3 Nostalgic Songs From 1971 That Make Me Want To Travel Back in Time

In 1971, rock music was undergoing a pretty significant transformation, although no one could have predicted it at the time. Among the many songs that were released that year are these three nostalgic ones, which are so good that they make me want to travel back in time to when they were first released.

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“American Pie” by Don McLean

A four-week No. 1 single and the biggest hit of his career, Don McLean wrote “American Pie” by himself. The title track of his sophomore album, “American Pie” is about the tragic deaths of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens in a plane crash in 1959.

The death of Holly especially impacted McLean so much, even though he was only 13 at the time.

“I loved his music,” McLean tells Songfacts. “When that whole crash happened, it was a real ache in my heart. So, I ended up bringing back all those memories of 1959 and the things that happened later.”

“American Pie” says, “So, bye-bye, Miss American Pie / Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry / And them good ol’ boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye / Singin’, ‘This’ll be the day that I die / This’ll be the day that I die.’”

The success of “American Pie” is interesting, since the song is more than eight and a half minutes long.

“Joy To The World” by Three Dog Night

Almost anyone can likely still sing along to “Joy To The World” by Three Dog Night. A six-week chart-topping single, Hoyt Axton is the sole writer of the song. It appears on Three Dog Night’s Naturally album.

A feel-good song, even if it doesn’t make a lot of sense, “Joy To The World” says, “Jeremiah was a bull frog / Was a good friend of mine / I never understood a single word he said / But I helped him drink his wine / And he always had some mighty fine wine / Singin’ joy to the world / All the boys and girls, now / Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea / Joy to you and me.”

“You’ve Got A Friend” by James Taylor

It’s impossible not to smile while listening to James Taylor’s “You’ve Got A Friend”. His first No.1 single, the song is written by his real-life good friend, Carole King.

On Taylor’s third studio album, Mud Slide Slim And The Blue Horizon,  the sweet song says, “You just call out my name, and you know wherever I am / I’ll come running, oh yeah baby, to see you again / Winter, spring, summer, or fall / All you got to do is call and I’ll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah / You’ve got a friend.”

The song is reportedly inspired by his “Fire And Rain” single. Although Taylor’s version became a big hit, King also includes “You’ve Got A Friend” on her sophomore Tapestry record.

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