The music of the 1970s will always sound amazing. But these three rock songs, which all came out in 1977, burn just as much today as they did when they were first released.
“It’s A Heartache” by Bonnie Tyler
Bonnie Tyler’s first Top 5 single, “It’s A Heartache” is on her sophomore It’s A Force album. The song was written by Ronnie Scott and Steve Wolfe.
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“It’s A Heartache” says, “It’s a fool’s game / Nothing but a fool’s game / Standing in the cold rain / Feeling like a clown / It’s a heartache / Nothing but a heartache / Love him ’til your arms break / Then he lets you down.”
Tyler is the first artist to record “It’s A Heartache”, but she isn’t the only one. It has since been covered numerous times, including by Juice Newton and Trick Pony. “It’s A Heartache” is the first song Tyler released after having vocal cord surgery, showing off her now-signature raspy voice.
“We Are The Champions” by Queen
One of Queen’s most iconic songs, “We Are The Champions” was written by the band’s own Freddie Mercury. The song appears on Queen’s News Of The World record.
“We Are The Champions” came out at the same time as Queen’s other major hit, “We Will Rock You”. “We Are The Champions” says, “And bad mistakes / I’ve made a few / I’ve had my share of sand kicked in my face / But I’ve come through / And I need to go on and on, and on, and on / We are the champions, my friends / And we’ll keep on fighting ’til the end / We are the champions / We are the champions / No time for losers / ‘Cause we are the champions of the world.”
“Barracuda” by Heart
Heart includes “Barracuda” on Little Queen, their third studio album. The song was written by band members Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Michael Derosier, and Roger Fisher. “Barracuda” is Heart’s second Top 10 single.
“Barracuda” says, “So this ain’t the end, I saw you again, today / I had to turn my heart away / Smile like the sun, kisses for everyone / And tales, it never fails / You lying so low in the weeds / I bet you gonna ambush me / You’d have me down, down, down, down on my knees / Now wouldn’t you, Barracuda? Oh.”
After “Barracuda”, it took three more years before Heart returned to the Top 10, with “Tell It Like It Is”, out in 1980. In 1983, Heart had their first No. 1 single, with “How Can I Refuse?”.
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