# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/61 "2007-05-07T14:40:14Z")
Yeah, pretty much every song mentioned in here triggered a specific time/space continuum memory for me. I’d be hard-pressed to pick any single song… hell, any single GENRE… that sums up the 70s for me. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/62 "2007-05-07T15:22:33Z")
_Billy, Don’t be a Hero Hooked on a Feeling It’s Magic Rock the Boat Saturday In the Park Mandy_ ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/63 "2007-05-07T16:00:52Z")
[QUOTE=phungi] \* Hooked on a Feeling \* [/QUOTE] Oooga shocka!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Logan\_5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/fbc32d/32.png) [@Logan\_5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Logan_5)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/64 "2007-05-07T19:29:22Z")
hmmm, for me it’s either Free’s “All Right Now” or Foghat’s “Slow Ride”. ---
**Author:** ![Ferd\_Burfel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@Ferd\_Burfel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferd_Burfel)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/65 "2007-05-07T20:25:46Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] I’d wait in a line overnight if it meant I _wouldn’t_ have to see BTO. [/QUOTE] Aw, man. That’s just cold. Can I plead youthful ignorance? (I also once went to a **Beach Boys** concert in the 70’s mainly to see the billed opening act… **Billy Joel**. I was sorely disappointed when it was announced that he’d been replaced…until I heard the replacement act… **Heart**!) ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/66 "2007-05-07T20:29:58Z")
That’s interesting. I went to see Heart only to see the opening act – John Cougar! c. 1982. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/67 "2007-05-07T21:28:22Z")
I’m thinking it would have to be something by either the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, or Jackson Browne. That’s the '70s sound in a nutshell. If I had to pick one song, I’d go with “Take It Easy” by the Eagles. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/68 "2007-05-07T21:35:06Z")
[QUOTE=Ferd Burfel] Aw, man. That’s just cold. Can I plead youthful ignorance? (I also once went to a **Beach Boys** concert in the 70’s mainly to see the billed opening act… **Billy Joel**. I was sorely disappointed when it was announced that he’d been replaced…until I heard the replacement act… **Heart**!) [/QUOTE] I dunno, I’ve never seen them live, sometimes bands are much better live than recorded. (That said BTO is one of my least favorite bands and was really suprised when I heard that one or two of them used to be in The Guess Who.) But Heart OTOH, I just saw yesterday and they totally rock live. It’s 100% different from the classic rock bands that only appear on PBS once a decade and have kept all the vocal range of William Shatner doing Gregorian Chant. The Wilsons have kept and expanded their musical abilities. If anything they sound even better live than on their records, and their version of _Misty Mountain Hop_ and _Battle of Evermore_ totally blow Zeppelin’s away (from LZIV, that is. I never saw zeppelin live ☹ ) ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/69 "2007-05-07T21:44:13Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] **None of you are being shallow enough!** _Do The Hustle_, or perhaps _Disco Duck_, sums the decade up best. Obviously. [/QUOTE] This was the 47th post for heaven’s sake. You want an encaspulation of the '70s it has to be **Do the Hustle**! I lived through it, I know. I just kept mumbling, “I will survive,” until that too became a disco catch phrase. You don’t have any idea how omnipresent disco was. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/70 "2007-05-07T22:18:09Z")
I think I want to change my answer. I’m going to go with: **"Stuck in the Middle With You"** by **Stealers Wheel** ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/71 "2007-05-07T22:43:17Z")
At Seventeen The music from J.C. Superstar or Godspell. Me and Bobby McGee (released in 1971 I think though written earlier). ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/72 "2007-05-07T22:44:22Z")
The songs that bring me back to the 70s: Till Victory (Patti Smith) Talking Heads: Love --\> Building on Fire Sex Pistols: Anarchy in the UK ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2007, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/73 "2007-05-08T01:09:30Z")
> [@TV time](#): > > You don’t have any idea how omnipresent disco was. Yes, but it was easily replaced. For example, I’m surpised we got this far and Meat Loaf has not been mentioned Meat Loaf. (Not even me. :smack: ) Hey, when you yourself were 17 and heard the line about “we were barely 17 and we were barely dressed” from “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” didn’t you agree that it kind of blew all the other music–including disco–away? ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2007, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/74 "2007-05-08T02:11:32Z")
“Ladies and Gentlemen, THE AMAZING **BLUE OYSTER CULT!!** ” Don’t Fear the Reaper or Frampton-Do You Feel… or Robin Trower-Bridge Of Sighs ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2007, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/75 "2007-05-08T02:30:30Z")
[QUOTE=Spoons] Yes, but it was easily replaced. For example, I’m surpised we got this far and Meat Loaf has not been mentioned Meat Loaf. (Not even me. :smack: ) Hey, when you yourself were 17 and heard the line about “we were barely 17 and we were barely dressed” from “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” didn’t you agree that it kind of blew all the other music–including disco–away? [/QUOTE] LOVE HATE Anybody get this Meat Loaf reference? I really like Desperado from the Eagles. The whole Eagle’s Live Album actually. Super Tramp’s Breakfast in America album. Remember The Logical Song? I liked Jethro Tull playing while I read The Hobbit. Set the 8 track playing and it looped for hours. Heavy Horses and the like set the mood nicely for Middle Earth. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2007, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/76 "2007-05-08T02:30:44Z")
Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple at the start of the 70’s. Rock and Roll All Night by Kiss in the middle. Jamie’s Cryin’ by Van Halen at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2007, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/77 "2007-05-08T02:46:34Z")
**Miracles** by Jefferson Starship puts me right back in high school every time I hear it. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2007, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/78 "2007-05-08T12:55:21Z")
[QUOTE=River Hippie] …Don’t Fear the Reaper… [/QUOTE] I like it, but I think it needs more cowbell. ---
**Author:** ![Lunar\_Saltlick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/977dab/32.png) [@Lunar\_Saltlick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunar_Saltlick)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2007, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/79 "2007-05-08T12:56:58Z")
Alice Cooper had a large presence in the schoolyard. ---
**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 8, 2007, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745/80 "2007-05-08T13:18:12Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] I dunno, I’ve never seen them live, sometimes bands are much better live than recorded. (That said BTO is one of my least favorite bands and was really suprised when I heard that one or two of them used to be in The Guess Who.) But Heart OTOH, I just saw yesterday and they totally rock live. It’s 100% different from the classic rock bands that only appear on PBS once a decade and have kept all the vocal range of William Shatner doing Gregorian Chant. The Wilsons have kept and expanded their musical abilities. If anything they sound even better live than on their records, and their version of _Misty Mountain Hop_ and _Battle of Evermore_ totally blow Zeppelin’s away (from LZIV, that is. I never saw zeppelin live ☹ ) [/QUOTE] I hate to say this for the reasons I am saying it, but I believe Heart could make mega millions with a big tour, if Ann were more svelte, because they do still rock. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-song-best-encaspulates-the-70s-for-you/402745.md?page=5)