Does El Paso Think Foo Fighters are CLASSIC ROCK?

Last week it was announced that Foo Fighters will play for the first time ever in El Paso on October 5th at the Don Haskins Center.

The tickets for the show sold out during the PRE-sale period so that speaks to what a loyal fan base the band has in El Paso.

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Also, the Foos released the first single off their new album today and I noticed something that I was slightly taken aback by. In some of the records and radio trade journals I saw Foo Fighters referred to as “classic rockers”.

I wasn’t aware of this, but the Foo Fighters NEW music gets played on some CLASSIC rock radio stations.

So today’s question is: are Foo Fighters a “classic rock” band?

I say “yes” and I’ll explain why. First, though, I can see the argument from both sides.

Foo Fighter’s first record came out almost 30 years ago in 1995. If you were very young in ’95 (or not even born yet) Foo Fighters have been a super-famous rock band your entire life. Naturally, you probably think of them as “classic rock”.

If you are old enough to remember 1995, it might be nigh impossible for you to think of them as classic rock.

In 1995, “classic rock” bands were bands that came out of the ’60s (Stones, Doors, Zeppelin) or ’70s (Steve Miller, REO Speedwagon, Styx).

Maybe…MAYBE…some bands that first hit the scene in the late-70s/early-80s (The Cars, possibly U2).

I’m in that second category of fans who already had it established in their minds what “classic rock” referred to. BUT…I actually DO think of Foo Fighters as classic rock.

The term “classic rock” both as a music genre and a radio format didn’t really emerge until the early 1980s.

There were “oldies” stations but they played music from people like Elvis, Buddy Holly, and Little Richard. Classic Rock station played bands from ten or twenty years before.

Led Zeppelin and Jimi, and Hendrix, for sure…but very early Beatles is about as far back as they would go.

So, the original “classic rock” seemed to refer to “rock music that was popular 10 to 20 years ago”.

By that standard, Foo Fighters have BEEN classic rock for at least 10 years.

If you combine the almost 30 years Foo Fighters have been around AND the fact that they’ve remained musically relevant (see: El Paso concert sold out in two hours)…that makes them “classic” rock in every sense of the word.