3 Soft Rock Songs That Defined Summer for Millions of Americans in 1979

In the mood for some soft rock songs from 1979? These three iconic hits really defined the sound of the summer that year, and many a 70s kid likely still remembers them. Let’s take a look! You might even want to add these tunes to your own modern-day summertime playlist.

“Love Takes Time” by Orleans from ‘Forever’

“But love takes time / And it’s hard to find / You gotta take some time / To let love grow, whoa.”

This tune from Orleans has that breezy, melody-driven sound that would make it a summertime classic in basically any time period. “Love Takes Time” dropped in March of that year and sped up the charts just in time for summer break. This pop rock classic peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 13 on the Easy Listening chart.

“You Can’t Change That” by Raydio from ‘Rock On’

“You can change the color of your hair / And you can change the clothes you wear / But you’ll never change the way I care / No, you can’t change that.”

“You Can’t Change That” by Raydio is a bit of a deep cut, but it’s one that defined summer in 1979 for quite a few fans of yacht rock, funk, and soul. That groove is just on another level. “You Can’t Change That” was quite a hit on the charts, too, peaking at No. 9 on the Hot 100 chart. It also did quite well internationally. Just try not to get up and dance when this banger comes on.

“Dance Away” by Roxy Music from ‘Manifesto’

“Dance away the heartache / Dance away the tears / Dance away the heartache / Dance away the fears.”

A Roxy Music hit makes it to our list of soft rock summer songs from 1979, and I can’t help but feel that this romantic, polished soft rock classic deserves more love in retrospect. “Dance Away” remains one of the group’s most famous songs among their fans, though, and it did quite well back in April 1979. “Dance Away” peaked at No. 2 in the UK and No. 1 in Ireland, though it was only a moderate hit in the US.

(Photo by Pete Still/Redferns)