There’s even a tribute to 1975’s cult film, That’s The Way of the World, in which Harvey Keitel wants to sign Earth, Wind & Fire, but is pressured to help create a new Carpenters-type family act instead. The artist vignettes provide many of the series’ best moments. McDonald and Loggins are saved for the climactic moments of the third episode about the resurgence of ’70s/early-’80s soft rock through Hip-Hop sampling, Yacht Rock, Mamma Mia, American Idol, and more. Those three episodes are structured exactly as the title suggests, but are interspersed with mini-profiles of ’70s/early-’80s acts, including Air Supply, the Captain & Tennille, Ray Parker Jr., Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald, Rupert Holmes, and Hill, who recalls scaring off his first, older girlfriend with the song’s candor and intensity. But even those whose relationship with soft rock is more complicated will be drawn to the three-part documentary that debuts January 3 on Paramount +. Sometimes When We Touch: The Reign, Ruin, and Resurrection of Soft Rock runs with that premise, suggesting that ‘70s/early ‘80s soft rock has found acceptance with younger listeners in the same way as ‘60s garage rock or ‘70s funk, accepted as timeless music that no longer needs to be couched as a guilty pleasure. Those younger listeners never knew they weren’t supposed to like that song. Besides being surprisingly enduring at AC and Classic Hits radio, Dan Hill’s 1977 hit was often liked even more by younger demos than those who had lived through it as a current. Working in radio music research, I noticed something interesting about “Sometimes When We Touch” years ago.
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