This is a timeline of artists, albums, and events in progressive rock and its subgenres. This article contains the timeline for the period 1960–1969.
The roots of progressive rock developed from pop groups in the 1960s, like the Beatles and the Yardbirds, who "progressed" rock and roll by exploiting new recording techniques,[1] and by merging electric blues with various other music styles such as Indian ragas, oriental melodies and Gregorian chants.[2] Hegarty and Halliwell identify the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Doors, the Pretty Things, the Zombies, the Byrds, the Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd as "not merely as precursors of prog" but "essential developments of progressiveness in its early days".[3] According to musicologist Walter Everett, the Beatles' "experimental timbres, rhythms, tonal structures, and poetic texts" on their albums Rubber Soul (1965) and Revolver (1966) "encouraged a legion of young bands that were to create progressive rock in the early 1970s".[4] Dylan's poetry, the Mothers of Invention's album Freak Out! (1966) and the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) were all important in progressive rock's development. The productions of Phil Spector were key influences, as they introduced the possibility of using the recording studio to create music that otherwise could never be achieved. The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (1966), which Brian Wilson intended as an answer to Rubber Soul[5] influenced the Beatles when they made Sgt. Pepper.
Folk rock groups such as the Byrds, based their initial sound on that of the Beatles.[6] In turn, the Byrds' vocal harmonies inspired those of Yes, and British folk rock bands like Fairport Convention, who emphasised instrumental virtuosity. Some of these artists, such as the Incredible String Band and Shirley and Dolly Collins, would prove influential on progressive rock through their use of instruments borrowed from world music and early music.
| align=center width="10%" | Release Date | align=center width="33%" | Artist | align=center width="47%" | Recording | align=center width="10%" | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 May 1966 | The Beach Boys | Pet Sounds | US | ||||
| 27 June 1966 | The Mothers of Invention | Freak Out![7] | US | ||||
| 5 August 1966 | The Beatles | Revolver | England | ||||
| 10 October 1966 | The Beach Boys | "Good Vibrations" | US | ||||
| November 1966 | Love | Da Capo | US | ||||
| January 1967 | The Left Banke | Walk Away Renée/Pretty Ballerina | US | ||||
| 1 February 1967 | Jefferson Airplane | Surrealistic Pillow | US | ||||
| March 1967 | The Velvet Underground | The Velvet Underground & Nico | US | ||||
| 26 May 1967 | The Beatles | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band | England | ||||
| 26 May 1967 | The Mothers of Invention | Absolutely Free | US | ||||
| July 1967 | The Incredible String Band | The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion | Scotland | ||||
| 24 July 1967 | The Beach Boys | "Heroes and Villains" | US | ||||
| August 1967 | Vanilla Fudge | Vanilla Fudge | US | ||||
| 4 August 1967[8] | Pink Floyd | The Piper at the Gates of Dawn | England | ||||
| September 1967 | Procol Harum | Procol Harum | England | ||||
| October 1967 | Nirvana | The Story of Simon Simopath | England | ||||
| November 1967 | Love | Forever Changes | US | ||||
| 10 November 1967 | The Moody Blues | Days of Future Passed[9] | England | ||||
| 27 November 1967 | Jefferson Airplane | After Bathing at Baxter's | US | ||||
| 8 December 1967 | Traffic | Mr. Fantasy | England | ||||
| align=center width="10%" | Release date | align=center width="33%" | Artist | align=center width="47%" | Album | align=center width="10%" | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 January 1968 | Spirit | Spirit | US | ||||
| February 1968 | Vanilla Fudge | The Beat Goes On | US | ||||
| 21 February 1968 | Blood, Sweat & Tears | Child Is Father to the Man | US | ||||
| 1 March 1968[10] | The Nice | The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack | England | ||||
| 4 March 1968 | The Mothers of Invention | We're Only in It for the Money | US | ||||
| 6 March 1968 | The United States of America | The United States of America | US | ||||
| March 1968 | The Incredible String Band | The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter | Scotland | ||||
| March 1968 | The Move | Move | England | ||||
| 13 May 1968 | Frank Zappa | Lumpy Gravy – An original rare release appeared in late 1967 on Capitol, but was pulled quickly because of threatened legal action by MGM. This MGM/Verve release was the first popularly available version. http://www.lukpac.org/~handmade/patio/vinylvscds/lumpy_gravy.html | US | ||||
| June 1968 | The Crazy World of Arthur Brown | The Crazy World of Arthur Brown | England | ||||
| 28 June 1968[11] | Pink Floyd | A Saucerful of Secrets | England | ||||
| June 1968 | Fairport Convention | Fairport Convention | England | ||||
| June 1968 | Vanilla Fudge | Renaissance | US | ||||
| 5 July 1968 | Tyrannosaurus Rex | My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair... But Now They're Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows | England | ||||
