Some rock hits will always have a place in 70s kids’ hearts, and these three songs that hit the airwaves in 1979 might just be on your own list of favorites. Let’s take a look at just a few rock hits from 1979 that 70s kids totally know the words to today, decades after they were first released.
“Don’t Bring Me Down” by Electric Light Orchestra from ‘Discovery’
Out of all the hits that ELO scored with their symphonic rock talents, “Don’t Bring Me Down” remains their highest-charting hit in the US. I can see why. From start to finish, this song is loaded with distortion fit for a punk rock band. But it is also loaded with disco and electronic rock elements that make it sound totally unique. Oddly enough, Jeff Lynne “wrote it at the last minute” to add some high-volume goodness to Discovery. “Don’t Bring Me Down” ended up hitting No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
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“Heart Of Glass” by Blondie from ‘Parallel Lines’
Is there a more 80s-sounding song to hit the airwaves in the 70s than Blondie’s “Heart Of Glass”? I’m leaning toward “nope.” This disco new wave pop-rock hit was a smash across the board. It peaked at No. 1 in the US, UK, Canada, and elsewhere. Blondie was ahead of their time in the late 1970s. And this song, as well as the whole of Parallel Lines, proves that notion. I can see why Debbie Harry said she was the proudest of this song out of the rest in her songwriting lexicon.
“Heartache Tonight” by Eagles from ‘The Long Run’
This Eagles classic was a No. 1 smash hit on the Hot 100. Sadly, it was also the band’s final song to top that particular chart. A little bit blues, a little bit rock and roll, “Heartache Tonight” was inspired by the likes of Sam Cooke and came to be during a jam session between Glenn Frey and JD Souther. They even called Bob Seger on the phone, sang him a verse, and Seger gave them a chorus. It’s a massively collaborative song, and I can definitely understand why it’s one of the most-loved rock hits to come out of 1979.
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