Power Dancin’ in me Bones

Per Wikipedia:

Simon Frith, the British sociomusicologist and former rock critic, identifies the origins of the power ballad in the emotional singing of soul artists, particularly Ray Charles, and the adaptation of this style by performers such as Eric Burdon, Tom Jones, and Joe Cocker to produce slow-tempo songs often building to a loud and emotive chorus backed by drums, electric guitars, and sometimes choirs.[13] According to Charles Aaron, power ballads came into existence in the early 1970s, when rock stars attempted to convey profound messages to audiences.[14]

Aaron argues that the power ballad broke into the mainstream of American consciousness in 1976 as FM radio gave a new lease of life to earlier songs such as Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” (1971), Aerosmith’s “Dream On” (1973), and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird” (1974).[14] The Carpenters’ “Goodbye to Love” (1972) has also been identified as a prototype of the power ballad.[15]

Notable power ballad examples include Nazareth’s version of “Love Hurts” (1975),[13] Heart’s “What About Love” (1985)[16] and Poison’s “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” (1988).[17]

Journey’s power ballad, “Faithfully”, a late addition to the group’s Frontiers (1983) album, inspired Prince, who obtained the blessing of Journey’s singer/songwriter Jonathan Cain, before releasing what was to become Prince’s signature song, “Purple Rain” (1984).[18]

A rock ballad is generally a composition with emotion at its core. Often they’re love songs, but can be anything revolving around an emotional topic.

Pretty much anything that stirs your heart and get’s you thinking deep within yourself falls into this category with me. Fortunately for us here in the cornfield, all but two of those examples is permitted.