There was always that one person.
Maybe you saw them every day at school. Maybe they worked with you. Maybe you only crossed paths once in a while, but somehow they were still the first person you thought about when the right song came on the radio.
In the 1970s, there was no texting them whenever you wanted or checking their social media to see what they were doing. Sometimes all you had was a phone number, a photograph, a memory and a song that seemed to say everything you were too nervous to say yourself.
These 10 songs will bring those feelings right back.
- “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)” – The Temptations (1971)
Few songs capture the feeling of imagining an entire relationship with someone quite like this one. You could sit alone, hear it on the radio and suddenly picture a whole future with the person you couldn’t get out of your head.
- “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” – Stevie Wonder (1973)
Warm, simple and unmistakably romantic, this was the kind of song that could immediately make one particular person come to mind. Stevie Wonder made falling completely for someone sound effortless.
- “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” – Elvin Bishop (1975)
Sometimes the person you never expected to care about became the person you thought about constantly. This 1975 favorite captured that surprising moment when something casual suddenly became much more serious.
- “How Deep Is Your Love” – Bee Gees (1977)
The harmonies alone can transport you back. For anyone who had someone special on their mind in the late 1970s, this became one of those songs that seemed impossible to separate from romance.
- “Baby, I Love Your Way” – Peter Frampton (1975)
This song feels like a warm summer evening captured on a record. It was perfect for those moments when being around one particular person made everything else seem less important.
- “So Far Away” – Carole King (1971)
Thinking about someone was even harder when distance was involved. Long-distance calls were expensive, letters took time and sometimes this song said exactly what you were feeling.
- “Can’t Smile Without You” – Barry Manilow (1977)
By the late 1970s, this song was practically made for anyone whose mood seemed to depend on whether a certain person was around. It was sentimental, direct and almost impossible not to connect with someone from your past.
- “You Make Me Feel Brand New” – The Stylistics (1974)
The Stylistics gave the decade some unforgettable romantic records, and this was one of their finest. Hearing those opening notes could instantly make you think about the person who made ordinary days feel completely different.
- “I’d Really Love to See You Tonight” – England Dan & John Ford Coley (1976)
Sometimes you didn’t need a huge declaration of love. You just wanted to see them again. This song captured that quiet longing perfectly and became one of the defining soft-rock sounds of the decade.
- “Always and Forever” – Heatwave (1977)
For countless couples, this became more than another song on the radio. It became attached to dances, relationships and memories that lasted far beyond the 1970s.
Music had a way of making one person seem impossible to forget. Decades later, hearing the right song can bring back their face, their voice and even the way you felt waiting for the next time you would see them.
Which song still reminds you of someone from the 1970s?
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