3 Songs That Only Would Have Worked in the 1970s

The 1970s were such a unique era for music. Some major changes in rock and pop were taking place at the end of the Vietnam War, technology (particularly synthesizers) was starting to become more widespread in studios, and the sunshine optimism of the 1960s had given way to a more musically diverse era in the following decade. Some songs from the 1970s, likewise, only really make sense if they were released during that decade. Let’s look at a couple of songs from the 1970s that would have only worked in that particularly glorious decade for music.

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“Shake Your Booty” by KC And The Sunshine Band (1976)

The 1970s was the era of disco, and the genre’s popularity experienced a sharp decline when the decade came to an end. Virtually any 70s disco hit could have made it to this list, but I went with the classic “Shake Your Booty”. Not only would this song likely not have done numbers once disco died, but it was a little too raw for pop music in the following decade and a bit too electronic to have existed in the decade prior. It’s a gem of the 70s, and we’re all fortunate KC And The Sunshine Band were able to release it to great success when they did.

“Close To The Edge” by Yes (1972)

The 1970s was a fantastic time for three things in music: Multiple movements, heady philosophical lyrics, and very long track runtimes. So progressive rock, basically. So many excellent prog records dropped in the 1970s. And while the genre didn’t die in the 1980s, there was something special and unique about the 1970s era of prog that can’t be matched. Because of this, I don’t know if Yes’ legendary title track of the 1972 album Close To The Edge would have been as big of a deal if it had dropped in the 1980s. In the 1970s, it was groundbreaking. And at 18-plus minutes long, it’s definitely of the golden prog era.

“Kung Fu Fighting” by Carl Douglas (1974)

We already covered how most disco songs would only have become hits in the 1970s. “Kung Fu Fighting” by Carl Douglas certainly fits that bill. However, there’s another reason why this one-hit wonder makes it to our list of 1970s songs that only would have worked in that decade. This song dropped around the time the chopsocky craze was at its peak in the 1970s. This was the era of martial arts and kung fu films, and Douglas managed to pack the decade’s love of disco and kung fu into one song.

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