4 Soft Rock Gems From the Late 1970s by Artists Previously Known for Heavier Stuff

If you’re a musician who wants to stay relevant over a long period of time, you sometimes have to make adjustments. What works at one point in your career might struggle to connect later as tastes change with time. The four songs below all came from artists known at one point for heavier, bluesier music. But they went the soft rock ballad route quite successfully when the times called for it.

“Sentimental Lady” by Bob Welch

The most popular version of Fleetwood Mac, the one known for the Rumours album and a passel of hits in the 70s and 80s, was just one of many incarnations of the group. Before Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks came aboard, the band relied on more of a blues-rock sound. And their artistic direction was spearheaded by a series of talented lead guitarists. Bob Welch filled that role for the group from 1971 to 1974. In the second half of the decade, he found success via a somewhat softer approach with “Sentimental Lady”. He recorded it with Mac in 1972, brought it back as a solo artist five years later, and watched it soar to the US Top 10.

“We Just Disagree” by Dave Mason

Dave Mason enjoyed success with the band Traffic in the late 60s, writing and singing lead on some of their biggest hits. As a writer, he also thrived when artists like Joe Cocker and Delaney & Bonnie delivered hit covers of his work. As a solo artist, Mason sold his share of albums. But singles’ success eluded him for the most part. In 1977, Mason, sensing the shift towards soft rock in terms of what radio favored, recorded the melancholy ballad “We Just Disagree”. Jim Krueger, a member of his touring band, wrote the song. Mason immediately realized that the lament for a relationship beset by conflict was a winner. The US public agreed, sending it to No. 12 on the pop charts.

“You And Me” by Alice Cooper

The man born Vincent Furnier essentially assumed the identity Alice Cooper as the 70s progressed. (It had started as the name of his band.) As the years passed, Cooper cannily realized the shock tactics of his live show were fine for concerts. But if he wanted to maintain the success he’d enjoyed with the band as a solo act, he’d have to temper the approach for radio. Working often with co-songwriter Dick Wagner and producer Bob Ezrin, he developed a winning formula on a series of concept albums. “You And Me” wasn’t the first ballad he released as a single. But it was the most successful in terms of chart success, reaching No. 9 in 1977.

“Fooled Around And Fell In Love” by Elvin Bishop

California native Elvin Bishop was already on a blues rock kick while other American rock musicians were aping the British Invasion acts of the 60s. The music scene came around his way eventually, and he started to sell a bunch of albums in the early 70s. But his brand of blues purism didn’t exactly set the pop charts alight. For his 1976 album Struttin’ His Stuff, Bishop penned a loping, soulful soft rock song called “Fooled Around And Fell In Love”. He didn’t think he was right to sing it, however. Instead, he handed off vocal duties to Mickey Thomas, part of Bishop’s touring band. The song hit No. 3 in 1976. Thomas used the notoriety to eventually get him a lead singing gig with Jefferson Starship.

(Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)

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