Album-oriented rock

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Album-oriented rock (commonly referred to as Adult-oriented rock), abbreviated AOR and originally called album-oriented radio, was originally an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists. This format developed and popularised the repertoire of music currently associated with Classic Rock.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Freeform and Progressive

The roots of the Album Oriented Rock (AOR) radio format began with programming concepts rooted in 1960s idealism. The Freeform or Progressive formats developed the repertoire and set the tone that would dominate AOR playlists for much of its heyday.

In the mid to late 1960s, the FCC enacted a non-duplication rule prohibiting FM radio stations from merely running a Simulcast of the programming from their AM counterparts. Owners of AM/FM combo stations fought these new regulations vigorously, delaying the new rules for eighteen months. When finally enacted, station owners were pressed to come up with alternate programming options quickly.

The Freeform format in commercial radio was born out of this desperate need to program the FM airwaves, inexpensively. Programmers like Tom Donahue at KMPX developed stations where DJs had freedom to play long sets of music, often covering a variety of genres. Songs were not limited to hits or singles; indeed the DJs often played obscure or longer tracks by newer or more adventurous artists than heard on Top 40 stations of the day. This reflected the growth of albums as opposed to singles as rock's main artistic vehicle for expression in the 1960s and 1970s.

With a few exceptions commercial Freeform had a relatively brief life. With more and more listeners acquiring FM radios, the stakes became higher for stations to attract market share so that they could sell more advertising at a higher rate.

By 1970 many of the stations were moving to institute programming rules with a "clock" and system of "rotation". With this shift, Stations formats in the early 1970s were now billed as Progressive. DJs still had much input over the music they played, and the selection was deep and eclectic, ranging from folk to hard rock with other styles such as Jazz fusion occasionally thrown in.

A broad cross section of rock music that gained popularity during this time came to be called Progressive Rock, likely because the wide recognition and success of artists could be attributed to airplay on Progressive stations; much the way the College Rock label was given to bands that received air play on student run college stations during the 1980s.

[edit] Album Oriented Radio/Album Oriented Rock

Later in the decade, as program directors began to put more controls over what songs were played on air, Freeform and Progressive stations evolved to the true AOR format; Album Oriented Radio rather than single oriented radio (or Top 40). Stations still played longer songs and deep album tracks (rather than singles), but program directors and consultants took on a greater role in song selection, generally limiting airplay to just a few “focus tracks” from a particular album.

The "Rock" in Album-oriented Rock came in the late 1970s when AOR music libraries and playlists discarded the wide range of genres embraced earlier on to primarily focus on a rock-centric sound. The occasional folk and Jazz selections became more rare and most black artists were effectively eliminated from airplay. Where earlier Soul and R&B artists like Stevie Wonder, War, Sly Stone and others had been championed by the format, AOR was no longer representing Soul, R&B, and took a stance against disco. In 1979 Steve Dahl of WLUP in Chicago destroyed disco records on his radio show, culminating in a notorious Disco Demolition at Comiskey Park. Steve Slaton of KISW in Seattle had a similar on-air bit which was included on the station’s Epic Rock record album.

What links the Freeform, Progressive, AOR and ultimately the Classic Rock formats are the continuity of rock artists and songs carried through each phase. Programmers and DJs of the Freeform and Progressive phases continued to cultivate a repertoire of rock music and style of delivery that were foundations of AOR and now Classic Rock.

[edit] Michael Jackson

In the early 1980s AOR radio stations were getting bad press for the lack of black artists included in their programming (with the one glaring exception being Jimi Hendrix). Indeed many AOR stations had embraced harder rock while also cultivating a bad boy image. In 1983 Michael Jackson released his landmark Thriller album, which included an Eddie Van Halen guitar solo on the song Beat It. Facing claims of racism, AOR stations added Beat It to their playlists and the song rose to a respectable #14 on Billboard's Rock Tracks chart, which documented AOR airplay. Curiously, for such a strong showing, the song has not been widely played on AOR or Classic Rock stations since.

