5 Classic Rock Songs From 1970 We'll Be Blasting On Repeat 'Til The Day We Die

1970 was the golden age of classic rock, when the growing swagger of the bands of the 1960s combined with new heights in terms of groove and heaviness to produce some of the most infectiously hard-rocking songs of all time. But which are those classic rock songs from 1970 that stand up best to repeat listening? We think we may have the answer.

When it comes to rock, the tunes that you want to keep blasting all night long generally have two things in common: a driving, high-tempo rhythm section that you want to keep banging your head to, as well as irresistible, heavy riffs that barely let up during the duration of the track, allowing you to enjoy it in a hypnotic loop that allows you to convince yourself that the song never really ends.

That means absolutely no folk rock — so we're afraid that Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge over Troubled Water," one of the biggest songs of 1970 and one of the greatest rock songs of all time, doesn't fit the bill. Neither does the Beatles' "Let It Be," which, as a ballad, doesn't have the hard-rocking energy that we're looking for. Sorry. Even tracks that undeniably rock, like Deep Purple's classic "Speed King," don't make the cut because it's extended into features a subdued keyboard passage that's liable to take any music fan out of their rock trance. But luckily, 1970 was a year replete with relentless classic rock numbers — here are the most addictive of them.

The opening track to the band's third self-titled album, "Immigrant Song," is up there with "Whole Lotta Love" and "Kashmir" as one of Led Zeppelin's heaviest and most explosive tracks, both of which are aspects that make it ideal for repeated blasting in the car, headphones, or anywhere else. The track begins with Jimmy Page's spiky, menacing riff, which only lets up for some stunningly reverb-soaked power chords, as well as vocalist Robert Plant's siren-like wail, before the band locks in for the verses.

Over a galloping combination of bass and drums, thanks to the perfectly in-the-pocket John Paul Jones and John Bonham, Plant spins a tale of Viking invaders heading to new lands, seemingly expecting to die: "Valhalla I am coming," he intones with ghostly reverence. It is a story of death and glory, though the images of blood spilling on foreign lands and ruins left in the wake of the travelers both complicate and brutalize the image, making it far from heroic by today's standards.

But Plant's lyrical weirdness is a perfect foil for the rest of the band, which is typically tight and expressive. "Immigrant Song" may be famous for its intro, but its repeated climactic hooks really lift the song and beg for an extended rock out well beyond the track's sub-three-minute runtime.

Eric Clapton's post-Cream outfit Derek & The Dominos was short-lived and arguably didn't enjoy the commercial success it deserved at the time. Nevertheless, it delivered one of the high points of Slow Hand's long career: "Layla,"  a tortured love song into which he poured his feelings for his friend George Harrison's wife, Patti Boyd. The iconic classic revolves around one of the most instantly recognizable and satisfying guitar riffs of all time.

Sure, the choruses see the band take its foot off the pedal a little, but that just provides the setup for that incredible riff to kick back in ... and we're adamant there's just no way anyone can resist wailing "Layla!" along with Clapton, an aspect of the song that grows with intensity as it goes on. Though the seven-minute-long album version abruptly transforms into a mid-tempo keys-and-guitar coda at the halfway point, stripping the song of its edginess and taking it somewhere more romantic, a shorter single version exists that hits all the right notes for a tune you want to play on repeat. We just can't get enough of it.

Black Sabbath's debut is now remembered as a hugely prescient heavy metal progenitor, but it was on the band's follow up, "Paranoid," that the band took things to another level. On tracks like the opener "War Pigs," Black Sabbath perfected its sound, with dirty, fuzz-covered riffs that provided an ideal counterpoint to Ozzy Osbourne's unique, soaring voice. Though they would often be imitated, Ozzy's vocals have rarely been beaten in terms of the pure power he exerts on this record.

The title track is the most rocking on the album, a dizzying, pleasingly claustrophobic affair that flies out the gates with a hard riff from guitarist Tommy Iommi before Ozzy's mosquito-ish sneer appears, alongside alternating scratchy, muted guitar chords and power chord stabs. The track scratches several itches at once — hard rock, heavy metal, proto-punk — while arguably the somewhat dated production adds to its ragged aesthetic and makes it even more striking today. It was the final track Black Sabbath performed at Ozzy's final concert in July 2025, shortly before his death, and there is no greater tribute you can pay to the legend than letting it play at full blast.

Beginning with one of the most effective uses of cowbell in classic rock — yeah, we're looking at you, "Don't Fear The Reaper" — Mountain's debut single, "Mississippi Queen," is built on an irresistible boogie rock groove that's just as likely to get your hips moving as it is to get you headbanging around the room. The opening bars hold nothing back, with lead guitar licks immediately strewn across that fat rhythm guitar and bass growl.

Drummer Corky Laing claims to have improvised the song's aching vocal refrain after a show, trying to keep a beautiful woman who had stayed behind in the crowd dancing. "I just had to keep this chick dancing, I was so turned on by her," he later admitted to Louder. But there was a price to pay for one of classic rock's greatest vocal performances. "In screaming so loudly for so long, I gave myself chronic laryngitis and screwed up my voice forever." Luckily, the incident didn't affect his drumming, which pounds like a heartbeat throughout.

The track was the perfect length for a single and peaked just outside the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, but at just over two-and-a-half minutes, it zips by far too quickly. If any song calls for the repeat button, "Mississippi Queen" is it.

Undoubtedly the highest tempo and most frenetic entry on this list, "Parchman Farm" by hard rock supergroup Cactus sounds like an electric blues song shot through with amphetamines. While a danceable boogie number, the track sounds liable to fall apart at any minute, with the band all going hell for leather — but that's what makes it so compelling.

The pace is ferocious, as are the incredibly virtuosic guitar licks on offer from the legendary lead guitarist Jim McCarty, formerly of the Detroit Wheels. For guitar fans, a great joy of "Parchman Farm" is enjoying how many ridiculously complex licks he can fit into almost every bar of the rocking track, but while McCarty's performance is the stand-out, the track also sounds like a band with great understanding between its members having incredible fun. Listening to it sounds like being at a gig during the moment everyone finds themselves in a frenzy ... have it on repeat and you'll simply fly through your day.