Few things are better than going on a long car ride, the freedom of having no worries, and feeling the breeze in your hair. You might not have a convertible, but you could always put your head outside the window for a short time. You can figure that part out.
The trick is to have some songs on the radio or streaming device that you can sing along with. Who cares if you can't carry a tune? That's for others to worry about.
At some point, however, you might be singing along and realize you know the words but not the name of the song. Some examples are below. We also give you a tiny backstory to each.
1970s songs you might know the words to but don't know the name of the track
"Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin (1971)
The opening to the song is unforgettable, both vocally and with the guitar riff. It's a fun song that propels forward in a nearly punkish manner. Take it along on an extended car drive and sing along at full volume, but you might ask yourself what the name of the song is.
You might even wonder how the song came to be called "Black Dog." The name comes from a black Labrador the band used to see at Headley Grange studio when they were recording the track, which appeared on Led Zeppelin's self-titled fourth album.
"Baba O'Riley" by The Who
If you were Googling this song, you might be searching for something called "Teenage Wasteland," as that lyric appears throughout the track. Plus, the song is ultimately about a group of people being stoned and "wasted." The song can be traced back to the band's appearance at the 1969 Isle of Wight festival, when the grounds were littered with garbage after everyone left.
The song was originally supposed to appear on the Who's follow-up to Tommy, a project called Lifehouse. When that was scrapped, eight of the songs were added to the album, Who's Next. The title of the song was inspired by two of Pete Townshend's influences, Indian spiritual guru Meher Baba and American composerTerry Riley.
"N.I.B." by Black Sabbath
The greatness of this track is that it definitely has a bluesy feel, and Ozzy Osbourne almost sings like a Pentecostal preacher, but the narrator is far more evil than that. Literally. The song is about falling in love from the Devil's point of view and trying to change into being a good person (or thing, or whatever).
There was never a real name for the track, and to call it "Oh yeah!" (something Ozzy sings at different points in the song) would have implied a poppy-ness, and this is Black Sabbath we are talking about. Instead, "N.I.B." appears to be an inside joke and what the band thought drummer Bill Ward's beard looked like at the time: A pen nib.
"Annie's Song" by John Denver
As with the Who song above, if a person is searching for this overly saccharine tune, one might try "You Fill Up My Senses" first. While that is the easiest part of the track to sing along with (if you choose to do such a thing), the title of the song is an ode to Denver's wife at the time.
The happiness would be fleeting, though. Denver and Annie Martell divorced in the early 1980s. During the split, Annie cut down Denver's favorite trees at their residence, and Denver took a chainsaw and cut their bed and kitchen table in half.