3 Songs From 1973 That Teens Couldn’t Stop Playing in Their First Car

Back in 1973, tons of 70s teens who were in high school got their hands on their very first car. It’s a rite of passage, a small step toward adulthood that few teens weren’t excited about. Likewise, those 70s teens likely blasted a ton of music from their new cars in 1973, including the following popular tracks. These tunes might just take you back in time.

“Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” by Jim Croce from ‘Life And Times’

Those comedic lyrics, that insanely catchy chorus… Plenty of adults loved “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” by Jim Croce, but tons of teens also loved it, too. The boogie-woogie song was all over the radio in 1973, so it wasn’t exactly easy to avoid either way.

“Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” by Jim Croce was a big hit in 1973, peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also did well in Canada.

“Smoke On The Water” by Deep Purple from ‘Machine Head’

Many a young hard rock fan became obsessed with the genre after listening to Ritchie Blackmore’s killer guitar riff in “Smoke On The Water”. In fact, I’d be bold enough to say that this song encouraged many a 70s teen to pick up the guitar themselves.

“Smoke On The Water” by Deep Purple is a legendary rock song today, but it was also quite popular when it first dropped. The song peaked at No. 4 on the Hot 100 and No. 3 on the Cash Box Top 100. Today, “Smoke On The Water” is considered Deep Purple’s signature song.

“Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” by Black Sabbath from ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’

Heavy metal was still in its infancy in the 1970s. And no demographic of music enjoyers embraced the genre more than the youngest among us. Metalheads and 70s teens in 1973 loved this title track from Black Sabbath’s fifth album, and it’s still a favorite among songs from the band’s discography.

“Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” surprisingly didn’t chart when it dropped, but the whole of the album it came from hit No. 11 on the Billboard 200.

(Photo by Chris Walter/WireImage)