Some of the best songs of a particular era dominated the radio for years, only to fade away almost completely after a few decades. I feel like this was the case for the following forgotten songs from 1972, each of which I haven’t heard on the radio in years. That’s a shame, because some of these tunes are pretty incredible. One of them, though, should be left behind in music history. Let’s refresh our collective memory, shall we?
“Nice To Be With You” by Gallery from ‘Nice To Be With You’
I can’t remember the last time I heard this soft rock song on the radio, and that’s a shame. “Nice To Be With You” by Gallery is a fantastic song. It’s also one that got a bit of flak on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, where it received a “lousy” rating. Despite the diss, Gallery performed the song on the program mere months later. Take that, Dick Clark!
“Nice To Be With You” reached the Top 10 in multiple countries, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 in Canada.
“Clair” by Gilbert O’Sullivan from ‘Back To Front’
This soft rock pop-leaning tune from Gilbert O’Sullivan was quite popular back in the day, and it remains one of the Irish singer-songwriter’s biggest-selling tracks. I’m not surprised I don’t hear it on classic rock radio more often, though. “Clair” is a controversial song about a man who appears to fall in love with the young girl he’s babysitting and laments their age difference in the song’s lyrics. I’m honestly shocked that this song was such a hit back in 1972, though some people have defended it, saying that the lyrics are somewhat ambiguous in nature and may not reference romantic love.
“Clair” peaked at No. 2 in the US and No. 1 in the UK. Radio stations nowadays wouldn’t touch this song with a 10-foot pole.
“Song Sung Blue” by Neil Diamond
Tons of Neil Diamond songs still make it to classic rock and oldies radio stations across the globe, from “Cracklin’ Rose” to “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers”. However, I decided to include “Song Sung Blue” on our list of forgotten songs from 1972 because I literally cannot remember the last time I heard this pop gem on the radio. It feels like years. That’s strange to me, because this song was a Grammy Award nominee and a No. 1 hit in the US.
(Photo by Jack Mitchell/Getty Images)
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Author: Em Casalena