Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format that originated in the United States in the early 1980s as an evolution of the album-oriented rock (AOR) format. For purposes of this definition, the classic rock format encompasses rock music that was commercially successful between the mid-1960s and the mid-1990s in the United States, with a primary emphasis on blues rock and hard rock that was popularised by the AOR format of the 1970s. By the end of the 1990s, the radio format was becoming more popular among the baby boomer generation.
Despite the fact that classic rock has mostly attracted to older audiences, music connected with this style has gained increased exposure among younger listeners as a result of the availability of the Internet and digital downloading services. A small number of contemporary albums that are stylistically congruent with the station's sound, or by historic bands that are still active and making new music, are also played on certain classic rock stations.
Classic rock has been conceptually explored by academics as a concerted endeavour by critics, the media, and music institutions to canonise rock music and commodify 1960s Western culture for listeners living in a post-baby boomer economic environment. White male bands from the Anglosphere have produced commercially successful songs that reflect Romanticism, self-aggrandizement, and politically undemanding ideals. This has been recognised as the majority of the music chosen for the format thus far. Historically, it has been connected with the album era (1960–2000), notably with the early pop/rock music of the era.
The classic rock format arose as a result of AOR radio stations aiming to cater to an older audience by including well-known songs from the past with current successes. AOR radio station M105 in Cleveland started marketing itself as "Cleveland's Classic Rock" in 1980, and since then has been broadcasting a mix of rock music from the mid-1960s to the current day. When WMET began broadcasting in 1981, it billed itself as "Chicago's Classic Rock." Timeless Rock was created in 1982 by radio consultant Lee Abrams, who mixed modern AOR with classic rock singles from the 1960s and 1970s to make the "Timeless Rock" format.