's post on page 2) 3. British press - The term "progressive rock" was reportedly invented by Melody Maker journalist Chris Welch to describe Cream (Mojo, May 2018, p70) - I don't have a date, most likely late 60's.

Edited by David_D - February 23 2022 at 10:39

enigmatic wrote: SteveG wrote: That's very nice, but when was it labeled? SteveG - I will summarize it for you and others. So far we have 3 leads: 1. Liner notes to Caravan's debut album from 1969.  2. DJ John Peel - "I believe the term "Progressive Rock" was first mentioned by DJ John Peel in 1967 on his Top Gear radio show on BBC Radio 1" (Paul's post on page 2) 3. British press - The term "progressive rock" was reportedly invented by Melody Maker journalist Chris Welch to describe Cream (Mojo, May 2018, p70) - I don't have a date, most likely late 60's.

Excellent summary. I would also mention that if you aren't from Britain and didn't read the British press, the term progressive rock appeared much later. But I believe, through this thread, we have answered the question.

Grumpyprogfan wrote: Excellent summary. I would also mention that if you aren't from Britain and didn't read the British press, the term progressive rock appeared much later. But I believe, through this thread, we have answered the question.

Grumpyprogfan - Just read an article that I posted above from John Peel Wiki. It explains slow transition the term progressive from "progressive jazz", thru progressive pop to progressive rock.The term was coined in the UK in late 60s.

Edited by enigmatic - February 23 2022 at 07:05

"Progressive rock groups" only means that they were part of the underground scene in the UK in the 60s. No one called the music they made progressive rock. If anything, the music was referred to as pop music or pychedelic rock. Long answer short, there was no definition, of what we now call progressive rock back in that era. Without a definition, there was no genre.

Edited by SteveG - February 23 2022 at 07:22

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.

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