No 70s Kid Alive Could Forget These 3 Classic Rock Songs From 1971

The year 1971 helped kick off the decade with some absolutely mind-blowing classic rock tunes that every 70s kid alive today can easily remember. Let’s get super nostalgic, shall we? I won’t judge you if you sing along.

“Baba O’Riley” by The Who from ‘Who’s Next’

“Don’t cry, don’t raise your eye / It’s only teenage wasteland.”

I only need to hear this song once in a while for it to get completely stuck in my brain for days. It’s just that catchy. “Baba O’Riley” quickly became a favorite among listeners in 1971, too. But because the song was simply the opening track of Who’s Next and not released as a formal single on our side of the pond, it didn’t really chart at the time. Years later, “Baba O’Riley” is considered one of the greatest hard rock songs of all time.

“The Mule” by Deep Purple from ‘Fireball’

“No one sees the things you do / Because I stand in front of you / But you drive me all the time / Put the evil in my mind.”

I couldn’t put together a list of memorable 1971 rock songs without including at least one memorable prog song. “The Mule” wasn’t released as a single off Fireball. But it became legendary among Deep Purple fans for how the band performed it live. Ian Paice would absolutely demolish his drum solos in every live rendition of the song. And if you were a 70s kid, I bet you still remember that opening riff after all these years.

“Stairway To Heaven” by Led Zeppelin from ‘Led Zeppelin IV’

“In a tree by the brook, there’s a songbird who sings / Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven.”

Even if you were a 70s kid who didn’t listen to rock music at all, there is no way you avoided hearing this legendary, generation-defining hit classic from 1971. Not only is “Stairway To Heaven” Led Zeppelin’s signature song, but it’s basically the most remembered rock song of the early 1970s. It’s a piece of history that won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

Like the rest of the songs on this list, “Stairway To Heaven” wasn’t released as a single. But it didn’t need the single treatment to become one of the biggest songs of all time.

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