There was something special about getting your first car in the 1970s.
Maybe it was a hand-me-down from your parents, a used car you bought after months of saving paychecks, or something that looked a whole lot better to you at 17 than it probably did to everyone else. It didn’t have Bluetooth, a touchscreen, or even cup holders in many cases. What it did have was an AM/FM radio, maybe an 8-track player, and the kind of freedom you had been waiting your whole teenage life to experience.
You piled your friends inside, rolled the windows down, and suddenly even a drive to nowhere felt like an adventure. And these were the songs that made those drives unforgettable.
1. “Go Your Own Way” – Fleetwood Mac
Few songs sounded better coming through a car radio than this one. Released in 1976, “Go Your Own Way” had the kind of energy that made you want to keep driving even after you had passed your turn. For a generation discovering independence behind the wheel, it practically felt like a theme song.
2. “Listen to the Music” – The Doobie Brothers
The title really said it all. This 1972 favorite had an easygoing sound that fit perfectly with a sunny afternoon, the windows rolled down, and nowhere particularly important to be. Sometimes driving around with your friends and listening to the radio was the entire plan.
3. “Take It Easy” – Eagles
When “Take It Easy” arrived in 1972, it became one of those songs that seemed made for the open road. The harmonies, guitars, and relaxed feeling captured something about the decade perfectly. Hearing those opening notes today can still make an ordinary highway feel like a road trip.
4. “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” – Looking Glass
Released in 1972, “Brandy” was one of those songs you heard everywhere for a while. It was catchy enough to sing along with, but it also told a story, which made it the kind of song people actually stopped talking to listen to when it came over the radio.
5. “Dreams” – Fleetwood Mac
By 1977, Fleetwood Mac was nearly impossible to escape, and “Dreams” became one of the defining songs of the era. It had a smooth, hypnotic sound that worked just as well during a quiet nighttime drive as it did coming from the stereo at a party.
6. “More Than a Feeling” – Boston
That opening guitar could instantly change the mood inside a car. Released in 1976, “More Than a Feeling” became a rock radio staple and seemed to demand that the volume knob be turned a little farther to the right. Decades later, it still has that effect.
7. “American Pie” – Don McLean
At more than eight minutes long, “American Pie” was practically a journey of its own. When it came on the radio, there was plenty of time for everyone in the car to join in on the chorus. Even people who couldn’t remember every verse seemed to know exactly when “the day the music died” was coming.
8. “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)” – The Four Seasons
Released late in the decade’s run in 1975, this was pure feel-good radio. The song had the kind of chorus that could turn a car full of friends into an impromptu singing group, whether anyone could actually carry a tune or not.
9. “Don’t Stop” – Fleetwood Mac
Another song from Rumours that became impossible to separate from the late 1970s. “Don’t Stop” had an optimistic energy that fit perfectly with being young, having your first set of car keys, and feeling like whatever came next was going to be exciting.
10. “Carry on Wayward Son” – Kansas
By 1976, rock radio was getting louder, and Kansas delivered one of the decade’s biggest sing-along classics. “Carry on Wayward Son” was exactly the sort of song that made you forget how unimpressive your car speakers actually were.
Your first car might be long gone, but chances are you still remember it. You remember the color, the smell, the friends who rode with you, and probably at least one song that instantly takes you back to sitting behind that steering wheel.
Which song reminds you most of driving in the 1970s? And what was your first car?
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