These three floor-filling pop songs from the 1970s have more to them than meets the eye. They may be fun to listen to, but that doesn’t make them simple. These tracks are smart songwriting efforts that bridge the gap between blithe pop and something heavier.
“Last Dance” — Donna Summer
This song’s structure is smart songwriting. The slow intro features some of Donna Summer’s most stunning vocals. It urges listeners to move onto the floor, knowing what’s coming next. Once the beat kicks in and the song really gets going, it becomes one of the greatest strides in 1970s pop.
“I need you by me / Beside me to guide me / To hold me, to scold me / ‘Cause when I’m bad, I’m so, so bad,” Summer sings in this iconic song. The lyrics aren’t particularly heady, but they are delivered in a way that could make any songwriter jealous. The slow build pays off beautifully.
“Heart Of Glass” — Blondie
Blondie blended several sonic flavors in this iconic track, notably bridging disco and rock. “Once I had a love and it was a gas / Soon turned out had a heart of glass / Seemed like the real thing, only to find / Much o’ mistrust, love’s gone behind,” Debbie Harry sings with airy, intimate vocals.
You could just as easily dance the night away with this as you could sit back and really take in the lyrics. “In between / What I find is pleasing, and I’m feeling fine / Love is so confusing, there’s no peace of mind,” the lyrics continue. These aren’t just throwaway lines. They could be for the infectious melody, but the band chose to say something consequential about love instead.
“I Will Survive” — Gloria Gaynor
“You’re not welcome anymore / You’re the one who tried to hurt me with goodbye / Think I’d crumble? / You think I’d lay down and die,” the lyrics to Gloria Gaynor’s 1970s pop staple, “I Will Survive”, read. If these lines were sung with a melancholy tinge, people would revere them for their candor and rawness. Because of this song’s floor-shaking beat, we don’t give it the credit it deserves.
“No, not I, I will survive / Long as I know how to love, I know I’ll stay alive,” the lyrics continue, telling a story of perseverance. This song might be danceable, but it has weighty heartbreak at its core.
(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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