One thing about me, dear reader, is that if you’re going to take a ride in my car—a charmingly grimey Honda named Rhonda, or Greasy Rhonda, her full government name—then you should prepare to listen to music from the 1970s. This decade’s music never gets old, no matter how many times I blast it through my car’s worn-out speakers. These four Top 40 hits from 1976 are in particularly heavy rotation.
“You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” by Leo Sayer
Something about the way Leo Sayer sings the verses of “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” scratches my brain just right. The falsetto vocal tone is quintessentially late-70s-y, reminiscent of other Top 40 acts of 1976, like The Bee Gees. But it’s also the way the rhythm sort of skips along, as if you’re so giddy after seeing the person you love that you literally skip along the sidewalk like a schoolkid. If I’m in the mood to bop around and get myself in high spirits while I’m driving, this track is a must-play.
“Rock’n Me” by Steve Miller Band
As a big fan of Steve Miller Band, there is no shortage of hits from this group that stay on heavy rotation on my car radio. “The Joker” is a classic albeit obvious choice; I can’t resist the urge to clap along to that one part in “Take The Money And Run”, and I love a good vibe-out session to “Fly Like An Eagle”. However, there’s something undeniably satisfying about singing a song like “Rock’n Me” in the car, specifically, because of all the geographical locations listed in the verse.
“More Than A Feeling” by Boston
A bit of lore about me: I’ve been listening to Boston on long car rides with my parents since I was a toddler. So, it’s sort of a no-brainer that this band would remain in regular rotation now that I’m old enough to do the driving. “More Than A Feeling” covers so much emotional ground in one track. There’s wistful nostalgia, but there’s also raucous, powerful rocking and rolling. It’s a great two-for-one kind of track that is practically begging to be belted out when alone in the car.
“Dancing Queen” by ABBA
Finally, one of my favorite Top 40 hits from 1976 that stays on repeat in my car is “Dancing Queen” by ABBA. When I was younger, I always wondered if I would look at this song differently the further away I got from being “young and sweet, only seventeen.” As an actively aging human, I can happily report that this song hasn’t lost a hint of the original sheen that drew me to it back when I was young enough to be fantasizing about the very old age of 17.
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