There are quite a few soft rock songs in the 70s that had baby boomers crying right by the radio, including the following 1974 tracks. They might still bring a tear to your eye after all these years.
“Wishing You Were Here” by Chicago from ‘Chicago VII’
“And I’d like to change my life, and you know I would / Just to be with you tonight, baby, if I could.”
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Did you know this little soft rock heartbreaker features backing vocals from The Beach Boys? Well, a few of them. Listen closely, and you’ll hear Dennis and Carl Wilson plus Al Jardine harmonizing in the background. If you missed them the first time around because you were too busy crying over the lyrics, I definitely understand.
The wistful “Wishing You Were Here” was a big hit in 1974. It peaked at No. 1 on the Easy Listening chart and No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Please Come To Boston” by Dave Loggins from ‘Apprentice (In A Musical Workshop)’
“Please come to Boston / She said, ‘No / Would you come home to me?’”
If you’ve ever had to travel for work and desperately wish you could take the person you love with you, this song might just bring a tear to your eye.
“Please Come To Boston” by Dave Loggins was a No. 5 hit on the Hot 100 when it was first released. The folk-leaning song also topped the Easy Listening chart that year, too.
“I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song” by Jim Croce from ‘I Got A Name’
“Every time I tried to tell you / The words just came out wrong / So, I’ll have to say ‘I love you’ in a song.”
This Jim Croce soft rock classic from 1974 had plenty of listeners crying when it was first released. Anything released after his tragic and untimely passing in 1973 has a bittersweet edge to it. But this song was written by Croce when he and his wife were fighting, and he played it for her the following morning. If that doesn’t bring a tear to your eye, I don’t know what will.
“I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song” by Jim Croce was one of several posthumous hits for the late singer-songwriter. It peaked at No. 9 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
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