Some soft rock songs come and go like a gentle, passing breeze—here for one minute, gone the next. Other soft rock songs, like these five, get trapped inside my head like an ever-rotating tornado, forcing me to sing them to myself for at least three days straight. Probably longer, if I’m being honest.
“Turn The Page” by Bob Seger
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I’ll begin this list of soft rock songs that glue themselves to the inside of my skull with the only soprano saxophone solo to ever get stuck in my head for days at a time. It doesn’t help that, since I have had the ability to form memories, my mother has always made a point of cranking the radio every time the iconic intro to “Turn The Page” begins. So, maybe this all comes down to how many times I heard this song in utero.
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“You Make Loving Fun” by Fleetwood Mac
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“You Make Loving Fun” by Fleetwood Mac has so many groovy twists and turns that, sometimes, it’ll feel like I have multiple songs stuck in my head at once. This beloved Christine McVie track is as funky as it is beautiful, which is a rare balance that artists don’t always maintain when writing pop songs. McVie, of course, was the exception.
“Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” by Steely Dan
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Steely Dan is one of those soft rock bands that 1.) doesn’t really sound that much like soft rock and 2.) is the butt of many soft-rock-related jokes. I have plenty of friends who would (and do) groan when I put on soft rock songs like “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number”. But you know what? If it weren’t such a vibe, then it probably wouldn’t be rattling around in my head for a week straight.
“Telephone Line” by Electric Light Orchestra
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Electric Light Orchestra is another band that is often classified as soft rock, even when other genres like art pop or prog rock might be more accurate. Nevertheless, considering just how deeply this song embeds itself into my brain, I’ll count this as a worthy entry on this list of utterly infectious soft rock songs.
“Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” by Billy Joel
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Finally, wrapping up this list of soft rock songs from the 1970s that lodge themselves deep into my internal monologue every time I hear them is “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” by Billy Joel. Clever lines about the futility of killing yourself over a paycheck? This song has it. An infectious groove that makes you want to play the song back immediately? Yep, it has that, too. A vocalization that I mutter under my breath for at least a week straight? Yep, you’re absolutely on the right track-ack-ack-ack-ack-ack.
Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns