Raised on Radio: Power Ballads, Cocaine and Payola: The AOR Glory Years 1976-1986

There is no form of American-made music that has been as critically derided, or shunned, as AOR.The blues, punk, hip-hop, alt-rock, country-rock, R&B, jazz, rock 'n' roll and soul.All are canonised. Trad country and disco have long since been re-appraised.Even hair metal has its champions. Yet there has hardly been a positive critical word published about AOR.But this speaks far more to the prejudices and blind spots of music critics than it does about the actual music.The plain fact is, AOR artists were responsible for some of the hugest selling and timeless records of the era.Five bands stand tall as AOR's leading lights: Journey, Boston, Foreigner, Toto and REO Speedwagon.Between them, they have to date sold over 335 million records worldwide.Aside from these five bands, there is then a second tier of multi-platinum AOR acts and including the likes of Styx, Survivor, Pat Benatar, Heart, Kansas, Bryan Adams, Loverboy, Night Ranger, Billy Squier and more. During the period covering 19