There’s nothing quite like the dive bar you frequented in your younger years. Domestic pilsners are cheap and ready to pour. Pool tables sit under glowing Miller Lite lamps. The jukebox pumps out your favorite tunes. And, depending on where your dive bar of choice is located, there might still be a faint (or not-so-faint) scent of tobacco smoke in the air. While some dive bars are lost to time or lifestyle changes or both, some songs transport you right back to your go-to stool at your go-to spot, including these five rock songs from the 1970s.
“What’s Your Name” by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s distinct style of Southern rock is the perfect soundtrack to a dimly lit dive bar. “Gimme Three Steps” deserves an honorable mention here, but we’re sticking with “What’s Your Name” for this specific roundup. Released in 1977 as the opening track and lead single from Street Survivor, this track has all of the bravado and charm one would expect from a roadhouse bar on a Friday night.
“Old Time Rock And Roll” by Bob Seger
As gastro pubs and bougie cocktail lounges take over the nightlife scene, songs like “Old Time Rock And Roll” seem to embody the dive bar tradition. Bob Seger’s career-defining hit is for folks who don’t need a $20 drink made up of seven ingredients, none of which you have ever heard before. Just a cold beer, some fries, and access to the jukebox will do just fine, thank you.
“Walk Away” by James Gang
James Gang released “Walk Away” on their appropriately titled third album, Thirds. The song remains one of the band’s best-known, and for good reason. Their unique blend of hard rock, funk, and soul is what makes James Gang such an enduring listen. This is the kind of track that would come on right when the pleasant buzz from your beer and shot kicks in, when the night starts feeling really fun.
“Sharp Dressed Man” by ZZ Top
Dive bars are certainly no place for pretentious snobbery. But in that same vein, if you want to dress nicely, a dive bar is just the kind of place that will let you do your own thing and not bother you about it. “Sharp Dressed Man” by ZZ Top is the perfect soundtrack for walking into your favorite dive bar, dressed to the nines (whatever that means to you), ready to have a good night with your pals or boo.
“Young Lust” by Pink Floyd
Finally, we have Pink Floyd’s “Young Lust”. One of the more commercially friendly offerings from their rock opera The Wall, this track is full of classic rock bravado. “I am just a new boy, a stranger in this town / Where are all the good times?” The song begins. The answer to that query is, of course, your local dive bar.
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