# What's the "Seventies-est" song? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [March 25, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777 "2010-03-25T18:00:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/81 "2010-03-26T13:52:12Z")
Afternoon Delight ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/82 "2010-03-26T13:55:21Z")
I was gonna say Stoned Soul Picnic, but that was 1968. Hard to separate late 60s from early 70s when you grew up in that time, ya know? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/83 "2010-03-26T14:02:50Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > I was gonna say Stoned Soul Picnic, but that was 1968. > > Hard to separate late 60s from early 70s when you grew up in that time, ya know? My sentiments. After I listed my 70’s sounds above I realized they were all early in the decade. I have been debating posting my late 70’s sound which as best I can recall was the theme from _Close Encounters of the Third Kind_, two versions: soundtrack and a disco thing. By mid-decade most of what I was into was jazz and groups like Steely Dan. That would put _Deacon Blues_ up near the top of my stack. Another all-decade song was the Gregg Allman _Laid Back_ album version of _Midnight Rider_. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/84 "2010-03-26T14:11:48Z")
> [@](#): > > I have been debating posting my late 70’s sound which as best I can recall was the theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, two versions: soundtrack and a disco thing. A Fan of **Meco** perhaps?🙂 ---
**Author:** ![breaking-reality](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a8b319/32.png) [@breaking-reality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/breaking-reality)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/85 "2010-03-26T14:17:46Z")
For early 70’s, I’m going to go **Jonathon Edwards** - _Sunshine Go Away Today_. Maybe **Three Dog Night** - _Joy to The World_. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/86 "2010-03-26T14:29:17Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > My sentiments. After I listed my 70’s sounds above I realized they were all early in the decade. I have been debating posting my late 70’s sound which as best I can recall was the theme from _Close Encounters of the Third Kind_, two versions: soundtrack and a disco thing. > > By mid-decade most of what I was into was jazz and groups like Steely Dan. That would put _Deacon Blues_ up near the top of my stack. > > Another all-decade song was the Gregg Allman _Laid Back_ album version of _Midnight Rider_. If Steve Miller (or Band) ever tours again, you need to go see him. His mix of bluesy, somewhat jazzy, and older stuff is an ear treat. I actually met him and Boz in Houston Galleria’s Macy\*s while I was selling computers, small electronics, rugs, and lingerie there (80s). Fun guys. Lichen alot. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/87 "2010-03-26T14:31:14Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > A Fan of **Meco** perhaps?🙂 Might be, but I’m remembering one more like [Geoff Love - Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Main Theme)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNIHP9_Fw1Y) There were also a bunch of Deodato sounds that I associate with the period. Things like [Deodato- Super Strut(1973)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZkznvr-UeI) ---
**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:** [March 26, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/88 "2010-03-26T15:08:44Z")
I was a kid in the 70s and a lot of the tunes stay with me. Two in particular: September - EW&F Rock the Boat (Don’t Rock the Boat Baby) - Hues Corporation? But the tune that screams 70s to me? Lovin’ You Ain’t Easy - Michel Pagliaro _Hitch any ride you want to, Do anything you wanna do Just keep ridin’ your way…_ ---
**Author:** ![Negative\_Lite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Negative\_Lite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Negative_Lite)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/89 "2010-03-26T16:36:54Z")
The quitessential song of the 70s will have strings and a guitar solo. It will be a little bit Carole King and a little bit Barry White. It will have a camel. [For your consideration](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3tHYb4_bAg). ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/90 "2010-03-26T16:43:23Z")
**Baby Come Back** is very 70s and had a rebirth recently when used in that “lonely mop” commercial. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/91 "2010-03-26T16:49:23Z")
Please God forgive me: **Delta Dawn** ---
