Tropical Rock

Tropical rock, also called trop rock or Gulf and Western, is a style of American popular music that fuses rock, country, folk and pop with Caribbean elements of reggae, calypso and zydeco. Centred on acoustic guitar and coloured by steel drums, congas, marimba and steel guitar, it is defined less by technique than by subject and setting: songs of beaches, boats, bars and escape from working life. *Jimmy Buffett*, who developed the style after relocating to Key West in the 1970s, remains its defining figure, and his success built a durable subculture of festivals, radio and fan communities around the music.