The outside world often feels topsy-turvy, overwhelming, and sometimes, downright uncomfortable and unsettling. But inside my car, my trusty little Honda Civic named Rhonda, the radio is loud, the speakers are familiarly crackly because it’s so loud, and the Top 40 hits of the day are actually the Top 40 hits from 1973.
“Money” by Pink Floyd
Dark Side Of The Moon is one of those albums that I can listen to front to back and never tire of it. I often put on the full album when I’m on extended car rides, although I’ll admit that “On The Run” can feel a bit unsettling, depending on what the traffic looks like that day. Nevertheless, the psychedelic rock band’s big Top 40 hit from 1973, “Money”, is an all-time classic that is in heavy rotation in Rhonda the Honda. There’s nothing quite like getting to the 4/4 instrumental section when you’re on a nice, wide stretch of open road.
“Radar Love” by Golden Earring
The fact that Golden Earring’s “Radar Love” is one of the best Top 40 hits of 1973 to drive to is right there in the opening lyric. “I’ve been drivin’ all night, my hand’s wet on the wheel / There’s a voice in my head that drives my heel.” Interestingly, the “forgotten song” that they sing about in the second half of the track is “Coming On Strong” by Brenda Lee, which came out in 1966. That was only seven years before “Radar Love” came out. I’m listening to this Golden Earring track in 2026, which is 53 years later.
“Superstition” by Stevie Wonder
I have never heard a funkier clavinet part than Stevie Wonder’s on “Superstition”, and frankly, I don’t think I ever will. At the risk of aging myself, I first heard this song as a child when Raven-Symoné covered it for The Haunted Mansion movie, starring Eddie Murphy. I liked that version just fine. (I was very much into Cheetah Girls at the time.) But once I heard the original by Wonder, it was officially all over for me. The song is a year-round banger, although I’d be lying if I said I didn’t play it a little more frequently for spooky season every October.
“Rocky Mountain Way” by Joe Walsh
Finally, one of my all-time favorite road trip songs (and songs in general) is “Rocky Mountain Way” by Joe Walsh. Something about that steady groove punctuated by a fat, fuzzy guitar tone never gets old. Walsh’s distinct vocal timbre sits on the beat in an interesting, catchy way that tends to stay in my head long after the song stops. Just from writing this article, I will inevitably be singing “well, he’s telling us this, and he’s telling us that, changes it every day” all day. Even as someone who has spent her entire life east of the Mississippi River, this song makes me feel like I’m in the know when it comes to what, exactly, the Rocky Mountain Way really is.
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