| 17 July 1968 | Deep Purple | Shades of Deep Purple | UK | ||||
| 19 July 1968 | Family | Music in a Doll's House | England | ||||
| 26 July 1968 | The Moody Blues | In Search of the Lost Chord | England | ||||
| August 1968 | The Jeff Beck Group | Truth | US | ||||
| 13 September 1968 | Giles, Giles and Fripp | The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp | England | ||||
| September 1968 | Procol Harum | Shine on Brightly | England | ||||
| September 1968 | Jefferson Airplane | Crown of Creation | US | ||||
| October 1968 | Aphrodite's Child | End of the World | Greece | ||||
| October 1968 | Caravan | Caravan | England | ||||
| October 1968 | Traffic | Traffic | England | ||||
| October 1968 | Deep Purple | The Book of Taliesyn | UK | ||||
| 14 October 1968 | Tyrannosaurus Rex | England | |||||
| 25 October 1968 | Jethro Tull | This Was | England | ||||
| 1 November 1968 | George Harrison | Wonderwall Music | England | ||||
| November 1968 | The Nice | Ars Longa Vita Brevis | England | ||||
| November 1968 | The Left Banke | The Left Banke Too | US | ||||
| November 1968 | The Incredible String Band | Wee Tam and the Big Huge | Scotland | ||||
| 11 December 1968 | Blood, Sweat & Tears | Blood, Sweat & Tears | US | ||||
| December 1968 | The Pretty Things | S.F. Sorrow | England | ||||
| December 1968 | Soft Machine | The Soft Machine – the original album was only available in the US, an import in the UK; later re-issued as Volume One. | England | ||||
| December 1968 | Spirit | US | |||||
| 1968 | International Harvester – originally called Pärson Sound (recordings from Pärson Sound weren't released until 2001) | Sov gott Rose-Marie | Sweden | ||||
| 1968 | Touch | Touch | US | ||||
| align=center width="10%" | Release Date | align=center width="33%" | Artist | align=center width="47%" | Album | align=center width="10%" | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1969 | Sam Gopal | Escalator | England | ||||
| February 1969 | Jefferson Airplane | Bless Its Pointed Little Head | US | ||||
| February 1969 | Vanilla Fudge | Near the Beginning | US | ||||
| 5 March 1969 | The Byrds | Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde | US | ||||
| 7 March 1969 | Genesis | From Genesis to Revelation | England | ||||
| March 1969 | Colosseum | Those Who Are About to Die Salute You | England | ||||
| March 1969 | Family | Family Entertainment | England | ||||
| 21 April 1969 | The Mothers of Invention | Uncle Meat | US | ||||
| 25 April 1969 | The Moody Blues | On the Threshold of a Dream | England | ||||
| 28 April 1969 | Chicago | Chicago Transit Authority | US | ||||
| 9 May 1969 | George Harrison | Electronic Sound | England | ||||
| 16 May 1969 | Tyrannosaurus Rex | Unicorn | England | ||||
| 19 May 1969[12] | The Who | Tommy | England | ||||
| May 1969 | Traffic | Last Exit | England | ||||
| 13 June 1969 | Pink Floyd | More | England | ||||
| 16 June 1969 | Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band | Trout Mask Replica | US | ||||
| June 1969 | Deep Purple | Deep Purple | UK | ||||
| June 1969 | It's a Beautiful Day | It's a Beautiful Day | US | ||||
| June 1969 | Procol Harum | A Salty Dog | England | ||||
| 25 July 1969 | Yes | Yes | England | ||||
| 30 July 1969 | Miles Davis | In a Silent Way | US | ||||
| 1 August 1969 | Jethro Tull | Stand Up | England | ||||
| August 1969 | Organisation | Tone Float | Germany | ||||
| August 1969 | Santana | Santana | US | ||||
| 26 September 1969 | The Beatles | Abbey Road | England | ||||
| September 1969 | The Nice | The Nice | England | ||||
| September 1969 | Soft Machine | Volume Two | England | ||||
| September 1969 | Van der Graaf Generator | The Aerosol Grey Machine | England, however album was originally released only in the US | ||||
| September 1969 | Vanilla Fudge | Rock & Roll | US | ||||
| 10 October 1969 | King Crimson | In the Court of the Crimson King | England | ||||
| 10 October 1969 | Frank Zappa | Hot Rats | US | ||||
| October 1969 | Spirit | Clear | US | ||||
| 7 November 1969 | Pink Floyd | Ummagumma | England | ||||
| 7 November 1969 | Manfred Mann Chapter Three | Manfred Mann Chapter Three | UK | ||||
| 21 November 1969 | The Moody Blues | To Our Children's Children's Children | England | ||||
| November 1969 | Quintessence | In Blissful Company | UK | ||||
| November 1969 | Kevin Ayers | Joy of a Toy | UK | ||||
| November 1969 | The Incredible String Band | Changing Horses | Scotland | ||||
| November 1969[13] | Renaissance | Renaissance | England | ||||
| December 1969 | Fairport Convention | Liege & Lief | England | ||||
| 1969 | Amon Düül | Psychedelic Underground | Germany | ||||
| 1969 | Amon Düül | Collapsing / Singvögel Rückwärts & Co | Germany | ||||
| 1969 | Amon Düül II | Phallus Dei | Germany | ||||
| 1969 | Brainbox | Brainbox | Netherlands | ||||
| 1969 | Cromagnon | Orgasm | US | ||||
| 1969 | East of Eden | Mercator Projected | England | ||||
| 1969 | Catherine Ribeiro + 2Bis | Catherine Ribeiro + 2Bis | France | ||||
| 1969 | Rare Bird | Rare Bird | UK | ||||
| 1969 | Wigwam | Hard 'n' Horny | Finland | ||||
| 1969 | The Tony Williams Lifetime | Emergency! | US |
