Do You Like Soft Rock?

My reflex answer to that question is NO! I like to rock hard and I like music with drive - AC/DC, Pearl Jam, Blue Oyster Cult. But in researching soft rock styles, I uncovered a softer side. Some of my favorite performers are categorized as soft rock or the edgier pop rock: Elton John, the Beatles, Blondie, Neil Diamond (I can't help it; I like him.). Illustrating this post is the quintessential, and one of the best, soft rockers of the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s, James Taylor.

Look over these descriptions and lists of soft rock styles and discover where you stand on the question. Information is condensed from allmusic, the incredible and comprehensive music web site.

Soft Rock
Soft rock emerged in the early 1970s as a reaction to the extremes of the late 60s. Bands like Bread, Chicago, and the Carpenters took a melodic song and heightened it with lush production. Soft rock was easy to listen to and dominated the airwaves in the 70s before giving way to the sound of adult contemporary in the 80s. At Niles, some of these artists are in (P)opular and some are in (R)ock

• America (R)
• Jackson Browne (R)
• The Carpenters (R)
• Chicago (R)
• Neil Diamond (P)
• Fleetwood Mac (R)
• Hall & Oates (R)
• Billy Joel (R)
• Elton John (R)
• Carole King (R)
• Paul McCartney (R)
• Michael McDonald (R)
• Linda Rondstadt (R)
• Todd Rundgren (R)
• James Taylor (R)

Stay tuned to this blog for the next installments in this series, Adult Contemporary and Pop Rock.