In the 70s, rock music combined infectious energy onstage with a rebellious streak. Here are some songs from that era that made everyone get excited about arena rock. These still dominate our playlists today.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen
Whether this song was meant to be Freddie Mercury‘s way of coming out to the world or a religious tribute, we may never really know. One thing we do know, though, is that ever since its 1975 release, “Bohemian Rhapsody” has had a chokehold on us all. This tune proved that a 6-minute rock song could achieve commercial success, even at a mainstream level.
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“You Really Got Me” by Van Halen
Even though The Kinks originally released this song in 1964, the Van Halen version is simply unmatched. When released by the rock group, this song peaked at No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Van Halen would go on to have mega success with songs like “Jump”, but this was the cover that really started it all.
“Feels Like The First Time” by Foreigner
Similar to Van Halen, “Feels Like The First Time” was actually Foreigner’s debut single as a group. This one peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Mick Jones, Foreigner’s guitarist, penned this one while putting Foreigner together.
“‘Feels Like The First Time’ was the first song I wrote for the new chapter. And that led subsequently to putting a band together,” Jones shared with SongFacts. “There I was, finally the primary writer, and that song set the ball rolling for me…”
“Hold The Line” by Toto
There’s something powerful about this particular song. David Paich, the keyboardist of Toto, actually wrote this one.
Paich wrote this song about a time in high school when he was “juggling girlfriends” and had multiple girls calling him on the phone. The expression “hold the line” refers to holding the line on the phone but also staying at the position you’re at, whether that means talking to one girl or multiple at a time.
“Dream On” by Aerosmith
Everything you need to know about the meaning of the song “Dream On” is pretty much in the title. Ironically, this song about not giving up on your dreams, no matter what, was also the song that saved Aerosmith’s career. The band had released an unsuccessful debut album before they put this song out, which really showed their label the potential they had as a group.
Photo by: Richard E. Aaron/Redferns