Four overplayed songs from the 1970s that deserve all the love they get

There are some songs that will come on your radio or favorite streaming service that you will say aloud, "This again?" And most of the time, you will be right. For instance, anything by Michael Bolton you might have questions about.

What gets a song to be overplayed? Requests from listeners? Chart-topping drivel? Radio stations wouldn't play the tunes so much if there was not an audience for the songs.

The following four tracks are still overplayed and were when they were released in the 1970s. That does not mean they are not worthy of being heard, however. In fact, they are some of the few examples of how a song deserves to be played too much.

Four songs from the 1970s that are overplayed but are worthy of being so

"More Than a Feeling" - Boston

A heavier rock song with a great melody, this tune could have gone far wrong. Even the vocals are a bit like, "Oh, come on! That's too much." The reason this song is so glorious is that for all its grandiose, one will find themselves almost accidentally singing along with it at full throat while alone in their car. It's pure gold fun.

Plus, the wall of sound guitar work helped inform the direction of some later excellent groups, such as Smashing Pumpkins. Is "More Than a Feeling" overproduced? Maybe, but that was part of the Boston sound. Yet, no one else seemed to be able to sound exactly like them on their first two records.

"Free Bird" - Lynyrd Skynyrd

The issue with this track is that fans started yelling "Play Free Bird" at nearly everything even if Lynyrd Skynyrd weren't even involved. That is enough to make someone who doesn't know the song well tired of it. Asking the track to be played almost makes it seem as if the song is being made fun of.

Instead, the tune is a Southern rock answer to the next song on this list. Both are more than eight minutes and both end differently (for the most part) than they begin. "Free Bird" is a song about leaving someone to be, well...free. That might ultimately cause the person to be left sad, of course.

What isn't sad is listening to several minutes of the doubling of the lead guitars in the second half of the song. It's great rock and roll. That's all it needs to be.

"Stairway To Heaven" - Led Zeppelin

With "Stairway To Heaven" the joy comes in peeling off the layers of the song. It drones on at the beginning but becomes an iconic example of how to build a song from quiet to bombast. The words are ethereal and almost too pagan. But the imagery is part of what makes the track so wonderful.

Would a band that was not as arrogant make this song? No. But Zeppelin had a good reason to be arrogant: They knew they could pull off any kind of tune they wanted and do so flawlessly. The only issue with overplaying the eight minutes of this song is that the tune might overshadow other Zeppelin tracks that are even better, such as "When the Levee Breaks."

"Rock and Roll All Nite" - Kiss

Are the words relatively silly and meaningless? Most likely. But that is not the point of the song at all. This is meant for people ready to party and try to have a good time. The tune is also perfect for the party-like atmosphere of Kiss concerts. The song does not stretch to be anything other than the fluff it is and it is great fluff.

Plus, seriously, this is Kiss we are discussing. The band does have some weightier tracks, but the whole point of the band is to create some music for those who want to escape the dismal realities life brings sometimes. "Rock and Roll All Nite" is not the best song ever written, of course, but it's more fun than 99 percent of the stuff on your streaming radio.

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