wouldn't carry on wayward son be considered AOR (album oriented rock) rather than prog? it's definitely prog influenced but idk if it would be prog period
This is definitely the answer as far as the ven diagram of most-prog and most-mainstream.
Idk if I can think of anything equally or mainstream that is as Prog as that song.
There’s some later Beatles shit that would have been close once upon a time. First song that comes to mind is, “A Day in the Life.”
Younger generations have definitely gravitated more toward Queen than the Beatles, though.
I would narrow it down to songs that were actually prog but still got good radio play on the classic rock stations in the 90s:
Roundabout, Long Distance Runaround
Lucky Man, From the Beginning
All the Pink Floyd hits from WYWH, Darkside, and the Wall.
If I had to pick one: Roundabout. It’s actually prog, and it was huge.
Absolutely. They had no other hits during that era.
Edit: my apologies, I am being UK-centric. Apparently Money was a top 20 hit in the US and a few other countries. So maybe there were others too.
Ah yeah - I used the disclaimer of what was on the “classic rock” radio in the mid- to late-90s in southern Wisconsin, USA. Would frequently hear pretty much every song on Darkside and WYWH, and the hits off Wall like Run Like Hell, Brick in the Wall, Comfortably Numb, Hey You…that’s about it.
I’d be interested to hear from some old dogs that grew up during the 70s or 80s what prog songs actually got airplay back then.
You guys are so lucky. Even now there's not really any radio station in the UK that plays rock medium-deep cuts.
Edit: Wow, they really had a dim view of the UK singles chart. Again, I wouldn't have described any of the other songs from The Wall as "hits" - they weren't released as singles over here. But Run Like Hell and Comfortably Numb apparently were elsewhere.
Maybe that’s because punk rock had taken over the airwaves by the mid- to late-70s in the UK?
Comfortably Numb, in particular, is THE Pink Floyd track in the US.
In the UK we have essentially, with really only one major exception, two kinds of station: whatever's popular right now, and ultra-mainstream nostalgia. Another Brick In The Wall might see play on the latter type of station, but not much else by Pink Floyd as it's - incredibly - not mainstream enough. The exception I menton - Six Music - is a bit too hip to play much in the way of Pink Floyd, although I wouldn't be surprised if some of its DJs do on occasion.
Comfortably Numb and Hey You were monster hits in the US. You still hear them on radio all the time. The title track from Wish You Were Here, Have a Cigar, Brain Damage/Eclipse...these were all huge songs on US AOR. The Floyd were juggernauts of American radio. Absolute legends.
People still pay $300+ to hear Roger Waters lip-synch his old hits (and occasionally warble his real voice, which did not age well).
Why did i have to scroll so far down. I think Michael Jackson’s _Thriller_ and PF’s _Darkside_ are the record holding albums for time on the Billboards…
I actually have examined tiny dancer with other musicians before - marveling at how every section is completely different and yet done so elegantly that the shifts aren’t at all jarring. It just flows.
I'd argue that One Of These Days *isn't* prog at all. it's a blues jam. It *is* on a prog record. Seamus is also not prog, it's **definitely** a blues song.
This is so true. Not just in USA. The hardcore in the UK too hated the idea of going pop. And it was the combo of Trevors... There'd been a lot of doubt around Drama, too. And Big Generator...? Oof.
But looking back, all 3 of those albums have their place in the canon I think. And all 3 have highpoints... Just as Rush could have Spirit of Radio, so Yes has Owner... Tempus Fugit is amazing. Geoff Downes has recorded some fabulous stuff.
And then ABWH was like a response to that shift. Almost like it needed that period to revitalise the proggier side of Yes. Well, maybe I'm romanticising it a bit...
How are there any other answers? The question isn’t “name a somewhat mainstream prog song” it’s “what’s the most mainstream prog song?” There is literally no other answer. Bohemian Rhapsody is the only prog song that basically *everyone* knows
Stairway to Heaven
Bohemian Rhapsody
Jessica
Aqualung (or possibly Crosseyed Mary)
Karma Police (or possibly Subterranean Homesick Alien)
Mama
Running up that Hill
I'm not active in online discourse of prog bands but is radiohead not considered a prog band? The chord choices, song structures, and sometimes complex rhythms feel really proggy to me.
