Classic Rock Musings, Rants & Raves

From roughly 1970 to 1980, Classic Rock (which wasn’t actually called “Classic Rock” at the time) reigned supreme, filling the void left by the Fab Four (The Beatles broke up and separately sauntered down their own long and windy roads) and Tragic Trilogy (Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison, RIP), among other denizens of those wacky ’60s. Indeed, the peace and love vibe may have dissipated and perhaps the dream really was over, but the music continued to thrive and cultivate.

In fact, rock became far more diverse and began to broaden its horizons in new and wonderful ways. David Bowie, Alice Cooper and Kiss turned glam rock into theater, while Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull treaded the mercurial waters with elaborate, conceptual musical spectacles. FM radio spawned album-oriented rock (AOR), displacing the three minute hit single with such diverse epics as “Stairway To Heaven,” “Freebird” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.”