Piano Pop
tagStarted 1970Peak 1973-1980, 2008-2015Last big hit still active
Pop anchored to the piano rather than the guitar: rolling chords, arpeggiated figures and ballad swells under a confessional vocal. Ranges from gentle music-box intimacy to full-throated, gospel-tinged crescendos. The keyboard sets harmony and momentum, giving these songs a lyrical, theatrical grandeur the acoustic-guitar lane rarely reaches.
History
Elton John and Carole King put the singer at the piano in the early 1970s; Billy Joel's 'Piano Man' (1973) made the instrument a storytelling perch. The mode resurged in the late 2000s with Sara Bareilles, Regina Spektor and Vanessa Carlton's keyboard-driven hits, and again with Adele's piano ballads, proving the format's emotional reach endures.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- Rolling Stone biography: Elton John
- Wikipedia: Piano Man (song)
- AllMusic: Sara Bareilles biography