(Credits: Far Out)
Thu 2 April 2026 13:00, UK
Although it was a decade defined by mass unrest and uncertainty, the 1970s were certainly one of the most revolutionary periods when it came to music.
At the dawn of the ‘70s, gone were the peace signs and flower crowns of the fading counterculture movement and in their place came something far more terrifying: cultural and societal unpredictability. With the murder of Meredith Hunter at the Altamont Free Concert, the Manson murders, and a consistent sense of foreboding at every turn, the ‘70s truly started with an unease that remained throughout the entire decade.
However, as is often the case when the world falls down, the music rises up. Across the entire decade, the world witnessed several things it had never seen before, with revolutionary movements across rock, pop, disco, art rock, glam rock, and just about everything else that still appears in different corners of the modern landscape.
In 1976 alone, the world was gifted with some of the absolute best and most genre-defining masterpieces in damn-near all of music history, including the likes of Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life, the Eagles’ Hotel California, and so much more.
As always, the summer time also brought some of the year’s best and most memorable tunes, including Wings’ ‘Let ‘Em In’, Bee Gees’ ‘You Should Be Dancing’, Queen’s ‘You’re My Best Friend’, and more, but when it comes to the ultimate rock song of the summer that year, there’s only one song that took the crown.
What was the rock song of the summer in 1976?
In 1976, Elton John fancied himself as a sort of Motown imitator and sought out to recreate some of the earlier magic set by names like Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell alongside Kiki Dee – the song, ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’, had that same rhythmic groove as many of Motown’s best players, but it also had that lighthearted, breezy ease that gave it its wings during the entire summer period.
However, over in the rock arena, Thin Lizzy were carrying quite the mantra with ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’, a song that was still being played in heavy rotation during the year’s more scorching months. It came at the right time for the band, too, who weren’t quite reaching the level they wanted following the release of their initial smash hit, ‘Whiskey In The Jar’, in 1972.
As the first single from their record Jailbreak, ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’ put them on the map – literally – pushing their name across American audiences and giving them the breakthrough they craved at the time. Funnily enough, however, they hadn’t wanted it on the record to begin with, and initially chose to disregard it when it came to picking a ten-song tracklist.
However, their management heard it and argued its case, saying that there was something “really good” about it, even though, back then, it had yet to be given their innovative twin-guitar treatment. Still, they detected something hit-worthy in it, and they were right – ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’ became Thin Lizzy’s defining moment, and the ultimate rock song of the summer in 1976.
