A term invented in the early 1970s to describe acoustic folk-rock and other tuneful, soothing types of popular music that use electric instruments. James Taylor, Neil Young (the early recordings), and Cat Stevens typify the folk element in soft rock; in Los Angeles the pop-rock groups Bread and the Carpenters made polished, soft-rock recordings that the music industry designated ‘middle of the road’. The term is now applied broadly to quieter popular music of all sorts that uses mild rock rhythms and some electric instruments in songs of the ballad type.
STEPHEN HOLDEN