# What song best encaspulates the 70's for you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 4, 2007, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745 "2007-05-04T15:16:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/21 "2007-05-04T16:39:44Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] Not necessarily your favorite 70’s song, or the kitschiest, but the one that when you hear it now, it best takes you back to that time. [/QUOTE] Takes me _back_ to the '70s? Shit, man, I never left! ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/22 "2007-05-04T16:43:47Z")
**Boston** (Any / all of the following): 1. More Than A Feeling 2. Peace Of Mind 3. Foreplay/Long Time 4. Rock & Roll Band 5. Smokin’ 6. Hitch A Ride 7. Something About You 8. Let Me Take You Home Tonight ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/23 "2007-05-04T16:49:45Z")
I suspect Journey will be popping up soon. ---
**Author:** ![frog\_princess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6bbea6/32.png) [@frog\_princess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frog_princess)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/24 "2007-05-04T16:55:27Z")
I was born in late 73, and the music I remember from the 70’s is really from the 60’s. I would beg my mom to play Peter, Paul and Mary over and over. “Leaving on a Jet Plane”, “Lemon Tree”, and “Puff the Magic Dragon” were my favorites. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/25 "2007-05-04T17:08:45Z")
[QUOTE=Ellen Cherry] Ted, did we go to high school together??? 😛 [/QUOTE] No, we were just the spacey/philosophical types in our high schools! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/26 "2007-05-04T17:14:58Z")
\*\*Seasons in the Sun \*\* by Terry Jacks. My brother got a record player for his birthday and this was the first record he bought. He played it incessantly until I wanted to choke the life right out of him. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/27 "2007-05-04T17:23:43Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” was 1967. [/QUOTE] :smack: D’oh! I did mean the Beatles’ version. I was just remembering songs I heard a lot as a child. I was born in 1970. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/28 "2007-05-04T17:43:58Z")
Dancing Queen by ABBA should have been mentioned by now. ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/29 "2007-05-04T18:02:46Z")
I see your “Dancing Queen” and raise you a “My Sherona”. (There - get THAT one out of your head now!) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/30 "2007-05-04T18:06:05Z")
“Freedom of '76” by Ween. That it was made in the '90s matters not. It is both the best example of “white bread soul” music around and takes me back to 70s memories for me. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/31 "2007-05-04T18:13:33Z")
_Watching the River Run_ by Loggins and Messina. Used it in our Wedding 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/32 "2007-05-04T18:31:57Z")
Great choices, all. Interesting that none, with the exception of “Convoy”, are Disco-Duck-esque novelty songs. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/33 "2007-05-04T18:50:56Z")
[QUOTE=Scumpup] \*\*Seasons in the Sun \*\* by Terry Jacks. My brother got a record player for his birthday and this was the first record he bought. He played it incessantly until I wanted to choke the life right out of him. [/QUOTE] This would have been the one that I was going to mention specificially, but almost all songs mentioned heretofore are on my list. **Does anyone else remember those compilations “records” where, in response to list of questions, snippets of then-popular songs were used as the answers?** I can’t name any specifically, but there seemed to be quit a few of them in the 70s. And who can forget _My Ding-a-Ling_, by Chuck Berry? ---
**Author:** ![AHoosierMama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/258eb7/32.png) [@AHoosierMama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHoosierMama)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/34 "2007-05-04T18:57:47Z")
No mention of Zeppelin? For me the 70’s are about the Electric Light Orchestra. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/35 "2007-05-04T18:58:08Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] Great choices, all. Interesting that none, with the exception of “Convoy”, are Disco-Duck-esque novelty songs. [/QUOTE] Wait. “Undercover Angel” was supposed to be _serious_? 🙂 > [@5-4-Fighting](#): > > Does anyone else remember those compilations “records” where, in response to list of questions, snippets of then-popular songs were used as the answers? I can’t name any specifically, but there seemed to be quit a few of them in the 70s. I remember one from the early 80s, something to do with UFOs. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/36 "2007-05-04T19:02:16Z")
[QUOTE=5-4-Fighting] **Does anyone else remember those compilations “records” where, in response to list of questions, snippets of then-popular songs were used as the answers?** I can’t name any specifically, but there seemed to be quit a few of them in the 70s. [/QUOTE] “break-in” records, popularized by Dickie Goodman (“Watergrate”, “Mr. President” and “Energy Crisis '74.”)- I think Wolfman Jack had one as well. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/37 "2007-05-04T19:04:40Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] “break-in” records, popularized by Dickie Goodman (“Watergrate”, “Mr. President” and “Energy Crisis '74.”)- I think Wolfman Jack had one as well. [/QUOTE] Thank you, you’re good. And thanks to **Fishbicyle** below. I never knew what they were called either. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/38 "2007-05-04T19:05:49Z")
[QUOTE=5-4-Fighting] **Does anyone else remember those compilations “records” where, in response to list of questions, snippets of then-popular songs were used as the answers?** [/QUOTE] Sure! They’re called “break-ins”. The most widely-known ones were by Dickie Goodman, who used to be partnered with Bill Buchanan for the first couple of years, starting in the mid-'50s. “The Flying Saucer (Parts 1&2)” was the first, in 1956. There were all kinds of these records by several artists up through the '80s. You probably have a soft spot for “Mr. Jaws.” ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/39 "2007-05-04T19:25:57Z")
As I was born in 1970, my earliest musical memories were the songs my parents listened to at breakfast on WMZQ (DC-area country music). So \*\*Rocky Mountain High \*\* and **Take Me Home, Country Road** have been branded on my brain as a childhood memory. But for music that I willingly listened to, nothing beats Journey doing **Don’t Stop Believing** with a big Ka-chunk! halfway through as the 8-track player switched tracks. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/40 "2007-05-04T19:43:05Z")
> [@AHoosierMama](#): > > No mention of Zeppelin? When I saw that, I thought, “What an horrific oversight.” But thinking a little further, it seems that Led Zeppelin is one of those bands that, at its best, was truly timeless. I don’t think 70s (or late 60s) when I hear them. I just think it’s really good stuff. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745.md?page=3)