Soft Rock & Folk Influences

"This land is your land and this land is my land, sure, but the world is run by those that never listen to music anyway." - Bob Dylan

Having influenced much music of today, the soft rock and folk genres of music created an opening for other artists to fill with their musical talents and songwriting capabilities. Many folk/soft rock artists of the present time admit to being influenced either by the powerful lyrics of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” or the softness and tone of Cat Steven’s voice within “Wild World.”

Originating in the 70’s, the soft rock genre is defined as an unaggressive, melodic style of rock-n-roll in which the focus is the arrangement and lyrics instead of the beat as defined by Dictionary.com. Folk music is often defined as music with simple character and is handed down through oral tradition by common people within a region or country. These genres might be categorized in two different types, but in reality they tie in with one another. Some artists use their folk background and present the mellow, sultriness that soft rock contains.

In an interview in the Huffington Post with Bill Flanagan from Music Television (MTV), Bob Dylan discusses the way he creates songs, all while trying to stick to rules of his folk background. “I might shift paradigms within the same song, but then that structure also has its own rules. And I combine them both; see what works and what doesn't. My range is limited. Some formulas are too complex and I don't want anything to do with them,” Dylan said.

Even though these genres of music are different, they both hold simple beats and clever lyrics, all with symbolic words and meanings that define each artist and music as a whole.