The unlikely 1972 chart feat that proves the decade belonged to prog-rock
When you look back on the prime prog-rock era of the 1970s, sometimes it comes across as a test of how far bands could take things before the audience finally cracked.
Yes, the whole point of the genre was that it was meant to be weird. Every warbling song and zany instrumentation was constructed in such a way that it was primarily intended to make the mind boggle, never mind also leaving your ears ringing. Prog’s dividing status was its primary source of pride, because it was never meant to be for everyone, and they didn’t want the people who didn’t understand to be in their gang.
But even by its own dizzying standards, a 43-minute song is taking things to a whole new level. Compare that to 2026, and you have some fully-fleshed albums that don’t even clock in at that length. Yet if you needed any proof that prog-rock was a law all unto itself, ‘Thick as a Brick’ by Jethro Tull would demonstrate just that.
The band were, of course, the kings of prog if ever you’d seen them. However, in taking that title, they had no choice but to pick up and run with it, and therefore, in 1972, the warbling wrath of ‘Thick as a Brick’ was unleashed. In many ways, that was the most fitting possible title you could get, because the music was more than a little dense.
Yet despite the song being presented as one continuous suite, spanning over two sides of an LP, something unusual happened. People were completely enamoured and enthralled by it, at least for the novelty of the concept if not also for the dizzying heights of the composition itself. As such, Jethro Tull ceremoniously graced the number one spot, unsurprisingly achieving history in its wake.
How did this help to define prog-rock as the main genre of the 1970s?
Given how hurtlingly bizarre prog can seem in a modern context, it’s perhaps easy to lose sight of just how massive and significant it was during its ‘70s prime. Remember, this came directly off the back of an era of swirling psychedelia heralded in the late ‘60s, so audiences were likely more primed than they are now to hear something unconventional, in every sense of the word.
But prog also represented far more than just another rock and roll facet. Its precise blend and foray into other genres, such as classical and jazz, made a sound that could have been run of the mill into a textural jungle of new discoveries and possibilities, all at the hands of those who were willing and open-minded enough to travel on the adventure.
A 43-minute song reaching number one was just a single part of that, since the most successful bands of the genre, Jethro Tull prime among them, had tens of highly-charting albums and singles alike during that early ‘70s period. Sure, the trend didn’t carry on forever, but it was certainly interesting while it lasted.
That proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that the ‘70s was prog’s time to shine. There were plenty of other genres that came along beside it, from glam to punk rock, but none were as enduring or required as much commitment. Prog was not just a sound but a belief and a way of being, and Jethro Tull were the best testament to that.
