Introduction

At this writing, rock music has had a history of nearly half a century-longer if one considers the roots of rock and roll to extend farther back into the work of certain rhythm and blues or country artists. Over the last twenty years, rock’s history has become a part of academic study, attracting the attention of researchers in musicology, music theory, gender studies, communications, and social sciences, among other fields. While such diverse perspec- tives have enriched the study of most genres of popular music, progressive rock has until now been explored pri- marily by music theorists, musicologists, and fans (who have often lacked a necessary critical perspective).