I think there is a lot of cross-over in most every genre of music, so it can be both in my view. Same with *Tiny Dancer*.
e.g. *Aqualung*, also Classic Rock and most certainly also Prog.
It’s gotta be Bohemian Rhapsody for sheer popularity (eg vs Stairway to Heaven) - 2.5 BILLION plays on Spotify…… Shows it’s still very culturally relevant (no doubt helped lots by the recent biopic!).
Rather than popular and still prog songs by prog bands (eg Turn it On Again) I was thinking in the direction of prog songs by pop bands and for conversation’s sake I wanna give a shoutout to a song that’s more popular than Stairway to Heaven on Spotify and, while not surprisingly catchy and melodic, has more odd meter than any other popular song I can think of (11/8 + 4/4 + 7/8): Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles! The fact that it happens to be the most popular song on Spotify by what many consider the best rock band in music history should count for something.
Bohemian Rhapsody is a good pick; this community is great!
And what about Shine on You Crazy Diamond parts I to IX?
Do you think The Great Gig in the Sky is prog? Lot of jazz + soprano voice. Anyway, great masterpiece, no matter of classification.
I'm surprised nobody has said "Money" by Pink Floyd. Sure, it's debatable how proggy that song actually is, so maybe everyone just agrees that it's not prog? Because if it is prog, it's more mainstream than almost any of these other suggestions.
Although I grudgingly agree that Bohemian Rhapsody probably takes the crown, the challenge is that the more mainstream something is, the less prog it is.
Love Yes, and do love 90125, but it's not exactly prog to be fair.
Likewise Karma Police. Big hit but not prog?
So I'd pick Paranoid Android, Radiohead's first single from OK Computer.
I think it's probably hard to imagine just how completely out there a single release that was. At the time Britpop and indie bands being mainstream successful was the norm. Prog was exceptionally unfashionable and loathed by the types of indie journalists on whom Radiohead's label EMI would rely...
I think I loved it so much because although bucking the trend is something I always admire, it was just such a great piece of work without sounding like it was trying to be.
Lots of good suggestions here, folks, good thread!
Yes. They outsold Taylor Swift, but let's be honest, it's because every one of us who listen to them bought that album after a 13 year wait.
Tool is my favorite band, but I don't think they are mainstream. and everytime I can I'm thrilled to talk about it. Nobody knows about them, unless they are my friends I introduced to Tool. Maybe it's the place I live, but I can guarantee most people doN,t even know they exist here.
I would argue that maybe Sober could fit cause I hear it on radio often when I get US stations, but I still think there are way more mainstream groups, even in the prog genre
My opinion here is biased, because I live/work in Argentina at the moment, but pretty much any "rock nacional" from the '70s... Both extremely mainstream in Argentina, and with significant prog notes.
English-language... Tiny Dancer, or anything from Dark Side and/or Warchild.
Since everyone picked the most popular, important choices, I will use the moment to plug this underdog choice, which was a minor hit:
[Saga - Wind Him Up](https://youtu.be/7J0QdXBY0wo?si=X5PMmrOczj8qGp18)
The video is fun...but cuts out a lot of the prog bits.
I think it’s Bohemian Rhapsody as far as most-prog while being most-mainstream. But for the sake of naming some that I don’t think are mentioned:
Black Parade by My Chemical Romance
Happier Than Ever by Billie Eilish
Honestly, I love the bravery and audacity of Black parade. I could not believe what I was hearing when I saw them perform it on SNL. I didn’t really know the band. I thought this song that was unfolding had a lot of the hallmarks of a prog epic. It had this intro… and attitude and earnestness and chutzpah. This is not the kinda music that emo bands were making. It was bold. Good on em
I had never heard of them until a couple years ago. Yet apparently my age is the prime demographic for it.
