Soft rock (also known as light rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which 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.

By the early 1970s, softer songs by the Carpenters, Anne Murray, John Denver, Barry Manilow, and even Barbra Streisand began to be played more often on "top 40" radio and others were added to the mix on many adult contemporary stations.

Major artists of that time included Bread, Carly Simon, Carole King, Cat Stevens, James Taylor, Lobo and Gilbert O'Sullivan who achieved number-one hit singles between 1970 and 1972 with "Nothing Rhymed", "Alone Again (Naturally)" and "Clair".




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