The early 1970s were a solid era for music. In fact, more than a few rock and pop songs made their debut in 1972, specifically. But what about the underrated tracks from that year? What about the prog, soul, and R&B hits that made it far on the Billboard Hot 100, but don’t get nearly as much love on the radio today? Let’s look at a few forgotten and somewhat lost songs from 1972.
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“Roundabout” by Yes
How about a little bit of early prog to transport you back in time? “Roundabout” by Yes hit the airwaves in January of 1972 in the US, and the song was a quick hit for the band. Penned by Steve Howe and Jon Anderson, this gem of a record catapulted straight to No. 13 on the Hot 100 chart, and also reached No. 10 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart. Today, “Roundabout” is one of Yes’ signature tunes and has made it to just about every concert the group has put on. And yet, I just don’t hear it on classic rock radio much nowadays. What gives?
“Baby Let Me Take You (In My Arms)” by The Detroit Emeralds
I couldn’t leave this soul hit off our list of forgotten and lost songs from 1972. “Baby Let Me Take You (In My Arms)” by The Detroit Emeralds dropped in May of that year, and it was a quick hit in the US. Namely, this soul tune made it to No. 24 on the Hot 100 and No. 4 on the R&B chart.
While I don’t often hear this song out in the wild nowadays, it has been sampled by quite a few artists through the years. Eazy-E first famously sampled “Baby Let Me Take You (In My Arms)” in his 1988 song “Eazy-Duz-It”. Artists like De La Soul, Deja Vu, and Joe Budden have all sampled the song as well through the years.
“Walking In The Rain With The One I Love” by Love Unlimited
This R&B jam makes it to our list of lost and forgotten songs from 1972, and it’s just crazy to me that I haven’t heard this song in years before writing this list. “Walking In The Rain With The One I Love” by Love Unlimited made it all the way to No. 14 on the Hot 100 chart back in 1972, and it did even better on the R&B and Cash Box Top 100 charts. This soulful trio’s song also did very well in the UK and Canada.
If the title of this song doesn’t ring a bell, give it a spin. Barry White’s vocals via the telephone are an immediate throwback.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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