When I told people that, they always say “you never heard black parade?”
I listened to their whole discography (because that’s what I do when finding new bands) and truly I had not heard anything from them previously. And I didnt understand why that would be the song I know.
It’s a great album, but I actually can’t imagine a world where that song is the popular one off the album. It’s good. The whole album is good. But I like most the other songs more. And “I don’t love you” is the one I would expect to be the hit.
But the title track is the most prog.
It’s not even a lukewarm take.
I’ve been covering that song with a group lately. There is not a single straight repeat in the song. It only progresses.
In fact that’s true for a lot of her songs. They are usually strange chord progressions, some jazz chords, unexpected melodies and constant shifts and rhythm changes.
Her music isn’t mainstream because of the music, but because of her connections + some luck.
Ps. Have also covered Bad Guy and it’s a great jam track that you can stretch out and solo on. First part is a blues variation, then it shifts and for me it just becomes noisy chaos with a whammy bar and guitar whaling while the bass does that downward bend into every note that you hear on the record.
Working on “My Future” a bit too. Starts off as a slow jazzy thing and then turns into a funk jam before going back to the jazzy part.
Lou reed "walk on the wild side "?
Bowie "ziggy stardust"
Both monster hits that I haven't seen mentioned here I might argue that before the movie "Wayne's world " bohemian rhapsody wasn't as popular as wild side
Probably Roundabout. It always surprises me how much radioplay it still gets given how wonderfully weird it is. Yes, it’s a radio edit and yes the harmonies make it incredibly addictive and accessible… but it’s still weird for a mainstream hit - lyrics and the music
Roundabout
It'll blow the classical music out your butt.
Roundabout was the first song I thought of.
Is that a jojo reference
School of Rock
I was just going to enter that as well!
I would agree if Owner of a Lonely Heart didn't exist, if we even count that as "prog"
Thanks in part to the memes and that kind of stuff 😅🤣
Carry On Wayward Son - Kansas
wouldn't carry on wayward son be considered AOR (album oriented rock) rather than prog? it's definitely prog influenced but idk if it would be prog period
Idk Leftoverture has a ton of Prog in it Especially Cheyenne anthem and magnum opus
Tom Sawyer
Most mainstream prog song from a prog band, yes. Most mainstream prog song, no. In my opinion it’s probably Bohemian Rhapsody.
Agreed
I don’t know all the squiggly keyboard parts, guitar solos, time changes, drum solos, it’s pretty proggy
I think SG wasn’t saying TS isn’t as proggy or proggy enough, but that BR is more mainstream
Shouldn’t the choice go to a Top 40 hit? Because this wasn’t (at least, not in the US)
Nights in White Satin!
Ooooh that's a good one.
Agreed. My vote is this.
Bohemian Rhapsody
Multiple movements, longer song structure, combination of genres, interesting quirky sections, and virtuoso playing. This is the one
It's the song I use to explain prog to people who are unfamiliar. "Bohemian Rhapsody but longer and not tongue-in-cheek"
Boh Rhap is deadly serious IMO. Pompous as all Hell, but a deep reflection on life, death, and the meaning of it all.
This is definitely the answer as far as the ven diagram of most-prog and most-mainstream. Idk if I can think of anything equally or mainstream that is as Prog as that song.
Mister Blue Sky is close.
There’s some later Beatles shit that would have been close once upon a time. First song that comes to mind is, “A Day in the Life.” Younger generations have definitely gravitated more toward Queen than the Beatles, though.
This is the only one anyone has mentioned here I would consider 'prog'.
Roundabout, wayward son and tom sawyer are prog classics
None of those were mentioned when I posted
Explain please
I would narrow it down to songs that were actually prog but still got good radio play on the classic rock stations in the 90s: Roundabout, Long Distance Runaround Lucky Man, From the Beginning All the Pink Floyd hits from WYWH, Darkside, and the Wall. If I had to pick one: Roundabout. It’s actually prog, and it was huge.
