Songs of the 70s is the latest St. Blog’s top ten (at least so say the indomitable Kat Lively, Kathy the Carmelite and Dylan), so, in alphabetical order.

Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen – Nothing since compares, but what could? This is the epitome of rock ‘n roll.

Call Me by Blondie – As a teenage boy, hearing her coo “Cover me with kisses, baby” was nearly bliss.

China Grove by the Doobie Brothers – “The people of the town are strange and they’re proud of where they came”. Of whom can’t one say that?

Fat Bottomed Girls by Queen – One of the funniest moments of my life was one Monday morning in high school – definitely 1979, probably early March. I’d just heard that song for the first time and I asked my friend Dave if he’d heard it yet. He said, “You mean they wrote a song about [name omitted]?” Of course the young lady whose name I omitted (and who unquestionably fit the description in her too-small Gloria Vanderbilts) was standing right behind him and gave him what he deserved for the comment. I’ve never seen two people with faces that red. It’s still funny twenty-four years later!

Fire by Ohio Players – Funky and smooth. Worthy of a remake by Victor Lams! (See I really wasn’t interested in them just for the racy album covers!)

Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding by Elton John – I first heard it rather shortly after a friend died. It was very moving to the pretentious teenager I was.

I Wanna Be Sedated by The Ramones – As close as most of us got to punk. Wanting to be sedated is probably one of the best possible reactions to life in the 70s.

I’m Not In Love by 10 cc – Speaking of sedation, I heard this at the dentist a lot – a hip dentist circa 1976. It really goes well with nitrous oxide. “Be quiet, big boys don’t cry.”

Miss You by Rolling Stones – Just thinking of it puts a spring in my step, a smirk on my face and a wiggle in my hips. “People think I’m crazy.”

Paradise by the Dashboard Light by Meat Loaf – Melodramatic? Yep. Cliched? That too. Remember, though, that clichés are adopted because they say things to which everyone can relate. “It never felt so good, it never felt so right.” As we know, though, emotion is just about the worst possible source of moral standards.

Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin – Inescapable in its day and even now it makes me wonder . . .

(OK, smartypants, that was 11. There was a tie.) There are lots of other songs from the 70s that were a big part of my life in the 80s, but that’s a whole other story.