In the mood for some seriously nostalgic love songs from the 1970s? The following four tunes will probably ring an immediate bell if you were young and in love during that decade. Let’s take a look!
“Silver Springs” by Fleetwood Mac
This Fleetwood Mac song deserved to be on the first release of songs on Rumours from 1977, but didn’t quite make the cut. Thankfully, Stevie Nicks’ “Silver Springs” was eventually released, and it remains one of the legendary singer/songwriter’s most devastating broken-hearted love songs of her career. This one’s a personal favorite of mine, and it’s a nostalgic mid-70s folk rock tune that will resonate with anyone who has loved and then been let down.
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“Without You” by Harry Nilsson
One of the most underrated songwriters of his generation, in my opinion, Harry Nilsson penned more than a few love songs during his heyday. I picked “Without You” from 1971, which is technically a cover of a Badfinger song from the year prior. Nilsson’s version is just so good that I can’t get it out of my head. It’s devastating, much like “Silver Springs”, in that it examines emotions that often come when a relationship falls apart.
“I Will Always Love You” by Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton wrote this long-enduring 1974 country hit about the end of her platonic business and musical relationship with Porter Wagoner. Despite her intentions, many listeners applied the lyrics of this song to their own romantic relationships and their painful end. “I Will Always Love You” remains Parton’s most beloved hit about fans and non-fans of country alike, both through her twangy country version and Whitney Houston’s jaw-dropping pop version from 1992.
“My Love” by Paul McCartney and Wings
In the 1970s, Paul McCartney wrote quite a few love songs about his wife, Linda McCartney. Considering she was also his bandmate in Wings, it’s no surprise that those songs were quite good. I went with “My Love” from 1973 for this list of nostalgic love songs from the 1970s because I think, personally, it remains his most beautiful song about Linda. The soft rock edge, the lounge energy of it, those beautiful but not cheesy lyrics… It’s no surprise that “My Love” topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart the year it was released.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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