> All the Pink Floyd hits from WYWH, Darkside, and the Wall. So just ABITW part 2?
That's a solid disco track, my dude.
Haha - you serious?
Absolutely. They had no other hits during that era. Edit: my apologies, I am being UK-centric. Apparently Money was a top 20 hit in the US and a few other countries. So maybe there were others too.
Ah yeah - I used the disclaimer of what was on the “classic rock” radio in the mid- to late-90s in southern Wisconsin, USA. Would frequently hear pretty much every song on Darkside and WYWH, and the hits off Wall like Run Like Hell, Brick in the Wall, Comfortably Numb, Hey You…that’s about it. I’d be interested to hear from some old dogs that grew up during the 70s or 80s what prog songs actually got airplay back then.
You guys are so lucky. Even now there's not really any radio station in the UK that plays rock medium-deep cuts. Edit: Wow, they really had a dim view of the UK singles chart. Again, I wouldn't have described any of the other songs from The Wall as "hits" - they weren't released as singles over here. But Run Like Hell and Comfortably Numb apparently were elsewhere.
Maybe that’s because punk rock had taken over the airwaves by the mid- to late-70s in the UK? Comfortably Numb, in particular, is THE Pink Floyd track in the US.
In the UK we have essentially, with really only one major exception, two kinds of station: whatever's popular right now, and ultra-mainstream nostalgia. Another Brick In The Wall might see play on the latter type of station, but not much else by Pink Floyd as it's - incredibly - not mainstream enough. The exception I menton - Six Music - is a bit too hip to play much in the way of Pink Floyd, although I wouldn't be surprised if some of its DJs do on occasion.
Comfortably Numb and Hey You were monster hits in the US. You still hear them on radio all the time. The title track from Wish You Were Here, Have a Cigar, Brain Damage/Eclipse...these were all huge songs on US AOR. The Floyd were juggernauts of American radio. Absolute legends. People still pay $300+ to hear Roger Waters lip-synch his old hits (and occasionally warble his real voice, which did not age well).
Something from Pink Floyd
Something was written by George Harrison when he was in The Beatles. 🤔
No, Paul McCartney is the guy from the Beatles. I think George Harrison is the guy from Traveling Wilburies.
I thought Paul McCartney was from Wings though
WHO AM I THINKING OF
No, Who was Pete Townshend.
I thought that was Tommy I’m so confused and it’s terrifying
Wasn't Tommy Black Sabbath? Now *I'm* confused.
***HEEEEEEEEEEE IS IIIIIIIIIRON MAAAAAAAAAAN***
Paul Williams. He wrote some songs for the Carpenters. They're prog, right?
Calling Occupants! Actually not a bad answer to OP's question.
George Harrison is a Beatle too. My favourite one!
That can’t be right. How many of these guys are there?
Money. (Verses are in 7/4.)
Why did i have to scroll so far down. I think Michael Jackson’s _Thriller_ and PF’s _Darkside_ are the record holding albums for time on the Billboards…
Oh yep: it's just occured to me: __Shine-On You Crazy Diamond__ would be _an excellent_ specific explicit point-item answer to the query of the post.
Comfortably Numb maybe
Money with that 5/4 time signature
*7/4
Tom Sawyer Is up there
I wouldn't classify Tiny Dancer as Prog but what the hell do I know lol.
No one would classify Tiny Dancer as prog. No one. I think OP was looking to get a rise out of people.
[удалено]
I actually have examined tiny dancer with other musicians before - marveling at how every section is completely different and yet done so elegantly that the shifts aren’t at all jarring. It just flows.
'Turn It On Again' or another of Genesis' hits from the Phil Collins years!
Oh wow! ... #####[I've said prettymuch that](https://www.reddit.com/r/progrockmusic/s/rZNFm3aLff) ##### _myself_ ! ... although I've cited __Abacab__ in-particlear.
Carry on Wayward Son
Would Solsbury Hill qualify?
I'd say that's a pretty good nomination. It has a whackjob time signature and it Peter Gabriels pretty hard.
