Album-oriented rock

Not to be confused withAdult-oriented rock.

Album-oriented rock(AOR,originally calledalbum-oriented radio) is anFMradio formatcreated in the United States in the late 1960s that focuses on the full repertoire ofrockalbums and is currently associated withclassic rock.

US radio stations dedicated to playing album tracks by rock artists from thehard rockandprogressive rockgenres initially established album-oriented radio. In the mid-1970s, AOR was characterized by a layered, mellifluous sound and sophisticated production with considerable dependence on melodic hooks. The AOR format achieved tremendous popularity in the late 1960s to the early 1980s through research and formal programming to create an album rock format with great commercial appeal.

From the early 1980s onward, the abbreviation AOR transitioned from "album-oriented radio" to "album-oriented rock", meaning radio stations specialized in classic rock recorded during the late 1960s and 1970s.

The term is also commonly conflated with "adult-oriented rock",a radio format that also uses the initialism" AOR "and covers not only album-oriented rock but also album tracks and"deep cuts"from a range of other rock genres, such assoft rockandpop rock.

History

Freeform and progressive

The album-oriented rock radio format started with programming concepts in the 1960s. Thefreeformandprogressiveformats developed the tone for AORplaylistsfor much of its heyday.

In July 1964, the U.S.Federal Communications Commission(FCC) adopted a non-duplication rule prohibiting FM radio stations from running asimulcastof the programming from their AM counterparts. AM/FM affiliate station owners fought these new regulations, delaying the enactment until January 1, 1967.

The freeform format in commercial radio was created to program the FM airwaves inexpensively. Programmers likeTom DonahueatKMPXin San Francisco developed stations whereDJshad the freedom to play long sets of music, often covering a variety of genres. Not limited to hits or singles, DJs often played obscure or longer tracks by newer or more adventurous artists rather than those heard onTop 40stations of the day. This new format caused albums, instead of singles, to be rock's main artistic vehicle in the 1960s and 1970s.

With a few exceptions, commercial freeform had a relatively brief life. With more listeners acquiring FM radios, it became more important for stations to attract largermarket shareto sell more advertising. By 1970, many of the stations were instituting programming rules with a "clock" and system of "rotation."With this shift, stations' formats in the early 1970s were now billed as progressive. However, DJs still had input over the music they played. The selection was deep and eclectic, with a range of genres.

1970s

In October 1971,WPLJin New York began to shift its freeform progressive rock format into a tighter, hit-oriented rock format similar to what would later become known as AOR.WPLJ's parent company,ABC,installed similar formats on all of its FM stations, includingKLOSin Los Angeles andWRIFin Detroit.Gordon McLendonfollowed suit on his stations, most infamously atWPHDinBuffalo, New York,where McLendon cut over 90% of the station's album library and pushed popular evening jock Jim Santella—whom McLendon did not like—topublicly resign.In 1973,Lee Abrams,formerly at WRIF, successfully installed a similar format, later known as SuperStars, atWQDRin Raleigh, North Carolina.

In 1972,Ron Jacobs,program director atKGB-FMin San Diego, began using detailed listener research and expanded playlists in shifting the Top 40 station toward a progressive rock format. Meanwhile, at competing stationKPRI,program director Mike Harrison was similarly applying Top 40 concepts to the progressive format, which he dubbed "album-oriented rock."

In the mid-1970s, asprogram directorsbegan to exert more control over what songs played on air, progressive stations evolved into the album-oriented rock format. Stations still played longer songs and deep album tracks (rather than justsingles). However, program directors and consultants took on a more significant role in song selection, generally limiting airplay to just a few "focus tracks" from a particular album and concentrating on artists with a more "commercial" sound than those featured a few years earlier. Noted DJ "Kid Leo"Travagliante of the stationWMMSin Cleveland observed the changes in a 1975 interview: "I think the '60s are ending about now. Now we are really starting the '70s. The emphasis is shifting back to entertainment instead of being 'relevant.' In fact, I wouldn't call our station progressive radio. That's outdated. I call it radio. But I heard a good word in the trades, AOR. That's Album-Oriented Rock. That's a name for the '70s."

Radio consultants Kent Burkhart and Lee Abrams significantly affected AOR programming. The two consultants created Kent Burkhart/Lee Abrams & Associates, which became one of the most prominent AOR consulting firms during the mid to late 1970s.Abrams' SuperStars format, previously developed at WQDR, was based on extensive research, focused on the most popular artists, such asFleetwood Macand theEagles,and included older material from those artists.While his format was not quite as constricted asTop 40 radio,it was considerably more restricted than freeform or progressive radio. Their firm advised program directors for a substantial segment of AOR stations all over the U.S.

By the late 1970s, AOR radio stations began to focus on a more narrowly defined rock sound. Stations began reducing the number offolk,jazz,andbluesartists played and effectively eliminated most Black artists from airplay.While AOR had once championedsoul,funk,andR&Bartists likeStevie Wonder,War,andSly Stone,the format no longer represented these styles and took a stance againstdisco.In 1979,Steve DahlofWLUPin Chicago destroyed disco records on his radio show, culminating in the notoriousDisco Demolition NightatComiskey Park.

The continuity of rock artists and songs carried through each phase links the freeform, progressive, and AOR formats. Programmers and DJs of the freeform and progressive phases continued to cultivate a repertoire of rock music and style of delivery that became the foundations of AOR and classic rock radio. Those AOR stations, which decided to stay demographically rooted, became classic rock stations by eschewing newer bands and styles for which their older listeners might have tuned out.

Programming

Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation ofhit singles.The best example isTop 40,though other formats, likecountry,smooth jazz,andurban,all utilize the same basic principles, with the most popular songs repeating every two to six hours, depending on their rank in therotation.Generally, there is a strict order or list to follow, and the DJ does not decide playlist selections.

While still based on the rotation concept, AOR focused on the album as a whole rather than singles. In the early 1970s, manyDJswere free to choose which track(s) to play off a given album and the latitude to decide the playlist order. Consequently, AOR radio gave mainstream exposure to album tracks that never became hits on the record charts limited to singles;Billboard,for instance, did not establish anairplay chartfor album tracks until 1981.

Later in the 1970s, AOR stations shifted song selection to aprogram directoror music director rather than the DJ. Still, when an AOR station added an album to rotation, they often focused on numerous tracks simultaneously rather than playing the singles as they were individually released.

Criticism

In the early 1980s, Black Music Association, atrade association,and other industry observers criticized AOR radio for lacking Black artists in their programming. AOR programmers responded that the lack of diversity was the result of increased specialization of radio formats driven by ratings and audience demographics.In 1983, the success ofMichael Jackson's albumThrillerled to the album's track "Beat It,"which featuredEddie Van Halen,being added to the playlists of many AOR stations. At the same time, other Black artists also made inroads into AOR radio: Jackson ( "Beat It" ),Prince( "Little Red Corvette"), andEddy Grant( "Electric Avenue") debuted onBillboard'sTop Trackschart during the same week in April 1983. Through the remainder of the 1980s,Jon Butcher,Tracy Chapman,Living Colour,andLenny Kravitzalso received AOR airplay.

See also

• Album era