3 Soft Rock Songs From 1971 That Had Baby Boomers Crying by the Radio

Quite a few baby boomers heard the following soft rock ballads from 1971 and found themselves in tears by the songs’ respective endings. These tearjerkers might even still have the same effect today, more than half a century after they were first released. Get your tissues ready, and let’s dive in.

“So Far Away” by Carole King from ‘Tapestry’

“Long ago I reached for you and there you stood / Holding you again could only do me good / How I wish I could / But you’re so far away.”

If you’ve ever been separated from the one you love, this Carole King classic likely got under your skin when you first heard it on the radio. “So Far Away” by Carole King resonated deeply with listeners at the time, and it peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

“Rainy Days And Mondays” by The Carpenters from ‘Carpenters’

“Talkin’ to myself and feelin’ old / Sometimes I’d like to quit / Nothin’ ever seems to fit.”

The Carpenters dropped a few tearjerkers in their heyday, but this melancholic soft rock classic about feeling alone and isolated really resonated with listeners at the time in 1971. “Rainy Days And Mondays” by The Carpenters was a success for the duo, peaking at No. 2 on the Hot 100 chart and No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart in the US.

“That’s The Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be” by Carly Simon from ‘Carly Simon’

“My friends from college, they’re all married now / They have their houses and their lawns / They have their silent noons / Tearful nights, angry dawns.”

This song is on the darker side of soft rock, but it’s poignant and emotional enough to earn a spot on our list of songs from 1971 that had baby boomers crying by the radio. Carly Simon gets vulnerable about her anxious view of marriage and romantic relationships, and a lot of listeners at the time resonated with it.

“That’s The Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be” by Carly Simon was a No. 10 hit on the Hot 100, and it also reached the Top 10 on the Adult Contemporary and Cash Box Top 100 charts in the US.

(Photo by Jim McCrary/Redferns)