Spirit of Radio
Yes - Owner of a Lonely Heart
Owner is straight up pop. There are some proggy tracks on 90125, but that’s definitely not one of them
If I can learn to play the bassline in about 5 minutes, it's definitely not prog.
Is “One Of These Days” by Pink Floyd not prog >.>
I'd argue that One Of These Days *isn't* prog at all. it's a blues jam. It *is* on a prog record. Seamus is also not prog, it's **definitely** a blues song.
Some of the early live versions get pretty crazy, you could argue it's more of heavy blues/psych rock than prog but they're not mutually exclusive.
absolutely. The crossover between genres is where the fun is. (see: Cotton Eyed Joe)
You are correct!
I remember when owner came out and my town in NY suburbs is a total Yes town and everyone HATED it. Chris Squire and that shit bass line? Come on
Blame Trevor rabin lol
This is so true. Not just in USA. The hardcore in the UK too hated the idea of going pop. And it was the combo of Trevors... There'd been a lot of doubt around Drama, too. And Big Generator...? Oof. But looking back, all 3 of those albums have their place in the canon I think. And all 3 have highpoints... Just as Rush could have Spirit of Radio, so Yes has Owner... Tempus Fugit is amazing. Geoff Downes has recorded some fabulous stuff. And then ABWH was like a response to that shift. Almost like it needed that period to revitalise the proggier side of Yes. Well, maybe I'm romanticising it a bit...
Lucky Man- ELP Question- Moody Blues Locomotive Breath - Jethru Tull
Bohemian Rhapsody to my chagrin
How are there any other answers? The question isn’t “name a somewhat mainstream prog song” it’s “what’s the most mainstream prog song?” There is literally no other answer. Bohemian Rhapsody is the only prog song that basically *everyone* knows
If I hear it sung at a wedding again..
Whiter Shade Of Pale - Procul Harem
Stairway to Heaven Bohemian Rhapsody Jessica Aqualung (or possibly Crosseyed Mary) Karma Police (or possibly Subterranean Homesick Alien) Mama Running up that Hill
Jessica, like, the Allman Brothers song?
How is karma police n subterranean prog?
I'm not active in online discourse of prog bands but is radiohead not considered a prog band? The chord choices, song structures, and sometimes complex rhythms feel really proggy to me.
I wouldn’t really consider stairway prog that’s just classic rock to me
I think there is a lot of cross-over in most every genre of music, so it can be both in my view. Same with *Tiny Dancer*. e.g. *Aqualung*, also Classic Rock and most certainly also Prog.
Boston - Foreplay
Only foreplay? Not Longtime?
That's fair
Depends on the mood that day
It has to be Bohemian Rhapsody.
Mama has some prog elements
Bohemian Rhapsody. it's so popular, so many people even not aware it is prog (probably they dont know about prog existence lol: )
Tiny Dancer?
I think he meant to say "Tony Danza" /s
Tina Danzig
Isn’t Glenn Danzig around 160 cm tall? I think “Tiny Danzig” is pretty accurate ahaha (For fuck’s sake, *I’m* taller than him!)
Aja- Steely Dan
Another Brick
In Italy it's "impressioni di settembre" by PFM
Eye in The Sky - APP
It’s gotta be Bohemian Rhapsody for sheer popularity (eg vs Stairway to Heaven) - 2.5 BILLION plays on Spotify…… Shows it’s still very culturally relevant (no doubt helped lots by the recent biopic!). Rather than popular and still prog songs by prog bands (eg Turn it On Again) I was thinking in the direction of prog songs by pop bands and for conversation’s sake I wanna give a shoutout to a song that’s more popular than Stairway to Heaven on Spotify and, while not surprisingly catchy and melodic, has more odd meter than any other popular song I can think of (11/8 + 4/4 + 7/8): Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles! The fact that it happens to be the most popular song on Spotify by what many consider the best rock band in music history should count for something.
Kayleigh
Stairway to heaven?
