Who doesn’t love some good rock, funk, and disco from the mid-1970s? Sadly, far too many hits from 1976, specifically, don’t get as much love today as they should. You might be able to recall the following three somewhat forgotten songs from 1976 after the first few seconds, but I bet you haven’t thought about them in a while. Let’s change that!
“With Your Love” by Jefferson Starship
I remember the absolutely sick cover of the 1976 album Spitfire, but I completely forgot about this hefty hit from that album, the delightful soft rock tune “With Your Love”. This tune, written by Vic Smith, Joey Covington, and Marty Balin, was first recorded by Jefferson Starship and released in mid-1976. It was the band’s lead single from the above-mentioned album, and it was a hefty hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The record peaked at No. 12, and also hit No. 6 on the Adult Contemporary chart and did similarly well in Canada. You just can’t beat those jazzy hooks!
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“Young Hearts Run Free” by Candi Staton
Candi Staton has an incredible voice, and her work in 1970s disco was on another level. “Young Hearts Run Free”, one of her biggest hits, was first released in 1976 and hit the US charts in a big way. The disco tune made it to No. 20 on the Hot 100 and topped the Hot Soul Singles chart. It also did very well in the UK. Though David Crawford is credited as the song’s writer, Stanton said in 2024 that she wrote the song about her experience with domestic abuse. She later left that abusive relationship and enjoyed a successful career.
“Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker)” by Parliament
This is my favorite Parliament song. And for some reason, I never hear it out in the wild anymore, nor do I hear it on movie and TV soundtracks. That’s an enormous shame, because this might just be the funnest funk song of the 1970s. It really shouldn’t be an entry on our list of forgotten songs from 1976, and yet, I never hear it anywhere today. This absolute jam made it to No. 15 on the Hot 100 chart that year.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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