Middle of the road (MOR) music is a commercial radio format (rather than a musical genre) which encompasses several styles. MOR music is broadly popular music, but not technically avant-garde; generally, it is strongly melodic and often features vocal harmony technique and orchestral arrangements. During the 1960s and the 1970s, the Beautiful Music radio stations were “MOR radio”, while its contemporary analogues are the Smooth Jazz and the Soft AC formats.

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  • Middle of the road (MOR) music is a commercial radio format (rather than a musical genre) which encompasses several styles. MOR music is broadly popular music, but not technically avant-garde; generally, it is strongly melodic and often features vocal harmony technique and orchestral arrangements. During the 1960s and the 1970s, the Beautiful Music radio stations were “MOR radio”, while its contemporary analogues are the Smooth Jazz and the Soft AC formats. Conceived as a format that would include music of almost universal appeal due to its pool of broadly popular performers and its gently inoffensive sentimentality, it is often the format of choice for doctors' offices, waiting rooms, department stores, and other public and semi-public places of business. The combination of the music's largely unchallenging, decorous quality and its association with being piped in to places one is compelled to remain has drawn the format its detractors. The MOR format has largely replaced what was once referred to as elevator music, or Muzak — anonymous, instrumental versions of such popular but mild tunes in blander arrangements designed to lull the listener. Yet, ironically, the stigma of being unwelcome background music has transferred to the MOR genre if only because of its similar usage. The middle of the road music category usually includes these genres: Easy listening Traditional pop music of the pre-rock & roll era; and, later, imitative recordings of the style Orchestral ballads Musical theater songs Smooth jazz melodies Soft rock songs and melodies Quiet Storm As an AM radio format in North America, MOR’s heyday was the 1960s and the 1970s. The 50,000-watt AM radio stations WLW in Cincinnati, Ohio, WJR in Detroit, Michigan, WNEW in New York City, New York, WCCO in Minneapolis, Minnesota, KMPC in Los Angeles, California, and CFRB in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, were known as "full-service MOR" stations with scheduled programming other than the MOR music. In that time, as the listener demographic groups aged, and popular music emigrated to FM radio, MOR stations competed with adult contemporary FM stations and AM stations broadcasting the Music of Your Life and adult standards formats, most eliminated music and transmitted only news and talk programs; some continued to play MOR music until the early 1990s. Currently, the MOR style of sound is in the catalogue of the modern adult standards music format.
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  • Middle of the road (MOR) music is a commercial radio format (rather than a musical genre) which encompasses several styles. MOR music is broadly popular music, but not technically avant-garde; generally, it is strongly melodic and often features vocal harmony technique and orchestral arrangements. During the 1960s and the 1970s, the Beautiful Music radio stations were “MOR radio”, while its contemporary analogues are the Smooth Jazz and the Soft AC formats.
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  • Middle of the road (music)
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