The relative success of Michael Jackson's "Beat It" did not open the floodgates for other black artists on Album-oriented Rock stations. However, the door was cracked and through the remainder of the 1980s Prince, Tracy Chapman, Living Color and Lenny Kravitz did managed to receive AOR airplay of varying magnitude.

[edit] Burkhart/Abrams

The radio consultants, Ken Burkhart and Lee Abrams had a huge impact on AOR. Beginning in the early 70s they began contracting with what would become hundreds of stations by the 1980s. Lee Abrams had developed a “Super Stars” format, pioneering it at WQDR in Raleigh NC, and had been very successful in delivering large ratings. Basically, Abrams took Top 40 principles and applied them to AOR. While his “Super Stars” format was not quite as tight as Top 40 radio, it was considerably more restricted. This company controlled playlists for a substantial segment AOR stations all over the US. This might be considered somewhat ironic, considering the format’s origins were based on a free-form approach without playlists. Lee Abrams is now Chief Programming Officer for XM Satellite Radio.

[edit] Spin-off Formats

The phenomenal success of Album-oriented Rock, and the highly competitive battle for ratings likely contributed to the fomat splintering to reflect different stylistic perspectives. The 1980s saw some stations adding glam metal bands such as Warrant and Poison, with others leaned more heavily towards classic rock. Latter decade new-wave acts such as The Alarm and The Church infiltrated AOR playlists culminating with Nirvana's sudden ascent with the album Nevermind in 1991.

The aforementioned album's success, dovetailed with the fade out of Album-oriented Rock. Some AOR radio stations switched exclusively to classic rock, or segued to current-based formats with an AOR approach:

  • Adult Album Alternative (known as Triple A), echoed a softer AOR without the hard rock or later day hair metal. For a time Seattle's KMTT even promoted Freeform Fridays, and the Grey Pony Tail Special to highlight the halcyon days of FM radio.
  • Modern Rock/Alternative A pioneer in this format was KROQ in LA, taking the AOR programming approach to music with New Wave, Punk, College Rock and Grunge/Alternative leanings.
  • Active Rock Today’s mainstream album rock, playing acts such as Stone Temple Pilots, Nickelback, and Linkin Park). The active rock format was pioneered by the formerly broadcast (now internet only) KNAC-FM out of Long Beach, California in 1986 and expanded upon by WXTB-FM out of Tampa, Florida in January 1990.

[edit] AOR Radio Stations

The following list of radio stations were successful with the AOR format. In the 1970s and early 1980s some were considered progressive, with programing that evolved to what became known as AOR. Many of these stations have switched from AOR to another format - in some cases Classic Rock or one of the other AOR spin-offs mentioned above.

Call Letters Market Frequency AOR Years Current Format
WKLS Atlanta, GA 96.1 FM 1974-2003 Active Rock
WAAF Boston, MA 107.3 FM 1969-1989 Active Rock
WBCN Boston, MA 104.1 FM 1968-1995 Active Rock
WLUP Chicago, IL 97.9 FM 1977-1993 Classic Rock
WEBN Cincinnati, OH 102.7 FM 1967-present AOR
WMMS Cleveland, OH 100.7 FM 1968-1987 Active Rock
WLVQ Columbus, OH 96.3 FM 1977-present AOR
KLOS Los Angeles, CA 95.5 FM 1969-199? Classic Rock
KMET Los Angeles, CA 94.7 FM 1968-1987 Smooth Jazz as KTWV
KQRS Minneapolis, MN 92.5 FM 1968-1986 Classic Rock
KZOQ Missoula, MT 101.1 FM 197?-199? Classic Rock
WNEW New York, NY 102.7 FM 1967-1994 Rhythmic Adult Contemporary
WPLJ New York, NY 95.5 FM 1971-1983 Hot Adult Contemporary
WVOK Oxford, AL 99.5 FM 1977-1983 Classic Rock as WZRR
WMMR Philadelphia, PA 93.3 FM 1968-199? Mainstream Rock
WQDR Raleigh, NC 94.7 FM 1973-1984 Country
WQBK Rensselaer, NY 103.9 FM 1972-present AOR
KISW Seattle, WA 99.9 FM 1971-199? Active Rock/Talk
KZOK Seattle, WA 102.5 FM 1974-1986 Classic Rock
KOL Seattle, WA 94.1 FM 1968-1973 Country as KMPS
KEZE Spokane, WA 105.7 FM 197?-1996 Active Rock as KZBD
KWK St. Louis, MO 106.5 FM 1979-1984 Adult Hits as WARH
KSHE St. Louis, MO 94.7 FM 1967-present AOR
KWFM Tucson, AZ 92.9 FM 1970-1983 Adult Album Alternative as KWMT