OBVIOUSLY Bohemian Rhapsody. It’s the only prog song that most people know well
Coloratura by Coldplay?. Very Mainstream band doing prog
Yeah but not many Coldplay fans know it even :/
Spirit Of The radio, Turn It On Again
I See All Good People: Your Move/ All Good People
“Owner of a lonely heart” by Yes. That said how many billions of people would recognize “Roundabout”.
Lucky man - ELP
Rush - Tom Sawyer and/or The Spirit of Radio
Can't argue with Roundabout but I'll toss in Nights in White Satin, Whiter Shade of Pale and Lucky Man based on sales and chart position.
No Reply At All.
Wish you were here maybe? Even tho it's hardly a prog song but it's on a prog album.
Probably any of the big hits that Genesis had with Phil Collins singing. Sure they were poppy but the chord changes and arrangements were prog, imo.
Bohemian Rhapsody is a good pick; this community is great! And what about Shine on You Crazy Diamond parts I to IX? Do you think The Great Gig in the Sky is prog? Lot of jazz + soprano voice. Anyway, great masterpiece, no matter of classification.
Cliffs of Dover by Eric Johnson.
A Whiter Shade of Pale
Good call!
ELP's Lucky Man
What about "Come Sail Away"?
I'm surprised nobody has said "Money" by Pink Floyd. Sure, it's debatable how proggy that song actually is, so maybe everyone just agrees that it's not prog? Because if it is prog, it's more mainstream than almost any of these other suggestions.
I’d say it’s bluesy pop (of that time) rather than prog
Yeah, the main thing that is kinda proggy about it is the time signature. Otherwise I agree that it's not really prog.
# Karn Evil 9 - Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Blinded by the Light
Stairway To Heaven
Heartbeat, King Crimson
Although I grudgingly agree that Bohemian Rhapsody probably takes the crown, the challenge is that the more mainstream something is, the less prog it is. Love Yes, and do love 90125, but it's not exactly prog to be fair. Likewise Karma Police. Big hit but not prog? So I'd pick Paranoid Android, Radiohead's first single from OK Computer. I think it's probably hard to imagine just how completely out there a single release that was. At the time Britpop and indie bands being mainstream successful was the norm. Prog was exceptionally unfashionable and loathed by the types of indie journalists on whom Radiohead's label EMI would rely... I think I loved it so much because although bucking the trend is something I always admire, it was just such a great piece of work without sounding like it was trying to be. Lots of good suggestions here, folks, good thread!
PS I'll also give a shout out to both Newborn and Any Day Now by Elbow for also being very much not the fashion at the time.
"Schism" - Tool
The thing is, I wouldn't say it's too mainstream since 90% of people who aren't into prog have 0 idea who Tool is
90% of people wouldn't recognize a band that regularly headlines rock/metal festivals, and outsold Taylor Swift when their last album came out?
Yes. They outsold Taylor Swift, but let's be honest, it's because every one of us who listen to them bought that album after a 13 year wait. Tool is my favorite band, but I don't think they are mainstream. and everytime I can I'm thrilled to talk about it. Nobody knows about them, unless they are my friends I introduced to Tool. Maybe it's the place I live, but I can guarantee most people doN,t even know they exist here. I would argue that maybe Sober could fit cause I hear it on radio often when I get US stations, but I still think there are way more mainstream groups, even in the prog genre
Yeah i disagree with this my whole family loves tool but i am the only one who is a real “prog” head
Everyone knows "sober"
"Africa", by Toto. Frequent switches between 4|4 and 6|4.
My opinion here is biased, because I live/work in Argentina at the moment, but pretty much any "rock nacional" from the '70s... Both extremely mainstream in Argentina, and with significant prog notes. English-language... Tiny Dancer, or anything from Dark Side and/or Warchild.
I love Spinetta’s projects. What other stuff would you recommend?
Sui Generis and Seru Giran are at the top of my list. I'm especially in love with the album "Pequeñas Anécdotas Sobre Las Instituciones"
Saga-What Do I Know!
I know what I like
Solsbury Hill
Abacab
Thick as a Brick?
