3 Controversial Relationship Songs From the 70s That Deserve Their Own Soap Operas

When it comes to musicians documenting their love lives through song, there’s never a dull moment. Here are a few songs about real relationships from the good ol’ 70s. These had some potential to cause major controversy back in the day.

“Layla” by Derek & The Dominos

With the love triangle between Eric Clapton, George Harrison, and Pattie Boyd, “Layla” is at the center of the action. Clapton wrote this song for Boyd while she was still married to Harrison.

While Boyd expressed that she “wasn’t so happy” about Clapton writing the song, Harrison seemed to have a much different outlook on the whole thing. When asked if he’d ever written a song in response to “Layla”, he told Sounds magazine, “…That sounds nasty. Eric Clapton’s been a close friend for years. I’m very happy about it, I’m still very friendly with him.”

“You’re So Vain” by Carly Simon

If you’ve ever watched the movie How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, you’re likely already familiar with this Carly Simon hit. In 1974, the singer-songwriter admitted in an interview that the song’s diss-like verses weren’t inspired by one specific person.

“…The actual examples that I’ve used in the song are from my imagination, but the stimulus is directly from a couple of different sources…” she told Modern Hi-Fi and Music.

Later, Simon would reveal that the song’s second verse was written about Warren Beatty. Beatty, an actor, dated Simon in the early 70s.

“Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood Mac

As is typical of songs from the Rumours album, “Go Your Own Way” documents Lindsey Buckingham’s breakup with Stevie Nicks. This song doesn’t sound like too crazy of a dig until you’re listening to verse two.

Really, it’s the “shacking up is all you wanna do” line that didn’t particularly strike a chord with the band’s frontwoman.

Even Mick Fleetwood, the drummer of Fleetwood Mac, commented on the controversy that the line caused within the band.

“…There was some conflict about the ‘crackin’ up, shackin’ up’ line,” he admitted to Q Magazine. “Which Stevie felt was unfair, but Lindsey felt strongly about. It was basically, ‘On your bike, girl!’”

Photo by: Rob Verhorst/Redferns