The music class or genre we now refer to as Classic rock was originally conceived as a radio station programming format evolving from what was then called, album oriented rock (AOR). The AOR format began life in the early-1980s.
In the United States, and many other countries in the world, this music format has grown to feature an almost unlimited playlist of songs ranging from the early 60s all the way through to the early 80s with more emphasis on the earlier hits by artists associated with the vaguely defined "classic rock radio era".
What makes classic love songs rock ?
Is it the artist? Not automatically. While a group or artist may have released rock albums in the '70s, there’s no automatic guarantee that everything they ever recorded, is automatically considered classic.
Could it be radio airplay and record sales? Not exclusively. In 1979, The Knack had the top-selling single of the year, My Sharona, from an album that went platinum in less than two months. After two more albums that were received far less enthusiastically, the group disbanded in the early 80s.
Is it a particular musical style or lyric theme? Not so much. Led Zeppelin and The Beatles both recorded classic rock albums, but they hardly performed the same kind of music, or had the same musical style.
The Ghost of Lennon
In 1995, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr went into the studio to add their voices to an old John Lennon demo of Free As A Bird. Afterwards, the three surviving Beatles posed for a photo outside the studio. In the instant before the photographer snapped the shutter, a white peacock wandered into the shot.
"That’s John," McCartney said. "Spooky, eh? It was like John was hanging around. We felt that all through the recording."
Classic rock love songs remind us where we came from and, with those memories, hopefully shine a light on where we are going....
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