Soft rock is a derivative form of pop rock that originated in the late 1960s in the U.S. region of Southern California and in the United Kingdom. The style smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. Soft rock was prevalent on the radio throughout the 1970s and eventually metamorphosed into a form of the synthesized music of adult contemporary in the 1980s.
Michael Jay Johnson was an American pop, country, and folk singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his 1978 hit song "Bluer Than Blue". He charted four hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and nine more on Hot Country Songs, including two Number One country hits in 1986's "Give Me Wings" and "The Moon Is Still Over Her Shoulder". He also co-wrote "Cain's Blood", the debut single of 1990s country group 4 Runner.
"Building a Mystery" is a song by Sarah McLachlan, from her fourth studio album Surfacing, first released in 1997. At a live performance, Sarah explains the song as being "basically about the fact that we all... have insecurities to hide, and we often do that by putting on a facade." She also goes on to say that "unfortunately, if we just be who we are, that's usually the more attractive and beautiful thing".
"Crying" is a song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson for Orbison's third studio album of the same name (1962). Released in 1961, it was a number 2 hit in the US for Orbison and was covered in 1980 by Don McLean, whose version went to number 1 in the UK.
"From This Moment On" is a song by Canadian singer Shania Twain. It was released as the fourth single from her third studio album, Come On Over (1997). The song was written by Twain, with additional production and songwriting by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. Twain has performed "From This Moment On" on every one of her tours. Both a duet with Bryan White, as well as a solo version were released.
Barbra Streisand is an American actress, singer-songwriter, and author. Her discography consists of 117 singles, 36 studio albums, and 9 compilations, 7 live albums and 15 soundtracks. She is one of the best-selling female music artist of all time, with more than 68.5 million albums in the United States and with a total of 145 million records sold worldwide, making her the best-selling female among the top-selling artists in the United States recognized by the Recording Industry Association of America.
"This Kiss" is a song recorded by American country music singer Faith Hill from her third studio album Faith. It was written by Beth Nielsen Chapman, Robin Lerner and Annie Roboff, and produced by Hill and Byron Gallimore. It was released on February 23, 1998, as the album's first single.
Canadian singer Celine Dion has released 153 singles. At age twelve, Dion collaborated with her mother and brother, Jacques to compose her first song, "Ce n'était qu'un rêve", which was released as a single in Quebec, Canada in 1981. During the 1980s, Dion topped the Quebec chart with six of her singles, including "D'amour ou d'amitié", "Mon ami m'a quittée", and four songs from the Incognito album. In 1985, "Une colombe" won two Félix Awards for Song of the Year and Best Selling Single of the Year. Both "D'amour ou d'amitié" and "Une colombe" were certified gold in Canada. Elsewhere, "Tellement j'ai d'amour pour toi" won the Best Song Award at the World Popular Song Festival in Japan in 1982, and in 1983, Dion became the first Canadian artist to receive a gold record in France for the single "D'amour ou d'amitié". Further success in Europe came when she represented Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1988 with the song "Ne partez pas sans moi", which later won the contest.
"Don't Pull Your Love" is a song written by Brian Potter and Dennis Lambert and originally released in 1971 by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds.
"Written in the Stars" is a 1999 single sung by Elton John and LeAnn Rimes. The song came from the musical Aida, written by Elton John and Tim Rice. In this scene in the musical, Radames informs Aida that he's calling off the wedding. Aida knows that this would ruin her father's escape and tells him he must go through with it. Radames agrees, on condition that she escapes to freedom on a boat he will provide. The two lovers lament the complication of the circumstances of their love together before parting. There are two different recordings of the song, one with Rimes performing the first verse, the other with John.
The Oak Ridge Boys is an American musical group. Originally a gospel group, The Oak Ridge Boys switched its focus to country music in the mid-1970s, releasing a string of hit albums and singles that lasted into the early 1990s. Their discography comprises thirty-one studio albums and fifty-six singles. Their highest-selling album is 1981's Fancy Free, which is certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
"A Love Song" is a song written by Kenny Loggins and Dona Lyn George, first released by the folk-rock duo Loggins and Messina in 1973 on their album Full Sail. Country artist Anne Murray covered the song later that year for her album of the same name.
Leonard Cohen was a Canadian singer-songwriter and poet who was active in music from 1967 until his death in 2016. Cohen released 14 studio albums and eight live albums during the course of a recording career lasting almost 50 years, throughout which he remained an active poet. His entire catalogue is available on Columbia Records. His 1967 debut Songs of Leonard Cohen earned an RIAA gold record; he followed up with three more highly acclaimed albums: Songs from a Room (1969), Songs of Love and Hate (1971) and New Skin for the Old Ceremony (1974), before allowing Phil Spector to produce Death of a Ladies' Man for Warner Bros. Records in 1977. Cohen returned to Columbia in 1979 for Recent Songs, but the label declined to release his next album, Various Positions (1984) in the US, leaving it to American shops to import it from CBS Canada. In 1988, Columbia got behind Cohen again and gave full support to I'm Your Man, which brought his career to new heights, and Cohen followed it with 1992's The Future. Cohen then took a nine-year hiatus, and returned with Ten New Songs in 2001, which he made with Sharon Robinson, following this with Dear Heather (2004). In 2008 Cohen began touring for the first time in 15 years and, as well as the release of several live albums, he released Old Ideas (2012), which peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 albums chart. This was the highest ranking ever for a Leonard Cohen album, and it became his first to top the Canadian Albums Chart, a feat he repeated with his follow-up, Popular Problems, released in 2014. Cohen released his final studio album, You Want It Darker, in October 2016, only 19 days prior to his death. A posthumous album titled Thanks for the Dance was released on November 22, 2019. His live albums included Live Songs (1973), Cohen Live: Leonard Cohen in Concert (1994), Live in London (2009), Songs from the Road (2010), from his 2008–2009 world tour, and Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 (2009).
The discography of The Band, a rock group, consists of ten studio albums, nine live albums, nine compilation albums, and thirty-three singles, as well as two studio and two live albums in collaboration with Bob Dylan. They were active from 1964 to 1976, and from 1983 to 1999.
"Me and You and a Dog Named Boo" is the 1971 debut single by Lobo. Written by Lobo under his real name Kent LaVoie, it appears on the Introducing Lobo album.
"Lovin' Her Was Easier " is a song written, composed, first recorded, and first released by Kris Kristofferson. It was also recorded and released by Roger Miller, who included it on his album The Best of Roger Miller and released it as a single in July 1971. Ten years later, it was recorded by Tompall & the Glaser Brothers for the album Lovin' Her Was Easier.
"Sing High, Sing Low" is a single by Canadian country pop artist Anne Murray. It was the first single from her album Straight, Clean and Simple. In early 1971, it peaked at number 1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart as well as the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart.
"Hello Mom" is a single co-written by Terry Carisse and performed by Canadian country music group the Mercey Brothers. The song peaked at number 1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart on June 19, 1971. It also reached number 1 on the RPM Adult Contemporary chart.
"Old Bill Jones" is a ragtime popular song published in 1897 with words and music credited to Lew Sully, published by Howley Haveland & Co., New York. The song has similarities to older folk songs such as Old Dan Tucker.
"The Days of Sand and Shovels" is a song written by Doyle Marsh and George Reneau, and recorded by American country music artist Waylon Jennings. It was released in April 1969 as the second single from his compilation album The Best of Waylon Jennings. The song peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. It also reached number 1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.
