3 Forgotten Songs From 1977 That Secretly Defined the Decade

There’s nothing quite like re-remembering an old sonic favorite. Here are three hidden gem songs from 1977 that were hits in their own right. You just might need to be reminded of them.

“Southern Nights” by Glen Campbell

Whenever I hear this song, I get an itch to find a glass of iced tea and a porch swing. As Glen Campbell once shared, per Songfacts, “Southern Nights” took inspiration from his childhood.

“My dad told me when I was a kid, ‘You’re having the best time of your life, and you don’t even know it.’ Sure enough, he was right. Now I really feel the need to go back home, float down the Missouri River, and fish for bass and crappies. It’s real peaceful, and remote from things like telephones. My head is still there.”

“Rich Girl” by Hall & Oates

This song was written about an ex-boyfriend of Daryl Hall’s girlfriend, Sara Allen. He came from a pretty rich family. “Rich boy” didn’t roll off the tongue quite the same, so “Rich girl” was used instead.

“…I said, ‘This guy is out of his mind, but he doesn’t have to worry about it because his father’s gonna bail him out of any problems he gets in.’ So I sat down and wrote that chorus,” Hall explained to Fred Bronson. “[Sings] ‘He can rely on the old man’s money/he can rely on the old man’s money/he’s a rich guy.’ I thought that didn’t sound right, so I changed it to ‘Rich Girl’. He knows the song was written about him.”

“Give A Little Bit” by Supertramp

The message of “Give A Little Bit” is quite simple but pretty necessary. It might sound like it’s about a relationship, but it was actually inspired by “All You Need Is Love”. It’s about the love we owe each other as people.

Rodger Hodgson told Louder of this song:

“Even at an unwizened young age when I wrote this song, I saw that the world needed love. I believed in love – it was always for love – and I just felt that was the most important thing in life. This song has really taken on a life of its own, and I think it’s even more relevant today than when I wrote it…”

Photo by: Ed Perlstein/Redferns/Getty Images

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