[edit] Music Played

Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles. The best example is Top 40, though other formats Country, Smooth Jazz, and Urban, all utilize the same basic principles, with the most popular songs repeating every 2 to 6 hours, depending on their rank in rotation. Generally there is a strict order or list to be followed and the DJ does not make decisions about what selections are played.

AOR, while still based on the rotation concept, focused on the album as a whole (rather than singles). In the early 1970s many DJs had the freedom to chose what track(s) to play off a given album – as well as latitude to decide what order to play the records in.

Later in the 1970s AOR formats became tighter and song selection shifted to the Program Director or Music Director, rather than the DJ. Still, when an AOR station added an album to rotation they would often focus on numerous tracks at once, rather than playing the singles as they were individually released.

These short lists represent only a sampling of what became staples of American radio through a long history of airplay on Album-oriented rock stations. As AOR stopped playing new music and died out in the late 1980s the core repertoire of AOR became that of the Classic Rock format.

[edit] Non-singles

Some of these non-single, album tracks became hugely popular; most notably Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” which was never released as a 45 RPM record. Other examples include:

[edit] Longer versions

The full-length album version was favored for airplay rather than the edited versions for the 45 RPM single and top forty radio.

[edit] Multiple songs played as one

AOR stations played songs in context with the album they were taken from. Songs that ran together on albums were generally played together on-air as one piece.

[edit] Core Artists

This lists of represents a sampling of artists who achieved their greatest success though airplay on radio stations with the AOR format. Many of these artists may have "crossed over" with airplay at Top 40 or other formats, but the bulk of their airplay was at AOR.

For example, Tom Petty had just 3 singles between 1977 and 1991 that reached the Top Ten of the pop singles chart, the base line for Top 40. Conversely Tom Petty logged 20 Top Ten songs between 1981 and 1991 in Billboard's Rock Tracks chart, which documented AOR airplay.

[edit] Forgotten artists of AOR

Because AOR was at one time a champion of new music, the format gave significant airplay to a wide range of artists who, for one reason or another, never crossed the bridge to Classic Rock programming. Billboard Magazine did not start tracking AOR airply until 1981, so the level of airplay and popularity some of these artists may have achieved, is a bit of a mystery. In some cases albums by these artists see CD release only on small boutique labels.

