Here’s the best glam rock song of each year of the 1970s.
Few genres changed as much during the ’70s as glam rock. What started at the beginning of the decade with glitter, platform boots, theatrical performances, and a handful of British bands quickly became a major force in popular music. T. Rex, David Bowie, Sweet and Slade helped establish the sound, while artists such as Alice Cooper, Mott the Hoople and Roxy Music pushed it in very different directions.
Glam also didn’t stay in one place for long. Some of the biggest artists of the genre moved toward pop, progressive rock, hard rock or something that was entirely too difficult to categorize at all.
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At the same time, the style and attitude of glam found their way into artists who weren’t necessarily considered glam rock acts. By the end of the decade, punk, new wave, disco and power pop had changed the musical landscape considerably, but plenty of glam’s ideas were still hanging around in the ether.
That makes choosing the best glam-rock song of each year a little more complicated than simply picking a hit from the biggest glam band around at the time. The songs on this list reflect the genre as it actually evolved throughout the decade, from its early-’70s explosion to the very different rock landscape of 1979.
The Best Glam Rock Song of Each Year of the 1970s
Ten years. Ten songs. One very glittery trip through the 1970s.
Gallery Credit: Sydney Taylor
Read more about ’70s glam rock and see the 11 best albums in the style from that decade, directly below:
The 11 Best 1970s Glam Rock Albums (Ranked)
Glam rock helped change the rules of rock and roll stardom… these eleven albums to be exact!
Gallery Credit: Sydney Taylor
