Growing up in the 70s was quite the era, especially in country music. The decade includes some country music classics, nostalgic songs that are still beloved decades later.
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We found three nostalgic songs from that era, which are likely still tucked away in kids’ subconscious today.
“Rhinestone Cowboy” by Glen Campbell
Glen Campbell released “Rhinestone Cowboy” in 1975, as the title track of his 28th studio album. Undoubtedly one of the most nostalgic songs of the 70s, it is written by Larry Weiss, becoming one of Campbell’s biggest hits of his lengthy career.
“Rhinestone Cowboy” says in part, “Like a rhinestone cowboy / Riding out on a horse in a star-spangled rodeo / Like a rhinestone cowboy / Getting cards and letters from people I don’t even know / And offers coming over the phone.”
“Rhinestone Cowboy” might be nostalgic for 70s kids, but it was also nostalgic for Campbell. He later said it was “maybe the best song I’ve ever sung,” per Songfacts.
“Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver
Part of the nostalgia of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” is its simplicity. The song, written by Denver along with Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert, celebrates a simpler time, when life was as easy as a backroad home.
Denver sings, “Country roads, take me home / To the place I belong / West Virginia, mountain mama / Take me home, country roads.” It’s a song that makes anyone, regardless of their age, long for days gone by.
“Coat Of Many Colors” by Dolly Parton
“Coat Of Many Colors” is the title track of Parton’s eighth studio album as a solo artist, out in 1971. Parton wrote the song by herself, which makes sense since it’s a very personal story to Parton, and her early years growing up in the mountains of East Tennessee.
“My coat of many colors / That my momma made for me,” Parton sings. “Made only from rags / But I wore it so proudly / Although we had no money / I was rich as I could be / In my coat of many colors / My momma made for me.”
“That story was very important to me,” Parton says. “That memory had been painful to me, but I didn’t realize it until I wrote the story. So many people wrote me and said it had healing properties for them. They had been made fun of… and made to feel less than what they are. So I think people responded to that story for different reasons. It was a story of acceptance and hope.”
As nostalgic songs go, “Coat Of Many Colors” is a big one.
Photo by David Redfern/Redferns
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