**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:** [March 26, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/92 "2010-03-26T16:53:25Z")
All this and no one has mentioned **Rock Me Gently** by Andy Kim? I don’t think one can sing that song without wearing polyester. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus\_alba](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quercus_alba/32/4061_2.png) [@Quercus\_alba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus_alba)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/93 "2010-03-26T17:06:14Z")
Some of these have been mentioned, but the other thing (besides disco) which I recall strongly in 70s music were the whiny tragic ballads–pretty much all of them done by one-hit wonders: - “Wildfire” “Run Joey Run” “Rocky” “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” “Ode to Billy Joe” \* I’m sure you all can come up with more wonderful examples… ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/94 "2010-03-26T17:08:07Z")
> [@Quercus\_alba](#): > > Some of these have been mentioned, but the other thing (besides disco) which I recall strongly in 70s music were the whiny tragic ballads–pretty much all of them done by one-hit wonders: > > - > > “Wildfire” > “Run Joey Run” > “Rocky” > “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” > “Ode to Billy Joe” \* > > I’m sure you all can come up with more wonderful examples… Beat these for sick: Honey – Bobby Goldsboro Little Green Apples Watching Scotty Grow (late 60’s but bled into the early 70’s) ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/95 "2010-03-26T17:15:12Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > The correct answer is [Baker Street](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgbGaYTkkPU). _Baker Street_ always sounded early 1980s to me; the saxophones put the feel of the song in the latter decade, I think. My vote, at least for rock, would go to the entire soundtrack of _Dazed and Confused_. _Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo_ - Rick Derringer \*Slow Ride \*- Foghat Listen _School’s Out_ - Alice Cooper, Alice Cooper _Jim Dandy_ - Black Oak Arkansas _Tush_ - ZZ Top _Love Hurts_ - Nazareth _Stranglehold_ - Ted Nugent _Cherry Bomb_ - The Runaways _Fox on the Run_ - Sweet _Low Rider_ - War _Tuesday’s Gone_ - Lynyrd Skynyrd _Highway Star_ - Deep Purple _Rock and Roll All Nite_ - Kiss _Paranoid_ - Black Sabbath Adult contemporary is also a style that I strongly identify with the 1970s: Carpenters, Bread, Carly Simon and the like ---
**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:** [March 26, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/96 "2010-03-26T17:20:19Z")
Oh! How could I forget CW McCalls **Convoy**? A song full of CB lingo? You can’t get any more 70’s than that. ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/97 "2010-03-26T17:22:13Z")
Is it weird that I listen to and enjoy most of these songs on a regular basis? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/98 "2010-03-26T17:38:55Z")
> [@Sateryn76](#): > > Is it weird that I listen to and enjoy most of these songs on a regular basis? Yes! Welcome on board the Crazy Train.\* \*Which will be in the next 80s thread ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/99 "2010-03-26T17:42:05Z")
In a similar thread about the most 1980s song, I used both the genre and themes of the song. Thus, _Opportunities_ by the Pet Shop Boys, a new wave song about greed and looking good, is my nomination. What are some common themes found in 1970s songs? Let’s see … - Teenage rebellion and alienation (far more so than in other decades, IMHO) - California - Rockin’ hard - Fast cars (a holdover from the 1960s) - Drugs (again, more so than in other decades) - New York City - CB radio - Trucking - Indians - “Stealing away” Also common in the 1970s, but often forgotten: - Ragtime revival - Blues adaptations (Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, late Doors, etc.) The 1970s, and to some extent the 1980s, were a time of _segues_ or paired songs such as _We Will Rock You_ and _We Are the Champions_ by Queen, and _Heartbreaker_ and _Living Loving Maid_ by Led Zeppelin. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/100 "2010-03-26T18:02:05Z")
> [@Negative\_Lite](#): > > The quitessential song of the 70s will have strings and a guitar solo. It will be a little bit Carole King and a little bit Barry White. It will have a camel. > > [For your consideration](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3tHYb4_bAg). That was classic early 60’s. I remember thinking as a little kid why would you want to bring a camel to bed??? :eek: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777.md?page=6)