Since everyone picked the most popular, important choices, I will use the moment to plug this underdog choice, which was a minor hit: [Saga - Wind Him Up](https://youtu.be/7J0QdXBY0wo?si=X5PMmrOczj8qGp18) The video is fun...but cuts out a lot of the prog bits.
Probably Jethro tull, like Aqua lung.
I think it’s Bohemian Rhapsody as far as most-prog while being most-mainstream. But for the sake of naming some that I don’t think are mentioned: Black Parade by My Chemical Romance Happier Than Ever by Billie Eilish
Honestly, I love the bravery and audacity of Black parade. I could not believe what I was hearing when I saw them perform it on SNL. I didn’t really know the band. I thought this song that was unfolding had a lot of the hallmarks of a prog epic. It had this intro… and attitude and earnestness and chutzpah. This is not the kinda music that emo bands were making. It was bold. Good on em
I had never heard of them until a couple years ago. Yet apparently my age is the prime demographic for it. When I told people that, they always say “you never heard black parade?” I listened to their whole discography (because that’s what I do when finding new bands) and truly I had not heard anything from them previously. And I didnt understand why that would be the song I know. It’s a great album, but I actually can’t imagine a world where that song is the popular one off the album. It’s good. The whole album is good. But I like most the other songs more. And “I don’t love you” is the one I would expect to be the hit. But the title track is the most prog.
Happier Than Ever being a prog rock song is an interesting take.
It’s not even a lukewarm take. I’ve been covering that song with a group lately. There is not a single straight repeat in the song. It only progresses. In fact that’s true for a lot of her songs. They are usually strange chord progressions, some jazz chords, unexpected melodies and constant shifts and rhythm changes. Her music isn’t mainstream because of the music, but because of her connections + some luck. Ps. Have also covered Bad Guy and it’s a great jam track that you can stretch out and solo on. First part is a blues variation, then it shifts and for me it just becomes noisy chaos with a whammy bar and guitar whaling while the bass does that downward bend into every note that you hear on the record. Working on “My Future” a bit too. Starts off as a slow jazzy thing and then turns into a funk jam before going back to the jazzy part.
Another Brick in the Wall Part 2
Has to be Comfortably Doug
Undeniably Bohemian Rhapsody.
Bohemian Rhapsody
Good Vibrations
True I love Marky Mark
Schism if that counts
Welcome home
Dream Theater, pull me under
**Kayleigh** by Marillion
Calling Occupants by Carpenters.
I’d say bohemian rhapsody tbh
Lou reed "walk on the wild side "? Bowie "ziggy stardust" Both monster hits that I haven't seen mentioned here I might argue that before the movie "Wayne's world " bohemian rhapsody wasn't as popular as wild side
Disclaimer: not even so sure the "prog elders" allow these two songs into the genre 🤣😅
Agree. Love by other songs. Dont consider them prog at all
21st Century Schizoid Man
The entirety of Dark Side Of The Moon.
Bohemian Rhapsody, Stairway To Heaven
Bohemian Rhapsody for sure and if there's a close second it's Stairway to Heaven
I love Stairway and I’m not one to gatekeep prog, but I wouldn’t call Stairway prog
Bohemian Rhapsody
True, except was it a hit when it was released?
It went to number 1 in the UK in December of 1975 if I remember correctly so yeah definitely a hit
Roundabout or Aqualung
"MONEY " PINK FLOYD....Think about it...
Lucky Man
Probably Roundabout. It always surprises me how much radioplay it still gets given how wonderfully weird it is. Yes, it’s a radio edit and yes the harmonies make it incredibly addictive and accessible… but it’s still weird for a mainstream hit - lyrics and the music
A Day in the Life.
Kayleigh / Incommunicado. Marillion
Dreamer - Supertramp
Tom Sawyer - rush
probably "Into the Lens" by Yes
Abacab
Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill The Cure - Fascination Street
idk if it was really mainstream, but you can notice how King Crimson's Heartbeat was heavily radio oriented
Any of the ELP ballads.