What classifies something as "classic rock"?

Question

Listen to the classic rock station and you'll hear everything from Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, The Black Crowes, Buffalo Springfield, Poison, Sting and The Police and so on....what makes all of them be classic rock when they have different sounds? Bob Dylan sounds NOTHING like Poison....

Answer 1

I think it's classified as most rock music prior to 1990, although some 90's songs sneak in there. Usually, if the band became big prior to 1980, their whole catalog often seems to fit the bill.

Here in Canada, we have content regulations requiring a certain percentage of songs played be of Canadian origin. A nifty idea, but horrible in practice. There's this awful Canadian band, the Tragically Hip, that started sometime in the mid-to-late 80's, so the radio stations lump their whole catalog into classic rock, and they get a lot of airplay they don't deserve.

There's nothing worse than listening to a Canadian classic rock station and hearing, "Coming up: Led Zepplin, the Tragically Hip, and the Doors."

Answer 2

Two things:
1. The genre. It has to be rock.
2. The time lapse. For a car to be considered a "classic" it has to be at least 20 or 25 years old, I would say 20. For classic rock the music has to go back at least 20 years, before1986.

Here we have 2 classic rock stations. They play from late 60s (Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Cream) to maybe mid 80s (Pretenders, Pat Benatar, Van Halen).

Answer 3

Classic rock used to be pre-1980's.
Poison, Sting and Black Crowes do not qualify as classic rock, but I guess they play it because people who listen to classic rock like it. Maybe, they play anything that's over 15 years old.

Music genres are loose.

Answer 4

some thing from the 60's, 70's, or 80's is taken under consideration classic rock. in my opinion, ninety's is in simple terms too truly new to categorise as "classic". Rock music has replaced very much. BQ: i like the glaring White T's in case you'll evaluate them option rock.

Answer 5

To classify as classic rock it has to rock, be a older song most likely 15+ years, and people still want to hear it.

Answer 6

I think it revolves around when that band or individual began releasing their music defintiely anything before the 1990's just aobut is considered "classic rock" by people, maybe because it revolves around a different generation than any current one? Music back then is still better than today's stuff, but maybe that's just how i see it...

Answer 7

whatever rock survived and still wants to be listened to today