love ballad, rock ballads Listening to a love ballad from the 70's or 80's can be a nostalgic trip to the past, or it can just be a way to listen to a really good song. The music from the early days of rock and roll broke all existing musical paradigms, with both the musical style and the lyrics. The rock and roll era produced some really great music, some of in the form of a love ballad, others in the form of protest songs. The enduring ones are the love ballads that came to mark this era as one of peace and love. It's interesting that this era hailed these ideals, and yet the divorce rate really started climbing once baby boomers were old enough to marry, and sadly, divorce each other too. The lyrics of the rock ballads that expressed the intensity of love and desire were transitory feelings for some, but a lucky few were able to find and spend their lives with the mate of their dreams, as the lyrics to the rock ballads suggested were possible.