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MOR" stations with scheduled programming other than the MOR music. Even though it was not a 50,000-watt station, WMAL in
Washington DC achieved some of the highest ratings and revenue of all radio stations in the country by programming MOR music, news, sports, and very popular announcers.
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techniques, prominent melodies, and subtle orchestral arrangements. MOR is somewhat often used as a derogatory term for this type of music. Radio stations that played adult standards during the 1960s and 1970s were marketed as "MOR radio" in order to differentiate them from
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In recent years, the term "middle of the road" has been used pejoratively by genre-specific music aficionados to describe musicians who avoid "edgy" (innovative) material, and who calibrate their musical appeal to commercial, popular musical taste. Artists such as
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formats. In response, most eliminated music and transmitted only news and talk programs; some continued to play MOR music until the early 1990s. MOR (or at least formats bearing a strong resemblance to MOR) were still available as late as 2013; the
57:
According to music academic Norman
Abjorensen, "middle of the road" has referred to a commercial radio format more often than a music genre, although "it has been used to describe a broad type of music" of numerous styles, usually characterized by
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network, a nationwide MOR satellite service, was available until 2006. Many of the styles and genres of music that had traditionally been heard on MOR formatted stations are currently heard on adult standards-formatted stations.
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Moreover, MOR has been used to pejoratively describe a musical band's creative and commercial progress from the innovative path to the tried-and-true-pop-catalogue path. For example,
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79:. The MOR genre creation was an evolutionary outcome of WNEW's reluctance to follow the Top 40 domination and adhere to traditional male and female vocals such as
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In time, as the listener demographic groups aged and popular music migrated to FM radio, MOR stations found themselves competing with
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said MOR "applied to radio formats that shun or put stringent tempo and volume restrictions on rock, although 'lite' and '
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states: "The band peppered the 80s with a number of hot singles (most of which can be found on the unstoppable side A of
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Tell it all brother: Why you should dig the groovy music of Kenny Rogers and the First
Edition-Medium
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415:
Russo, Alexander (2018). "Radio in the
Television Era: 1950sā2000s". In Bodroghkozy, Aniko (ed.).
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genre. Music associated with this term is strongly melodic and uses techniques of
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95:. The term "Middle of Road" was the creation of WNEW program director Dick Carr.
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The middle of the road music category has traditionally included these genres:
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213:, MOR's heyday was the 1960s and the 1970s. The 50,000-watt AM radio stations
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and light orchestral arrangements. The format was eventually rebranded as
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were notable performers in the middle of the road genre. Writing in
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and rock stations. Middle of the road was famously associated with
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infiltrated the MOR market in the late 1960s. In the early 1970s,
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326:) before departing for MOR country.", while on a later review of
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443:. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 1538102153, 9781538102152.
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222:
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417:
A Companion to the
History of American Broadcasting
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579:Early '70s Radio: The American Format Revolution
245:in Hartford, Connecticut; and Canadian stations
253:in Vancouver, British Columbia, were known as "
167:and, later, revivalist recordings of the style
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265:FM stations and AM stations broadcasting the
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300:(rock) are considered middle of the road.
582:. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 62.
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453:Christgau, Robert (September 19, 1977).
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397:element that mainly carried MOR artists
362:wandered off into the MOR wilderness."
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441:Historical Dictionary of Popular Music
419:. John Wiley & Sons. p. 138.
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724:. In Sterling, Christopher H. (ed.).
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71:stations; their flagship station was
629:Lynskey, Dorian (3 December 2003).
147:' are now the preferred evasions."
37:) is a commercial radio format and
24:
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500:Encyclopedia of Radio 3-Volume Set
136:Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s
25:
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497:Sterling, Christopher H (2004).
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613:Frere-Jones, Sasha. "On Top".
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487:. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
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1:
691:Tangari, Joe (June 6, 2005).
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205:As an AM radio format in the
660:"Train : She's On Fire"
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233:in Los Angeles, California;
225:in New York City, New York;
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722:"Middle of the Road Format"
679:Top 100 Albums of the 1980s
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229:in Minneapolis, Minnesota;
33:(also known by its acronym
10:
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619:, 3 April 2006, pp. 76ā77.
336:, Pitchfork writes that: "
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377:Album-oriented rock (AOR)
720:Engstrom, Erika (2004).
524:Keightley, Keir (2008).
503:. Routledge. p. 4.
249:in Toronto, Ontario and
241:in Seattle, Washington;
631:"Christmas in Popworld"
358:, among others, before
276:Unforgettable Favorites
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115:the Johnny Mann Singers
47:soft adult contemporary
27:Commercial radio format
576:Simpson, Kate (2011).
439:Abjorensen, N. (2017)
221:in Detroit, Michigan;
726:Encyclopedia of Radio
565:MOR/Nostalgia/Vintage
217:in Cincinnati, Ohio;
119:Simon & Garfunkel
668:. 12 September 2005.
455:"Pazz and Jop Diary"
53:Etymology and usage
826:Middle of the road
372:Full service radio
267:Music of Your Life
263:adult contemporary
190:songs and melodies
151:Traditional format
145:adult contemporary
31:Middle of the road
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107:the 5th Dimension
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821:Lounge music
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681:. Pitchfork.
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633:– via
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466:December 29,
464:. Retrieved
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389:, a defunct
387:MOR Music TV
359:
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312:s review of
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294:Kenny Rogers
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30:
29:
816:Light music
693:"Coldplay:
391:music video
314:Duran Duran
182:Smooth jazz
170:Orchestral
131:John Denver
866:Categories
739:1135456496
510:1135456496
402:References
382:Middlebrow
340:recorded '
177:Show tunes
730:Routledge
702:Pitchfork
306:Pitchfork
283:Criticism
274:Memories/
188:Soft rock
99:Soft rock
93:Peggy Lee
552:40071710
366:See also
328:Coldplay
290:Westlife
184:melodies
139:(1990),
111:Bee Gees
77:New York
811:Exotica
695:X&Y
352:', and
333:X&Y
292:(pop),
196:ballads
172:ballads
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211:Canada
109:, the
65:Top 40
831:Muzak
548:JSTOR
310:'
298:Train
123:Bread
734:ISBN
584:ISBN
505:ISBN
468:2018
421:ISBN
360:they
348:', '
344:', '
269:and
251:CKNW
247:CFRB
243:WTIC
239:KOMO
237:and
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231:KMPC
227:WCCO
223:WNEW
209:and
201:Peak
129:and
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538:doi
350:Bad
330:'s
324:Rio
319:Rio
316:'s
219:WJR
215:WLW
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