Prog's Origins

I'm pondering the cultural roots of what became progressive rock music, 1966-76. In your opinion, where did Prog originate? 

Great answer--the one I've been leaning towards as the #1 contributor. Thanks!

John Cage, Baby!

In the 1960s, Jukebox companies gradually lost their tight grip on controlling the popular music industry, and popular music listening shifted from 7" 45rpm singles to 12" 33rpm LPs.  The possibilities of extended playing time were first explored (outside of the classical world, which pre-dated recorded music of any sort) by jazz players such as Miles Davis & Sun Ra, and Bob Dylan was the first in the rock world to try it. 
Without extended playing times, what might've happened?  Imagine if there had been no Interstellar Overdrive, no Ars Longa Vita Brevis Suite, no Abbey Road medley, and so on. 

I voted "other" as all of that, and beyond.

I voted almost everything but for Cage, Stockhausen and Shankar  (which doesn't mean it was not the case, btw)

Certainly, Frisco, the Beats, the drugs, and counter-culture played a major role (actually, they're pretty tied up together)... Technology and modal jazz did a lot as well.

CPicard wrote: zravkapt wrote: Where's the 'all of the above' option? Yes, that's what I would say. I voted "other" for it would stand for this answer. The sole fact of the apparition of new instruments (rather than "new technologies", because some technics used in recording studios for pop/rock artists were already a dozen years old) doesn't mean there are always new ways of composing, for example. Furthermore, I doubt that the cultural roots of progressive rock music are to be searched in the music of John Cage, Stockhausen or Ravi Shankar: how many rock musicians knew who was Shankar before Woodstock?

Prog is one of the earliest styles of music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The Mississippi Delta area is famous both for its fertile soil and its poverty. Guitar, harmonica and cigar box guitar are the dominant instruments used, with slide guitar (usually on the steel guitar) being a hallmark of the style. The vocal styles range from introspective and soulful to passionate and fiery. Prog is also regarded as a regional variation of country blues.

An audience receptive to musical exploration and experimentation but with sufficient spending power to make such largesse viable for record label number crunchers in the early 70's


Edited by ExittheLemming - February 27 2015 at 08:22

Stool Man wrote: In the 1960s, Jukebox companies gradually lost their tight grip on controlling the popular music industry, and popular music listening shifted from 7" 45rpm singles to 12" 33rpm LPs.  The possibilities of extended playing time were first explored (outside of the classical world, which pre-dated recorded music of any sort) by jazz players such as Miles Davis & Sun Ra, and Bob Dylan was the first in the rock world to try it.  Without extended playing times, what might've happened?  Imagine if there had been no Interstellar Overdrive, no Ars Longa Vita Brevis Suite, no Abbey Road medley, and so on.