When songs are released to the public, we often think of it as a commercial experience. The artist releases a single, we listen to and buy it, and on and on the cycle goes. But even more importantly, a great transformation has taken place that transcends chart positions and record sales. The world that existed before the song was made available to the general public and the world that exists after are two different realities, and that’s a fascinating metamorphosis.
Baby boomers got to witness some of the best-sounding transitions in musical history, including the memory of when these four hit songs from the 1970s first came out.
“My Sweet Lord” by George Harrison
The release of George Harrison’s early 1970s hit, “My Sweet Lord”, is notable not only because of the song itself. But it’s also particularly memorable because it marked the official end of The Beatles. Individual members were setting off to pursue solo careers, some more successful than others, effectively closing the chapter on one of the world’s most influential periods in pop culture history.
“Grease” by Frankie Valli
Music and film have a way of utterly dominating the cultural zeitgeist at any given time. When those two art forms combine, the result is sure to be memorable. This is especially true of the movie-musical Grease, which produced several hit songs of the 1970s. Perhaps the most non-musical-coded of the bunch is the title sequence track, “Grease”, performed by Frankie Valli.
“Heart Of Gold” by Neil Young
No baby boomer alive to see Neil Young rise to solo stardom in the 1970s could have had any way of predicting the grunge movement two decades ahead. However, there was something different about the Canadian singer-songwriter, even if listeners couldn’t quite put their finger on it. Indeed, “Heart Of Gold” pushed the pendulum in a different direction, setting mainstream music on a jangly, uninhibited, and poignant trajectory that would influence countless artists to come.
“Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac
Finally, almost every baby boomer alive will likely remember the way Fleetwood Mac’s magnum opus, Rumours, seeped into virtually all aspects of life in the late 1970s, thanks to mega hits like “Dreams”. Baby boomers witnessed this Stevie Nicks-penned song being born in real time, which is something many of us late-to-the-game Fleetwood Mac fans often take for granted.
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