These 70s Rock One-Hit Wonders Are Instant Mood Lifters

Classic rock music can feel like a bolt of energy to your soul. The bombastic, electrified style can lift your spirit and put energy in your step. While some classic rock songs can be emotional and thought-provoking, others can be enlivening and energizing. And sometimes—say on a grey Monday morning—that extra oomph can be exactly what the doctor ordered. Here below, we wanted to explore three examples of just that. Let’s look at a few classic rock one-hit wonder tracks from the 70s that just know how to get you up and at ’em.

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“Black Betty” by Ram Jam from ‘Ram Jam’ (1977)

This 1977 blues-rock song from the New York City-born band Ram Jam will rattle your bones. If you’re dragging your feet on a Monday morning, put this song on to get your toes tapping and your body moving. It’s guaranteed to put some pep in your step. If someone could bottle the feeling this song offers and sell it en masse, it would be as big as Pepsi or Coke. But in lieu of that, it’s just the perfect song to get you up and motivated in the morning. As a cover of a blues work song, it’s basically scientifically created to motivate.

“My Sharona” by The Knack from ‘Get the Knack’ (1979)

A love song with a beat that will get you standing up straight and tossing the rust of the weekend off your shoulders, this classic tune was built to get your hips a-swaying. Or if you happen to run out of coffee in the morning, this track is a suitable substitute for the missing caffeine. With a series of guitar riffs that seem to put oxygen in your lungs, The Knack knew what they were doing when they put together this ode to lead vocalist Doug Fieger’s object of his affection.

“Spirit In The Sky” by Norman Greenbaum from ‘Spirit In The Sky’ (1969)

While this song was technically released in 1969, it came out in December of that year. So, really, this track should be considered a must-have for our list of one-hit wonders of the 70s. It boasts one of the most recognizable opening guitar riffs ever, and its subject matter is all about getting lifted thanks to the great spirit in the sky. If that doesn’t inspire, nothing will. There’s a reason this tune was used over and over in television shows and movies. It’s one of those songs that sounds like it was gifted to humanity, not written by a single person. Nevertheless, however it came to us, it remains one of those tunes that just uplifts.

(Photo by Don Paulsen/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)