3 Songs From the 70s That Still Sound Great on a Summer Playlist Today

When the weather starts getting warmer, it’s the perfect time to crank up the music. Fortunately, there are plenty of songs to celebrate the summer season, including these three, which all came out in the 1970s.

“Margaritaville”

Jimmy Buffett likely had no idea when he wrote “Margaritaville” what the song would do for him and his career. Out in 1977,  “Margaritaville” is Buffett’s first and only No. 1 hit.

“Margaritaville” says, “Wasting away again in Margaritaville / Searchin’ for my lost shaker of salt / Some people claim / That there’s a woman to blame / But I know it’s nobody’s fault.”

The song is partly based on a true story. Buffett was in Key West, lamenting to his producer, Robert Putnam, about a recent experience.

“He comes in and starts telling me about a day he had in Key West,” Putnam recalls. “He was coming home from a bar, and he lost one of his flip-flops. And he stepped on a beer can top, and he couldn’t find the salt for his margarita. He says he’s writing lyrics to it, and I say ‘That’s a terrible idea for a song.’”

Buffett later launched numerous successful businesses, all tied to his hit “Margaritaville” single.

“Sunshine On My Shoulders” by John Denver

It might be impossible not to smile while listening to “Sunshine On My Shoulders” by John Denver. The song first appears on Denver’s 1971 Poems, Prayers & Promises album. But two years later, it became part of John Denver’s Greatest Hits record,  which is when he also released it as a single.

“Sunshine On My Shoulders” is Denver’s first song to reach the top of the charts.

Written by Denver, along with Dick Kniss and Mike Taylor,  “Sunshine On My Shoulders” says, “Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy / Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry / Sunshine on the water looks so lovely / Sunshine almost always makes me high.”

“Summer Nights”

John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John team up for “Summer Nights”. The song is part of the Grease movie, which they both starred in as Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson.

A No. 1 single, “Summer Nights” was written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The feel-good song says, “Summer lovin’, had me a blast / Summer lovin’, happened so fast / Met a girl crazy for me / Met a boy cute as can be / Summer days drifting away / To, uh oh, those summer nights.”

Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images

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