Tropical rock
Encyclopedia
Tropical rock is a genre of popular music that incorporates elements and influences of rock and roll
, reggae
, country music
, caribbean
and zydeco
, with themes and musical compositions inspired by an island style that represent a way of life that is relaxing and exotic. Trop-Rock should not be confused with the format of Radio Tropical, which is a generic term for Latin and Caribbean music formats, usually in Spanish
.
Although today tropical rock is usually associated with southern Florida
and the Gulf Coast of the United States
, the roots of tropical rock are in the Southern California
beach music of the 1960s with artists like Jan and Dean
and The Beach Boys
.
Although no one knows where the term Trop Rock originated, many relate it to the musical sound of Jimmy Buffett. In the early to mid 80's,Jimmy Buffett, Bertie Higgins, The original Key Lime Pie Band out of Big Pine Key,and E.C.Davis out of Islamorada, were instrumental in the development of TroRock Music.They were all recording artists of this type of music.Also at that time was the Barefootman in the Cayman Islands. It is also called California Beach Sound. There are now many singers and composers within the genre of Trop-Rock throughout the United States. Some of the most popular bands in Trop-Rock genre include: A1A, The Barefoot Man, Blind Manifest, Boat Drunks, Captain Quint, E.C. Davis, Gary PhilipS, Michael Sea and Island Fever, Jimmy Parrish and the Ocean Waves Band,Jerry Diaz & Hanna's Reef, Conch Republic, Jake and the Half Conched Band, Jim Morris, Jack Mosley, Jimmy & The Parrots, John Friday, The Landsharks, Latitude, Northern Harbor, Danny Taddei, Mile Marker 24 Band, Leo Dean, Sunny Jim (James White), Troy Allan, PHINS, Jimi Pappas, Joe Bennett,Swampabbean, Calypso Nuts, Jim Lanier, The Tsunami Wave Riders, Harbor Knights and Young Rebel Goombas. Mainstream artists like Jack Johnson
and Kenny Chesney
have songs in the trop rock genre.
In the year 2000, Cleveland, Ohio DJ Dennis King started Island Time Radio, featuring island style music. In 2006, Lewis University
's radio station, WLRA
-FM, began programming this format on the air in Chicago and streaming world wide all day Saturday Conch Republic Radio streams Trop Rock music from The Florida Keys and Key West. Radio Margaritaville
, available on Sirius XM Radio, also plays much of the genre, with a particular focus on Buffett.
The Trop Rock Music Association gives out the Trop Rock Music Awards at the annual Meeting of the Minds Parrothead convention in Key West Florida in November.
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and zydeco
Zydeco
Zydeco is a form of uniquely American roots or folk music. It evolved in southwest Louisiana in the early 19th century from forms of "la la" Creole music...
, with themes and musical compositions inspired by an island style that represent a way of life that is relaxing and exotic. Trop-Rock should not be confused with the format of Radio Tropical, which is a generic term for Latin and Caribbean music formats, usually in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
.
Although today tropical rock is usually associated with southern Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and the Gulf Coast of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the roots of tropical rock are in the Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
beach music of the 1960s with artists like Jan and Dean
Jan and Dean
Jan and Dean were a rock and roll duo, popular from the late 1950s through the mid 1960s, consisting of William Jan Berry and Dean Ormsby Torrence...
and The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
.
Although no one knows where the term Trop Rock originated, many relate it to the musical sound of Jimmy Buffett. In the early to mid 80's,Jimmy Buffett, Bertie Higgins, The original Key Lime Pie Band out of Big Pine Key,and E.C.Davis out of Islamorada, were instrumental in the development of TroRock Music.They were all recording artists of this type of music.Also at that time was the Barefootman in the Cayman Islands. It is also called California Beach Sound. There are now many singers and composers within the genre of Trop-Rock throughout the United States. Some of the most popular bands in Trop-Rock genre include: A1A, The Barefoot Man, Blind Manifest, Boat Drunks, Captain Quint, E.C. Davis, Gary PhilipS, Michael Sea and Island Fever, Jimmy Parrish and the Ocean Waves Band,Jerry Diaz & Hanna's Reef, Conch Republic, Jake and the Half Conched Band, Jim Morris, Jack Mosley, Jimmy & The Parrots, John Friday, The Landsharks, Latitude, Northern Harbor, Danny Taddei, Mile Marker 24 Band, Leo Dean, Sunny Jim (James White), Troy Allan, PHINS, Jimi Pappas, Joe Bennett,Swampabbean, Calypso Nuts, Jim Lanier, The Tsunami Wave Riders, Harbor Knights and Young Rebel Goombas. Mainstream artists like Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson (musician)
Jack Johnson was born May 18, 1975 is an American folk rock singer-songwriter, surfer and musician known for his work in the soft rock and acoustic genres. In 2001, he achieved commercial success after the release of his debut album, Brushfire Fairytales. He has since released four more albums, a...
and Kenny Chesney
Kenny Chesney
Kenneth "Kenny" Arnold Chesney is an American country music singer and songwriter. Chesney has recorded 15 albums, 14 of which have been certified gold or higher by the RIAA. He has also produced more than 30 Top Ten singles on the U.S...
have songs in the trop rock genre.
In the year 2000, Cleveland, Ohio DJ Dennis King started Island Time Radio, featuring island style music. In 2006, Lewis University
Lewis University
Lewis University is a private Roman Catholic and Lasallian university located in Romeoville, Illinois, United States . The enrollment is currently around 6,800 students...
's radio station, WLRA
WLRA
WLRA or sometimes called WLRA Radio, or WLRA-FM, is a college radio station broadcasting a Variety format. Licensed to Romeoville, Illinois, USA, the station serves the Chicago/greater Joliet region. The station is licensed to and owned by Lewis University...
-FM, began programming this format on the air in Chicago and streaming world wide all day Saturday Conch Republic Radio streams Trop Rock music from The Florida Keys and Key West. Radio Margaritaville
Radio Margaritaville
Radio Margaritaville is a worldwide Internet radio station owned by Jimmy Buffett. It features 24-hour music and live webcasts of most Jimmy Buffett concerts ....
, available on Sirius XM Radio, also plays much of the genre, with a particular focus on Buffett.
The Trop Rock Music Association gives out the Trop Rock Music Awards at the annual Meeting of the Minds Parrothead convention in Key West Florida in November.