Every Baby Boomer Alive Has a Core Memory To Go With These 4 Songs From 1979

The tail end of the 1970s saw the musical mainstream turn into a melting pot of rock ‘n’ roll, disco, pop, and soul, and as such, this specific period boasts a wellspring of iconic and massively influential songs. For baby boomers, these songs (and especially these four from 1979) became the soundtrack to core memories this generation developed in their teens, twenties, and early thirties—formative years where we’re still finding ourselves and our place in the world.

“Y.M.C.A.” by Village People

“Y.M.C.A.” has become such a pervasive part of dance floor culture that it’s hard to imagine a world in which this song didn’t exist. But for every baby boomer who witnessed the world transition from a “Y.M.C.A.”-less existence to an arm-spelling, line-dancing existence, they likely have core memories of doing this group dance before it became the overdone go-to at all weddings, reunions, and school dances. Indeed, The Village People managed to lure folks back to the dance floor just as the disco trend was on its way out.

“My Sharona” by The Knack

The Knack came out swinging with their June 1979 debut single “My Sharona”. The track quickly ascended to the top of the charts and became the fastest Capitol Records cut to reach gold since “I Want To Hold Your Hand” (yes, the massive Beatles hit). Do the lyrics sound problematic in the context of today’s societal standards on dating teenagers as a full-blown adult? Yes, definitely. But as every baby boomer can attest, the late 1970s were a different time. And back then, all this song sounded like was a hit.

“What A Fool Believes” by The Doobie Brothers

The Doobie Brothers had no small shortage of massive hits in the 1970s, but their “What A Fool Believes”, their 1978 single (which was still topping the charts in 1979) saw a distinct switch to disco-tinted soft rock. This song won the Grammy Award for Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year in 1980. So, it goes without saying that this song was virtually inescapable back in the day. Consequently, virtually every baby boomer can likely recall some bar jukebox, car radio, or portable transistor radio that used to play this song in their youth.

“The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers

Between the massive radio hit and the subsequent television film series that came from it, you would be hard-pressed to find a baby boomer who hadn’t heard Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler” at least 100, if not more, times in their youth. The song topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and achieved impressive crossover success as well, peaking at No. 16 on the Hot 100. Most of us have internalized the message that the gambler gave the narrator on that fateful train ride because, frankly, it really is important to “know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, know when to run.”

Photo by Ebet Roberts/Redferns