It's a given that much of the greatest music of all time was released from 1964 to around 1972 or 73. This is the golden era where the 45 was king and AM radio was the go-to place to hear these great songs. But things really started changing in the early 70s as FM gradually replaced AM as the place to hear good music. The 45 gave way to the LP, and longer more sophisticated songs became the norm. Artists liked this in that they weren't restricted by the 3:00 de facto length of a 45 single. For me a lot of this "artistic freedom" was too much of a good thing. With boring drum solos and self indulgent instrumental breaks and passages, a lot of songs were a long way away from the basic verse chorus verse that was the hallmark of many great songs just a few short years prior.
But good singles were still being released, you just rarely heard them on AM radio anymore. Many of these songs were edited down to keep them close to 3:00 which wasn't always a good thing. Still there are many great 45s from the 70s and 80s that are very underrated and remain in the shadows. These are the songs I'm going to profile.


Rod Stewart   "Let Me Be Your Car"

Rod The Mod was still recording some great songs all through the 70s. Released in early 1975, this is his last 45 on the Mercury label, before he switched to Warner Bros. and moved on to bigger if not better things. Rod really gives this Elton John/Bernie Taupin song a workout, he was always a great interpreter. In fact Elton contributes piano and back up vocals on this killer track.