Soft rock is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music (often combined with elements from folk rock and singer-songwriter pop) to compose a softer, more toned-down sound. Soft rock songs generally tend to focus on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synthesizers and sometimes saxophones. The electric guitars in soft rock are normally faint and high-pitched.

History[link]

Neal Schon of Journey

From the late 1960s it became common to divide mainstream rock music into soft and hard rock,^[1] with both emerging as major radio formats in the US.^[2] Soft rock was often derived from folk rock, using acoustic instruments and putting more emphasis on melody and harmonies. Major artists included Carole King, Cat Stevens and James Taylor.^[3] It reached its commercial peak in the mid- to late 70s with acts like Billy Joel, Elton John, Chicago, America and the reformed Fleetwood Mac, whose Rumours (1977) was the best-selling album of the decade.^[4] By 1977, some radio stations, like New York's WTFM and WYNY, had switched to an all-soft-rock format.^[5] By the 1980s, tastes had changed and radio formats reflected this change, including musical artists such as Journey.^[6][7] The radio format evolved into what came to be known as "adult contemporary" or "Adult Album Alternative", a format that has less overt rock bias than its forebear radio categorisation.^[8]

See also[link]

• Power ballad
• Adult contemporary music
• Yacht Rock

Soft Rock portal

References[link]

v t e Pop rock Arena rock · Baroque pop · Dream pop · Emo-pop · Glam metal · Glam punk · Glam rock · Manila Sound · Pop punk · Power pop · Soft rock · Sunshine pop Category:Rock music · Portal:Rock music

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Terence Boylan is an American singer/songwriter.

Brought up in Buffalo, New York, Terry Boylan first appeared on local radio in the late 1950s performing a song he had written at the age of 11. While still in his mid teens, in the early 1960s, he performed in Greenwich Village and, following a chance meeting with Bob Dylan, was encouraged to pursue a solo music career in upstate New York. He attended Bard College in New York, and with his older brother John formed a band, the Ginger Men. By 1967, they had both signed with Verve Records, for whom they then recorded an experimental concept album, Playback, issued in the name of the Appletree Theatre.

After John Boylan moved to California, Terence stayed in New York, returned to college, and played with classmates Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. With them, he cut a solo LP, Alias Boona in 1969, the title referring to his nickname. He then moved to California, working again with his brother. After a few years he was signed to Asylum Records, and recorded his self-titled second album in 1977. Like his previous record, this was well received by critics but was never more than a cult success. However, Boylan did enjoy some success as a songwriter when Iain Matthews turned his song "Shake It" into a top five hit.

Following a third album, Suzy, Boylan has principally involved himself with songwriting and soundtrack work, and his own record label and publishing company, Spinnaker Records.

At the age of 9, Boylan sent a letter to the U.S. National Institutes of Health requesting a $10 "grant" to build a rocket ship. The peer review panel was so impressed with the young boy's initiative that they each contributed money to total $10 to send to Boylan.^[1] He has since been a big supporter of science, science education, and medical research. He is executive director of the John Boylan Medical Research Foundation which supports research and international scientist exchange fellowships ^[2] and serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Mount Desert Island Biological Lab.^[3] Boylan has also supported children's educational programs at the Center for Scientific Review at the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Discography[link]

• Alias Boona (1969)
• Terence Boylan (1977)
• Suzy (1980)
• Terence Boylan (1999) – (Compilation)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Terence Boylan website

Esau Mwamwaya is a singer from Lilongwe, Malawi. He is best known for his collaboration, The Very Best with London based DJ/production duo Radioclit. His music has been described as an Afro-Western mix of dance, hiphop, pop and the traditional music of Malawi.

Esau Mwamwaya was born in Mzuzu, Malawi, but grew up in the capital, Lilongwe, where he played drums in various bands.^[1] He played with numerous artists including Masaka Band and Evison Matafale.

In 1999 he moved to London and while running a second-hand furniture shop in Clapton, East London, Esau sold a bicycle to the producer from the band Radioclit, Etienne Tron. Radioclit's studio was on the same street as Esau's shop, and eventually, Esau became friends with both Tron and Johan Karlberg aka Radioclit.^[1]

In 2008, the three men worked together to create a project known as 'The Very Best', releasing a critically lauded free mixtape through the label GREEN OWL(^[1]) in collaboration with other indie artists, including M.I.A., Vampire Weekend, Architecture in Helsinki, BLK JKS, Santigold and the Ruby Suns. The songs are sung in Chichewa, the national language of Malawi.^[2]

On the heels of the mixtape, The Very Best produced their first full-length album, Warm Heart of Africa, released digitally in August 2009 and released physically in October 2009 by GREEN OWL and Moshi Moshi. The album features collaborations with Ezra Koenig and M.I.A.

The Very Best is also featured on a track on Crookers debut album, Tons of Friends.^[3]

Winner of 9th Annual Independent Music Awards: World Beat song for "Warm Heart of Africa" featuring Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig

Discography[link]

The Very Best[link]

• Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit are the Very Best (2008)
• Warm Heart of Africa (2009)
• Super Mom (2011)
• MTMTMK (2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Warm Heart of Africa Review
• Warm Heart of Africa Review/Recensione on QuelloCheSento(Italian Language)
• The Very Best Interview