4 Classic Rock Songs From 1979 That I Still Obsessively Listen To

The year 1979 was an interesting one for classic rock music. A lot of the chart-topping or otherwise popular releases from that year were a little bit classic rock and a little bit disco, with some avant-garde and/or flamenco-leaning elements that really made them stand out from the rest of the decade. Maybe it was the onset of new wave that altered classic rock so. Either way, a lot of killer music came out that year. And these four classic rock songs from 1979 make it to my rotation on the regular. Let’s take a look!

“Goodnight Tonight” by Wings

I couldn’t leave this excellent little Wings tune off this list. Written by Paul McCartney, “Goodnight Tonight” dropped in March 1979 and is a fun disco-flamenco rock jam that was the perfect punctuation mark to the decade. This song really doesn’t sound like much of Wings’ other work, yet it doesn’t sound too “out there” for the McCartney-fronted group. It’s not surprising that this song did so well on the US and UK charts that year.

“She’s Lost Control” by Joy Division

How about some classic post-punk? “She’s Lost Control” by Joy Division leans more toward mutant disco than firmly classic rock, but I still wanted to include it on this list. This standout track from Unknown Pleasures is a heartbreaking one, considering that seizures and epilepsy were its inspiration, which Ian Curtis himself suffered from. It’s poignant and focuses on the subject of disability stigma, and it’s just one of many songs from that album that prove Curtis was ahead of his time.

“I Was Made For Lovin’ You” by KISS

This is a very controversial song among KISS fans. Honestly, I get it. This Dynasty track is a shameless disco tune, and KISS’s hard rock fans were not happy about them caving to the commercial desires of their producers. However, one can’t deny that “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” is just a really fun song when you take away all of the drama and fan contentiousness associated with it.

“Tusk” by Fleetwood Mac

This title track from Fleetwood Mac’s enormously expensive album is a fine piece of work. It’s more on the avant-garde and pop side of classic rock, but suitable for this list of songs from 1979 all the same. Written by Lindsey Buckingham, “Tusk” was a pretty impressive hit single for the band. It reached No. 8 in the US and No. 6 in the UK.

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