Classic Rock - History

History

The classic rock format evolved from AOR radio stations that were attempting to appeal to an older audience by including familiar songs of the past with current hits. In 1980, AOR radio station M105 in Cleveland, Ohio began billing itself as "Cleveland's Classic Rock", playing a mix of rock music from the mid-1960s to the present. In 1982, radio consultant Lee Abrams developed the "Timeless Rock" format which combined contemporary AOR with hits from the 1960s and 1970s. By 1986, the success of the format resulted in oldies accounting for 60–80% of the music played on album rock stations. Although it began as a niche format spun off from AOR, by 2001 classic rock had surpassed album rock in market share nationally.

KRBE, Houston was another early classic rock radio station. In 1983 program director Paul Christy designed a format which played only early album rock, from the 1960s and early 1970s, without any current music or Top 40 material at all. KRBE was the first station to use the term "classic rock" on the air. Classic rock soon became the widely used descriptor for the format, and became the commonly used term for early album rock music by the general public.

Typically, classic rock stations play rock songs from the mid 1960s through the 1980s. Some of the songs overlap with those played on oldies stations, but classic rock also focuses on bands and artists that are less radio friendly and therefore are usually not played on oldies stations. Unlike AOR radio stations, which played all tracks from albums, classic rock plays a much more limited playlist of charting singles and popular album tracks from artists and bands. The classic rock format is mainly tailored to the adult male demographic, primarily ages 25–34, but also has a significant base in the 18–24 and 35–44 year old demographics as well.