When we moved to the Charlotte area twelve years ago, I occasionally listened to 95.7 FM, The Ride. In 2006, they played great classic rock from the likes of The Doors, Queen, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Van Morrison and The Rolling Stones, just to name a few? Craving some Peter Frampton or Deep Purple? Just listen for a while and they’ll pop up. Good, good stuff.
A couple weeks ago I changed my son’s radio station on the stereo in his room hoping that he’d get up more easily if he was listening to music he considers for old people. This morning I went in and turned on his radio, only to have the dulcet tones of REO Speedwagon coming from the speakers. Specifically, “Keep on Loving You,” which came out in 1980. 1980, people. THAT’S NOT CLASSIC ROCK! I waited until the song ended to hear what came on next, and it was “Steal Away” by Robbie Dupree. Also from 1980.
So I checked to see what music they’ve played in the past hour. And look at this list:
How is U2’s “Beautiful Day,” which came out in 2000, considered classic rock?
How is Heart’s “Alone,” which came out in 1987, considered classic rock?
Sure, most of the other songs on the list above – the Hollies, Doobie Brothers, the Moody Blues – those are from the 1970s and counts as classic rock. I’ll even allow the Heart song, even though it’s late ’80s.
But songs from the year 2000 and onward should NOT be categorized as classic rock. I will not allow it!
Even Wikipedia agrees with me, saying, “Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the mid-1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on commercially successful hard rock popularized in the 1970s.”
Is the definition shifting to say that anything 20 years old (give or take) or older is now considered classic rock? If so, I’m in BIG BIG trouble. I’m not prepared for music I listened to in my late 20s and early 30s to be considered classic rock.
Featured image by David Brodbeck (https://www.flickr.com/photos/cgull/2412056510)
