{"id":509177,"date":"2026-04-02T15:50:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T15:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/509177\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T15:50:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T15:50:10","slug":"what-was-the-rock-song-of-the-summer-in-1976","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/509177\/","title":{"rendered":"What was the rock song of the summer in 1976?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Record<\/p>\n

(Credits: Far Out)<\/p>\n

Thu 2 April 2026 13:00, UK <\/p>\n

Although it was a decade defined by mass unrest and uncertainty, the 1970s<\/a> were certainly one of the most revolutionary periods when it came to music.<\/p>\n

At the dawn of the \u201870s, 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<\/a>, and a consistent sense of foreboding at every turn, the \u201870s truly started with an unease that remained throughout the entire decade.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s Songs in the Key of Life, the Eagles\u2019 Hotel California, and so much more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As always, the summer time also brought some of the year\u2019s best and most memorable tunes, including Wings\u2019 \u2018Let \u2018Em In\u2019, Bee Gees\u2019 \u2018You Should Be Dancing\u2019, Queen\u2019s \u2018You\u2019re My Best Friend\u2019, and more, but when it comes to the ultimate rock song of the summer that year, there\u2019s only one song that took the crown.<\/p>\n

What was the rock song of the summer in 1976?<\/p>\n

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 \u2013 the song, \u2018Don\u2019t Go Breaking My Heart\u2019, had that same rhythmic groove as many of Motown\u2019s best players, but it also had that lighthearted, breezy ease that gave it its wings during the entire summer period.<\/p>\n

However, over in the rock arena, Thin Lizzy were carrying quite the mantra<\/a> with \u2018The Boys Are Back In Town\u2019, a song that was still being played in heavy rotation during the year\u2019s more scorching months. It came at the right time for the band, too, who weren\u2019t quite reaching the level they wanted following the release of their initial smash hit, \u2018Whiskey In The Jar\u2019, in 1972.<\/p>\n

As the first single from their record Jailbreak, \u2018The Boys Are Back In Town\u2019 put them on the map \u2013 literally \u2013 pushing their name across American audiences and giving them the breakthrough they craved at the time. Funnily enough, however, they hadn\u2019t wanted it on the record to begin with, and initially chose to disregard it when it came to picking a ten-song tracklist.<\/p>\n

However, their management heard it and argued its case, saying that there was something \u201creally good\u201d 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 \u2013 \u2018The Boys Are Back In Town\u2019 became Thin Lizzy\u2019s defining moment, and the ultimate rock song of the summer in 1976.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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