4 Songs From 70s Classic Rock You Can Probably Recognize (Even if You Can’t Name Them)

Who doesn’t love a throwback hit from the 70s? Here are a few 70s songs you might know, but likely more for their music than their names.

“Sultans Of Swing” by Dire Straits

This song was inspired by a band frontman Mark Knopfler saw in a South London pub called the “Sultans of Swing.”

“When the guys said, ‘Thank you very much, you know, we are the Sultans of Swing,’ there was something really funny about it to me because Sultans, they absolutely weren’t,” Knopfler told Rolling Stone. “You know, they were rather tired little blokes in pullovers.”

“Ventura Highway” by America

This song is deceptive because the words “Ventura Highway” are easy to miss at the beginning of the chorus. Plus, I feel like this song is mostly remembered for that iconic guitar riff in the intro. Still, that title is in there if you look at the lyrics.

Ventura Highway in the sunshine
Where the days are longer
The nights are stronger than moonshine
You’re gonna go, I know.

“The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac

This is another one where you may miss the title if you’re not paying close attention. This song, like many of the songs on Rumours, was written amidst tension and turmoil between the band members of Fleetwood Mac, many of whom were going through breakups at the time. It started as a Christine McVie song, but ended up being a bit of a group effort to finish. The words “If you don’t love me now, you will never love me again” were taken from a different Stevie Nicks song. The lyrics were added into “The Chain” per Lindsey Buckingham’s request.

“The Joker” by Steve Miller Band

“The Joker” gave The Steve Miller Band their first real hit. This song, which references several other songs, topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in early 1974.

“I never thought ‘The Joker’ was going to be a hit,” Miller eventually said of the song. “I always wanted to make singles, I like singles. So I just started taking that two-and-a-half-minute thing and started looking for sounds that record well.”

Photo by: Richard Creamer/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

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