3 Songs From 1975 That Teens Couldn’t Stop Playing in Their First Car

Many 70s teens back in 1975 got their hands on their very first car. It’s quite the experience, turning over the engine and taking off down the road in a car that’s yours. Plenty of teens that year drove themselves to high school, blasting some iconic 1975 songs the whole way there. If you were a teenager that year, these three songs might have been in your rotation.

“Shining Star” by Earth, Wind & Fire from ‘That’s The Way Of The World’

Progressive soul was all the rage in 1975, due in part to how much the youngest among us embraced it. It’s no surprise that this funky prog-soul release from Earth, Wind & Fire was a hit on the charts. “Shining Star” was the band’s first single to top both the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the Hot Soul Songs chart.

“Fame” by David Bowie from ‘Young Americans’

David Bowie always had his thumb on the pulse of forward-thinking music, and the resulting 1975 hit funk song “Fame” resonated with teens and adults alike. This tune from Young Americans peaked at No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart and reached the Top 20 around the globe.

Fun fact: John Lennon of The Beatles co-wrote the song via a jam session at Electric Lady Studios. Guitarist Carlos Alomar came up with the riff, and Bowie put the whole thing together quite gloriously.

“Listen To What The Man Said” by Wings from ‘Venus And Mars’

From the start of his career in the 1960s to now, Paul McCartney has always had this uncanny ability to write pop hits that resonated with the youth, even after he was no longer considered a youth himself. “Listen To What The Man Said” is just one example of Wings songs that teens (and adults) loved. And it remains one of the band’s biggest hits from 1975.

“Listen To What The Man Said” made it all the way to No. 1 on the Hot 100 and No. 6 on the UK Singles chart. I still can’t get Tom Scott’s saxophone solo out of my head, personally. Imagine driving down the road on the way to school with that killer solo blaring through the speakers!

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