Sure, music fans all (at least most!) love the new releases, but it’s the classic rock songs that cause many to turn up their sound systems. It’s the 1970s music created at a time of social and musical changes that spawned some of the hottest classic rock. Here are six of our favorites:
Videos by American Songwriter
1. “Sail on Sailor” (1972) – Beach Boys
The Beach Boys had made their name with such songs as “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” their first top-ten single, almost a decade before they began work on “Sail on Sailor.” In 1972, musical tastes had morphed from feel-good pop songs such as the Beach Boys’ early hits. R&B, funk, and metal had overtaken music fans’ preferences and radio airwaves.
That shift came at a delicate time for the Beach Boys. Creative genius Brian Wilson was grappling with issues that many attribute to his excessive drug use, which he believed would expand his consciousness.
One day in 1972, the other members of the band—Mike Love, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, and Al Jardine—got together at the home of Wilson, who had recently stopped his reclusive behavior. The songwriting session was going slowly until they met a songwriter. Van Dyke Parks, through a mutual friend who played them a song he had just written—“Sail on Sailor.” Not only did the Beach Boys like the song, but they thought it reflected the state of their band.
The band released the song in early 1973. It stayed on the charts for 17 weeks, hitting No. 49, and reinvigorated the Beach Boys’ popularity, according to Billboard. Today, the song is the only one by the band that remains a constant in classic rock archives, according to Variety.
2. “Sweet Jane” (1970) – The Velvet Underground
At the beginning of the version of “Sweet Jane” on the 2004 live album, Animal Serenade, Lou Reed says: “So I thought I would explain to you how you make a career out of three chords.” You’ll see his statement isn’t hyperbole when you look at the artists that have covered the songs: Miley Cyrus, The Cowboy Junkies, and Mott the Hoople are just a few.
The Velvet Underground was noodling with song ideas when Lou Reed started stringing out the chords and mumming the lyrics that would eventually become “Sweet Jane.” He was three months away from leaving the band. Velvet Underground’s musical direction and lineup were unraveling after its first three albums were basically ignored by music fans.
The Velvet Underground recorded “Sweet Jane” at Atlantic Studios in New York in 1970, according to Billboard.
The ode about the girl named Jane was put on the Velvet Underground’s first album, Loaded, for Atlantic Records. The song failed to chart, but it established Lou Reed as a force in songwriting.
3. “Carry On” (1970) – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Less than a year after the 1969 release of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s self-titled debut album, the bandmates were anxious to add more music to the counterculture movement.
“When we first arrived in San Francisco, we went down to Wally Heider’s in the Tenderloin, which is sort of like your East End,” Stephen Stills is quoted as saying by Rhino Records. Graham (Nash) and I quickly realized we didn’t have an opener, so we had this intense conversation. We were staying in this horrid motel, and that’s where the lightning struck, and I wrote “Carry On.” I played that for Graham the next day and said, ‘Will that do?’ and he was very happy.”
The song was included on the band’s sophomore album, Déjà Vu, which peaked at the top spots on the Billboard charts.
4. “Dreams” (1977) – Fleetwood Mac
Stevie Nicks wrote the song “Dreams” when she and her long-time boyfriend and bandmate, Lindsey Buckingham, were ending their tumultuous relationship. The lyrics capture the heartbreak of a break-up, but Stevie Nicks’ vocals make this song a rock classic, according to The Los Angeles Times.
“To say she performs the song with an unsurpassed emotional intelligence—particularly in the verses, where she’s effortlessly weaving between her husky chest voice and her fluttering higher register — is still to underplay how deftly she conjures the complicated range of feelings involved in a painful yet necessary break-up,” writes Mikael Wood in The Times.
Other critics note the laid-back rhythm and melody, which reflects the emotional pain of a lost romance, also contributed to the song hitting No. 1 on the Billboard charts and becoming a classic.
Angel Olsen and Richie Havens are among the numerous artists that have covered the song. A 2020 video by Apodaca that includes the song resulted in “Dreams” landing at No. 21 on the Hot 100 chart for the first time since 1977, according to Billboard.
5. “Let it Be” (1970) – The Beatles
Like other songs on this list, The Beatles’ “Let It Be” was created during turmoil. In this case, the song’s primary writer, Paul McCartney, tells Wired that the song came to him in a dream. When McCartney wrote the song, it was a stressful time for The Beatles as they headed toward their break up. It was also a time of excessive drinking and “getting crazy,” McCartney said. “So I was exhausted and went to bed.”
As he slept, he had a dream about his mother.
“It’s a magic moment,” McCartney says in the video. “Because you’re actually there with your mother. She seemed to know I was a bit stressed out, and she said, ‘Don’t worry. It’s going to be fine. Just let it be.’”
When he awoke, McCartney remembered her advice. In an understated way, McCartney modestly said, “So I went to the piano and wrote the song.” The song was the title track of the group’s final album.
When “Let It Be” was released, it charted at No. 6., the highest single debut ever on the Hot 100 chart. It went to No. 1, where it stayed for four weeks. The single was the final single released by The Beatles before McCartney left the band. Many artists have covered the song, and McCartney often plays it during performances.
Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/ImageDirect
