20 pop classics from the 1970s that should not be called soft-rock

“Dancing Queen” by ABBA (1976)

I suppose I could have included this in the disco addendum to my funk piece. But I don’t consider this disco. I consider it dance pop – one of the greatest dance pop songs ever recorded. It simply bursts out of the gates – chorus up front and in your face. The swirling strings and synths are ideally balanced, always staying in the background and never overwhelming the earworm melody.

I probably can’t tell you much about “Dancing Queen.” You either already love it or you don’t, and I have no cure for curmudgeonry. So I’ll simply quote Toni Collette from her 1994 breakout movie, Muriel’s Wedding. At the climax of the sweet romance, the awkward ABBA fan Muriel sums up her life with this: “When I lived in Porpoise Spit, I used to sit in my room for hours and listen to ABBA songs. But since I met you and moved to Sydney, I haven’t listened to one ABBA song. That’s because my life is as good as an ABBA song. It’s as good as ‘Dancing Queen!’”

“Margaritaville” by Jimmy Buffett (1977)

Jimmy Buffett had been kicking around, building his cult following for about ten years when he released his seventh album, Changes in Attitude, Changes in Latitude. He had some great songs on those earlier albums. “Come Monday,” perhaps the loveliest song he ever wrote, had been a modest hit a few years earlier. Why was “Margaritaville” the song that broke the dam? I don’t really know.

It has Buffett’s clever wordplay and world-weary sense of heartbreak. It describes a fantasy lifestyle in all its mundane dreariness yet maintains its sense of wonder and sense of hope. In other words, it’s a very well-written song.

But it’s not all that different from the tunes Buffett had already written and would continue writing for decades to come. So why did this one become his signature? I think it is because of the title. Writers of all stripes are looking for brevity and substance. Say it in one page or in one sentence. Say it in one word. (BTW, I am now 3,800 words into this little essay.) The name “Margaritaville” goes well beyond the title. It captures a lifestyle, as we know from its continual usage in all things Buffett. Fortunately, beyond all that, it’s an excellent song.