5 Classic Rock Songs From 1972 We'll Be Blasting On Repeat 'Til The Day We Die

The year 1972 encompassed a dynamic 12 months in rock history, full of great music spinning out in all directions — from glam to funk to shock rock. Among these various strains remain some all-time bangers that deserve to be played at full blast, whether it's from your car, stereo, or at home. They're the kind of songs that can be played over and over without ever becoming boring. Beyond that, they're the type of songs that only get more interesting with multiple listens, with the music and lyrics revealing something new each time.

Some of the 1972 classics that always have us cranking the volume from their first notes include tunes from David Bowie and Lou Reed, released the year they delved deep into glam and helped define rock history. Then there's Stevie Wonder's crossover funk classic "Superstition," which gets us out of our seats every time we hear it. Yes, 1972 definitely produced a barrage of rock songs that require earth-shaking amplification and multiple listens. Here are five rock songs from 1972 that we'll be playing at full volume until the end of time.

With Mick Ronson's crunchy guitar, a driving boogie-woogie piano, and a call-and-response hook featuring the repeated phrase "Hey man," David Bowie's "Suffragette City" demands you sing along at the top of your lungs. It's a glam-rock anthem and a wild romp filled with allusions to sex and possibly drugs. The song also nods to "A Clockwork Orange," the dystopian novel by Anthony Burgess and later the film of the same name. In the lyrics, Bowie refers to a "dear droogie," a term for "friend" Burgess made up for the book. Bowie's lyrics are dense enough to bear repeated listens.

Bowie included "Suffragette City" on his landmark album "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars," which introduced his famous glam space alien persona, Ziggy Stardust, and made him a superstar. Even beyond the deeper meaning the song holds and the history behind it, it's also just a rocking tune that needs to be played loud while shouting along to the lyrics "wham, bam, thank you, ma'am" at the end of the song.

"Superstition" is another song with an unforgettable opening. In this case, it's Stevie Wonder's Hohner clavinet that's so funky you can't help but begin moving to the groove when it comes on. With its driving beat, punchy horns, and Wonder's vocals that go from smooth to explosive, it's no wonder "Superstition," from his album "Talking Book," was a smash hit that made it to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and still remains a genre-defying classic. 

Wonder originally wrote "Superstition" for British guitarist Jeff Beck before being convinced to release it himself. And thankfully, Wonder did. Beck had played lead guitar on Wonder's "Lookin' for Another Pure Love," from the same album, and had helped in creating "Superstition" by laying down an improvised drum beat that Wonder then began to craft the song around on the spot. Beck would eventually release his version of the song with his band Beck, Bogert, & Appice in 1974. The song has also been covered by everyone from Stevie Ray Vaughn to Macy Gray to jazz great Ahmad Jamal. But it's Wonder's version that we'll be playing on repeat thanks to that incredibly unique and ultra-funky clavinet line.

Elton John has a catalog's worth of eminently infectious songs that make you want to sing along, even if you're prone to caterwauling and are completely tone deaf. You can't help but join in when tunes like "Tiny Dancer" or "I'm Still Standing" come on the radio. The same holds true for his hit "Rocket Man" from the album "Honky Château." The song may start slowly with just a piano and John singing, but by the time the chorus comes in with its surging background vocals, a quiet but insistent drum beat, and spacey slide guitar, you're ready to join in and belt out, "I'm a rocket man."

The song may be about an astronaut, but its lyrics about loneliness and the daily grind are universal and utterly relatable. Lyricist Bernie Taupin penned the words just three years after Apollo 11, the manned mission to the Moon, but the inspiration behind "Rocket Man" actually came from a Ray Bradbury short story from his 1951 collection "The Illustrated Man." "In that book, there was a story called 'The Rocket Man,' which was about how astronauts in the future would become sort of an everyday job," Taupin recalled on The Cut. "So I took that idea and ran with that." Whatever the inspiration, "Rocket Man" bears repeated listening until you start to go hoarse from singing along.

As soon as Herbie Flowers' unmistakable walking bass line (played with both a double bass and electric bass at the same time) comes in, it's time to turn up the volume. Musically, "Walk on the Wild Side" may not seem to have the muscle of other songs on this list, but the tune's minimalist feel, slow groove, and brush drumming help focus attention on the storytelling about these New York denizens. 

Then Lou Reed enters with his signature deadpan speak-singing and tells the stories of several of legendary pop artist Andy Warhol's "superstars" — actors, artists, transgender pioneers, hustlers, and hangers-on — who Reed knew from Warhol's Factory scene. And you can't help but join in on the repeated lyric "Take a Walk on the Wild Side" from the chorus or the "Doo, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo-doo" of the post-chorus.

This song from Lou Reed's second solo album, "Transformer," became his best-known song and was groundbreaking for its subject matter. At the time, his career had stalled somewhat after he quit the Velvet Underground for a number of reasons that included internal tensions. The album "Transformer" was helped along by David Bowie and guitarist Mick Ronson, who produced and contributed to it musically as well, and helped give the album a bit of a glam sheen. Still, "Walk on the Wild Side" stands as a singular work of art that should be played on repeat.

"School's Out" from the album of the same name starts with a bang, or more accurately, Glen Buxton's bluesy blast of eclectic guitar with a riff that's become a classic rock touchstone. The guitar part was so fantastic that Alice Cooper and his bandmates (Buxton, Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, and Neal Smith) crafted the song around it. While Buxton's guitar gets the party started, the staccato keyboards and driving rhythm amp things up. But it's Cooper's sneering delivery of the lyrics about that magical feeling of counting down the final minutes of the last day of class that are so irresistible you can't help but scream-sing along.

While the song is ostensibly about high school, the feeling of impending freedom also resonates with anyone with a 9-to-5 gig on a Friday afternoon who's about to be set free for the weekend. The inspiration for "School's Out" came from The Who's "My Generation," with Cooper thinking about how to capture the last three minutes of the last day of school before vacation. "If we could just capture the energy of that? Now, that would be a hit," he recalled thinking at the time (via AZ Central). And he was right. The song went to No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and to No. 1 in the UK, solidifying the band's stature, and remains a classic today that (like the other songs on this list) deserves to be blasted loudly and proudly.