Why so few American bands in 70's prog?

Ivan_Melgar_M wrote: I was called close minded, enemy of music, etc because I only accepted 100% Prog bands in PA

now who ever could have said that about you

I've never loved american pop music so much. I've always thought that our european bands nowdays nad backdays were too much influenced by the american music. Maybe that's the reason why i love KC ;). I think prog music isn't and were not popular in USA because of the mentality of people that are living there. In america, people are listening to the easy and affordable music. Of course there are some exceptions. Just look at the the Mars Volta, i am enjoying their music so much! Maybe we must wait for the next gold era of prog music and maybe now Americans will be the pioneers :D.

Ivan_Melgar_M wrote: BTW: I'm a fan of Meatloaf and Cranberries also

Sinico wrote: I've never loved american pop music so much. I've always thought that our european bands nowdays nad backdays were too much influenced by the american music. Maybe that's the reason why i love KC ;). I think prog music isn't and were not popular in USA because of the mentality of people that are living there. In america, people are listening to the easy and affordable music. Of course there are some exceptions. Just look at the the Mars Volta, i am enjoying their music so much! Maybe we must wait for the next gold era of prog music and maybe now Americans will be the pioneers :D.

Edited by Son.of.Tiresias - July 27 2015 at 11:15

Kansas were probably by far the most well known US prog band from the seventies. After them maybe Happy the Man or Crack the Sky. There was also Pavlov's Dog, Starcastle, Ambrosia and many one shot or two shot bands such as Cathedral, Babylon, Pentwater, Ethos, Easter Island, Fireballet, Mirthrandir, Atlantis Philharmonic, Lift, Polyphony and those are just the ones off the top of my head. There were several. Maybe not as many as there were in England or Italy but there were probably a lot more than most people think. The thing is very few of them received any exposure at the time. 

[I don't know any of those ones. You forgot to mention Yezda Urfa, perhaps because they were disguising themselves as non Americans to appeal to the European audience. ] Yes, I did forget to mention Yezda Urfa but then again I'm not very familiar with them. To be honest I'm quite surprised that you know about them but not the ones I mentioned.

Why so few? There are many. It's true that England was the birth place of many types of prog but Zappa, The Doors and other art rock acts that influenced later prog was born in the USA. While Europe had a head start on the dramatic diversity of early prog, America began the cross-pollination of prog with metal and jump started that new avenue. As of today there are tons of popular American prog infused bands including Tool, Mars Volta, Thinking Plague, Neil Morse, Birds And Buildings, Maudlin Of The Well etc not to mention the millions of prog and prog related metal such as Queensryche, Dream Theater etc. America has always been somewhat behind the older nations in Europe as far as the arts are concerned but i think there have been significant developments on this side of the atlantic. However, ENGLAND certainly developed some of my personal favorite prog bands of all time. Something special was in the air there and still is actually :)

Funny how tastes differ and what's even more funny - or peculiar is that none of my favourite American releases have been mentioned so far...and the US certainly delivered some gems back in the day (all featured here on PA though not in symph;):

Bobby Beausoleil - Lucifer Rising
The Muffins - Manna/Mirage
Gypsy - s/t
Weather Report - I Sing The Body Electric
Perry Leopold - Christian Lucifer
McLuhan - Anomaly
Jon Hassell - Fourth World Vol 1: Possible Musics
Good God - s/t
Friendsound - Joyride
Fifty Foot Hose - Cauldron
Bennie Maupin - Jewel In The Lotus
Don Bradshaw Leather - Distance Between Us
The Residents - Not Available
Wulf Zendik - Zendik
Herbie - Sextant
Eddie Henderson - Realization
Pearls Before Swine - The Use Of Ashes
Tim Buckley - Starsailor
Miles - Big Fun
Frank Zappa - Hot Rats (may have been mentioned I'm not sure)
Captain Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica

Big Kid Josie wrote: Is it the fact that a lot of symphonic prog was based on European classical composers rather than rhythm-and-blues and so it just passed the US bands by, initially?

I think the OP has probably answered his own question. Many of the 1st gen Symphonic bands that originated from the UK looked to European sources for inspiration rather than towards an indigenous blues dominated USA as had been the case for the previous British Invasion of Beatles, Kinks, Stones, Animals et al. I suppose that's maybe why a lot of US Prog has more of a jazz, fusion or avant oriented slant. What would have been interesting if tit for tat had been deployed by American musicians to import pastoral symphonic Prog into England. Double whammy bar: The UK gave Hendrix to America

Four rather unjustly neglected US Prog bands that belong in the 'Symphonic' camp are Quill, Ethos, Polyphony and Happy the Man.


Edited by ExittheLemming - June 23 2017 at 19:07

Some other good North American prog bands:

Edited by normanbates' mom - May 22 2018 at 19:14