  • 707 "I Could Be Good For You", "Mega Force"
  • Automatic Man "My Pearl"
  • Angel City "Marseilles", "Face The Day"
  • Axe "Rock And Roll Party In The Streets"
  • Billy Thorp "Children Of The Sun"
  • Bliss Band "Right Place, Right Time"
  • Caravan "Stuck In A Hole"
  • Charlie "She Loves To Be In Love", "Killer Cut", "It's Inevitable"
  • Chilliwack "Fly at Night", "My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)"
  • Climax Blues Band "Richman", "Mole On The Dole", "Couldn't Get It Right"
  • Crawler "Stone Cold Sober"
  • DB Cooper "Had Enough"
  • Detective "Recognition"
  • Doucette "Mama Let Him Play", "Down the Road"
  • Gamma "Right the First Time", "I'm Alive", "As Far As You Can See"
  • Garland Jeffreys "Wild In The Streets"
  • Glass Moon "Killer at 25"
  • Giuffria "Call To The Heart", "Lonely In Love", "I Must Be Dreaming"
  • Gypsy "Gypsy Queen", "Dead and Gone."
  • Head East "Never Been Any Reason"
  • Heads Hands and Feet "Country Boy"
  • Heartsfield "Music Eyes", "Another Man Down", "Shine On"
  • Honeymoon Suite "New Girl Now", "Feel it Again"
  • Horslips "The Boy Was Green"
  • Kayak "I Want You To Be Mine", "Starlight Dancer"
  • Lake "Time Bomb", "Angel in Disguise"
  • Louisiana's Le Roux "New Orleans Ladies", "Addicted"
  • Mason Proffit "Two Hangmen", "Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream", "Better Find Jesus"
  • McKendree Spring "Down By The River"
  • Michael Stanley Band "Let's Get The Show On The Road"
  • Missouri "Movin' On"
  • Pavlov's Dog "She Came Shining"
  • Point Blank "Nicole"
  • Andy Pratt "Avenging Annie"
  • Rare Bird "Sympathy", "Hey Man", "Epic Forest"
  • The Rockets "Oh Well", "Desire"
  • Russ Ballard "On The Rebound", Voices"
  • Sad Café "Restless"
  • Sherbs "No Turning Back", "We Ride Tonight"
  • Sheriff "You Remind Me"
  • Shooting Star "Last Chance", "Flesh And Blood", "Hang On For Your Life", "Summer Sun"
  • Silver Condor "For The Sake Of Survival", "Holdin' on (Barely"
  • Starcastle "Can’t Think Twice", "Could this be Love"
  • Tarney/Spencer Band "No Time To Lose"
  • Taxxi "I'm Leaving"
  • Tonio K "Life In The Food Chain"
  • Tony Carey "I Won't Be Home Tonight", "Vigilante"
  • Touch "Don't You Know What Love Is"
  • Trooper "Raise A Little Hell"
  • Ya Ya "Caught In A Lie", "Julia"

[edit] AOR as a genre of music, aka "melodic rock"

In the mid-to-late 1990s, AOR began to be associated with another concept called "melodic rock" which, most simply stated, is the sound of hard rock and heavy metal bands of the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s. It is seen as a throwback to those eras and a counter-reaction against the grunge, alternative, bubblegum, retro-disco, and Latin sounds of the mid-to-late 1990s. Many of these acts are bands, band members, and musicians from popular bands of the earlier eras, such as Toto, Foreigner, Van Halen, Styx and Europe, either regrouped or playing in new bands or reconfigured lineups. Several of the acts are British or European, and many albums are now recorded and produced in Europe and Japan, and are only available in the United States as imports. One of the most recent AOR releases was Place Vendome with ex-Helloween vocalist Michael Kiske joining with the members of Pink Cream 69. In South America, this genre is represented in Argentina by the young guitar player, singer, and producer Matías Devit, known for the smash song "Afraid of love (tonight)". His long awaited upcoming album is expected to be released in 2007.

In Europe the term AOR actually has nothing to do with its historic roots; it is used to describe the music of rock bands that don't sound as heavy as hard rock bands and pay more attention to melody. The definition of that sound are bands like Foreigner, Toto, Journey, REO Speedwagon, Heart, Bryan Adams etc. AOR was storming the charts through the 80's but in the early 90's the grunge movement took things over in the rock world leaving promising artists and bands like Mitch Malloy, Talisman, Tyketto, etc. in cold water. Since then AOR has never regained its power in America but in Europe there has always been an underground movement with many bands keeping the spirit alive. Although most AOR bands today hail from Europe, the most important market is Japan, where several bands like Fair Warning reached stardom while they couldn't get a decent distribution in the rest of the world. After the mid 90's AOR found some support in several new European indie record labels like Frontiers, MTM, AOR Heaven, who gave bands the chance to release their albums.

[edit] References

[edit] Websites

[edit] Books

  • Voices in the Purple Haze: Underground Radio and the Sixties by Michael C. Keith
  • FM: The Rise And Fall Of Rock Radio by Richard Neer
  • Radio Daze: Stories From The Front In Cleavland's FM Air Wars by Mike Olszewski
  • Radio Waves: Life and Revolution On The FM Dial by Jim Ladd

[edit] Articles

  • "AOR Rock" by JD Considine as published in The Year In Rock 1981-1982 (Musician Player & Listener)
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