4 Songs From 1974 That Inspire Every Singer-Songwriter Alive Today

The year 1974 was quite a big one for the singer-songwriter and folk musician alike, and a ton of songs released that year are still inspiring musicians today. Let’s take a look at just four legendary songs that continue to influence and inspire artists today!

“Help Me” by Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell’s beloved album Court And Spark dropped in 1974, and with it, one of her most enduring songs. “Help Me” is a singer-songwriter jazz-pop love song, complete with an equally stunning performance from the band L.A. Express as the backing band. This song remains Mitchell’s biggest hit single, as it was her only song to hit the Top 10. “Help Me” peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Easy Listening chart. Personally, I think this song was one of Mitchell’s strongest vocal performances.

Fun fact: Prince, who was a fan of Mitchell, referenced “Help Me” in his 1987 song “The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker”. 

“Late For The Sky” by Jackson Browne

Singer-songwriter Jackson Browne makes this list with the title track of his 1974 rock album. “Late For The Sky” is a slow, steady, ballad-leaning tune that is as romantic as it gets. It’s a sobering song about an inevitable breakup that opens up the album beautifully. And despite never being released as a single, this song remains one of Jackson Browne’s most loved songs, even today.

“Cat’s In The Cradle” by Harry Chapin

This might be the most famous of the 1974 singer-songwriter songs on this list, and it remains a folk-rock staple decades later. Harry Chapin’s groundbreaking “Cat’s In The Cradle” comes from his fourth album, Verities & Balderdash. It remains Chapin’s only No. 1 hit and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1975. I can certainly see why. This song is an arresting tune about a man who has no time for his son, and later learns the hard way that his neglect would have catastrophic consequences for him once his son becomes an adult. 

The song was originally written as a poem by Chapin’s wife, Sandra, and is a fine example of how poetry can be used in singer-songwriter music.

“Chelsea Hotel #2” by Leonard Cohen

Quite a few songs from New Skin For The Old Ceremony by Leonard Cohen could have made it to this list. I went with “Chelsea Hotel #2” because it is, in my opinion, the most well-known track from that record. This song was allegedly (though Cohen more or less admitted it was true) about a sexual dalliance at the famed Chelsea Hotel with none other than famous singer Janis Joplin. The whole of the album, though, is an inspiring and vulnerable piece of work that has influenced countless musicians, from PJ Harvey to Ian McCulloch of Echo And The Bunnymen.

Photo by Andre Csillag/Shutterstock