Every Baby Boomer Alive Has a Core Memory to Go With These 4 Songs From 1973

Core memories we develop when we’re young deeply root themselves into our identities and world outlooks, and the music that we were listening to at the time inevitably becomes linked to these experiences and recollections by association. Just take these four songs from 1973, all of which likely soundtrack at least one core memory for anyone who identifies as a baby boomer.

“Smoke On The Water” by Deep Purple

Whether you were watching more and more guitarists spring up around you, all attempting this song’s signature opening riff, or you were that guitarist, it was hard to escape the power of “Smoke On The Water” by Deep Purple in 1973. The main guitar riff is one that embeds itself deep in the brain, making it impossible to resist the urge to hum along—or pick up a guitar and start sliding around the neck in fourths.

“Stuck In The Middle With You” by Stealers Wheel

Stealers Wheel released “Stuck In The Middle With You” in 1973, became a Top 10 sensation of a band worldwide, and then broke up in 1975. While their tenure as a band might have been short-lived, the power of their one-hit wonder lives on. From car radios to dance floors and plenty of music-playing spaces in between, most baby boomers can remember gallivanting in their youth to this classic track.

“Live And Let Die” by Paul McCartney & Wings

Film and music tend to leave lasting impressions on us as we develop core memories around the pop culture we consume in our youth, and Paul McCartney & Wings’ “Live And Let Die” scratched both itches with its composition and use in the James Bond film of the same name. This franchise was especially popular in the 1970s, and it goes without saying that McCartney had similar star power in the music realm.

“Kodachrome” by Paul Simon

Finally, Paul Simon’s “Kodachrome” is wistful nostalgia wrapped up in a quintessentially early-70s pop tune. From the first line, Simon sends the listener back to high school, which, for many baby boomers, is right when this song was coming out. Beyond the obvious “remember when” element in the lyrics, most baby boomers also have distinct memories of using Kodachrome, which is another way this song transports this generation straight back to 1973.

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