5 Moment-Defining Classic Rock Songs Hardly Anyone Talks About Anymore

Sometimes a rock song comes along that seems to capture the essence of a particular time. Maybe it becomes an anthem for a movement, was the centerpiece of a classic performance of a historic festival, or simply became the song of the summer for a particular year through ubiquitous radio play. Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth," for example, was one of the greatest protest songs of the 1960s, and as an anthem of that time continues to attract hundreds of millions of modern listeners on streaming services. 

But while songs such as these may define a moment for many years, with the passage of time, sometimes their relevance can diminish. Perhaps they are overshadowed by even more seismic releases from the same artist later in their career, or perhaps legal troubles prevent the song from being as widely licensed as it once was. Here are five classic rock tracks that deserve another moment in the spotlight.

David Bowie's "Space Oddity" was his breakthrough single in the U.K., finally making him a star after years of toiling in relative obscurity as a budding musician in the late 1960s. At the time, Bowie was a hippie-adjacent folk artist, but the track's themes of space exploration and use of playful instrumentation separated it from his discography to that point.

"Space Oddity" was specially timed for release in July 1969 to coincide with the Apollo 11 moon landing and the explosion of interest in space travel that it prompted among the record-buying public. Leaning on Bowie's natural inclination toward the theatrical, the song tells the tale of Major Tom, an astronaut who finds himself "spinning in a tin can," cut off from humanity. While the song is melancholic and haunting, certain passages, such as the song's famous hand-clap hook, make it a fun and playful listen.

The song features on Bowie's greatest hits collections and still has an audience, but nowadays it is undoubtedly overshadowed by his more iconic later work. The Ziggy Stardust period, for example, is far more recognizable in terms of songs and the imagery Bowie was using, while his famous Berlin Trilogy from the late 1970s is arguably the period that garners the most critical acclaim. Nevertheless, it is worth taking another listen to be transported back to a time when the world was obsessed with the lunar landing.

Rock music was at its most bloated in the 1970s, with the burgeoning of progressive rock. The genre would arguably reach its zenith in the middle of the decade, but as Focus's "Hocus Pocus" shows, even as far back as 1970, rock's new penchant for stony-faced experimentalism was already ripe for parody.

"Hocus Pocus" is a thrashy, driving, complex hard rock composition that swerves into eccentricity thanks to several unexpected passages that undercut the tension. These see the band's keyboardist and vocalist, Thijs van Leer, yodeling and whistling, or are filled with unexpected accordion and flute solos. The effect is fun and somewhat nonsensical, and it stands as an effective satire of progressive rock's often ill-advised attempts to broaden the sonic palette of the genre.

The track was a huge hit on both sides of the Atlantic for Focus, and the Dutch band toured widely on the back of the single's success. But while "Hocus Pocus" is occasionally licensed for movies and TV shows, it arguably doesn't get the recognition it deserves as an early '70s classic that intentionally pricks the pomposity of much of the rock music of the day.

Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan was one of the key players in the late 1960s rock scene. He was considered Britain's answer to Bob Dylan and was instrumental in teaching John Lennon the finger-picking techniques that underpin some of his finest songs. But over the years, Donovan's star power has diminished dramatically compared to the limelight still afforded other '60s stars, such as Paul McCartney or Mick Jagger.

His 1968 track "Hurdy Gurdy Man" was a huge international hit, and it perfectly encapsulates why Donovan's songwriting found him at the center of the decade's counterculture movement. Anchored by his folk songwriting, the track is drenched in psychedelic instrumentation, including tribal drums and acid guitar parts. The combined effect unhinges the otherwise innocent image of a man playing the traditional string instrument and imbues it with a sense of eerie foreboding.

Donovan has remained firmly associated with the hippie aesthetic, which may have dated his work for some listeners. But as tracks like "Hurdy Gurdy Man" show, his discography is well worth revisiting for a tasteful dose of the music that defined the time.

Pop rock duo Sonny & Cher became a sensation in 1965 with the release of "I Got You Babe," an anthemic earworm that found a wide audience among both the flower power generation and more conservative listeners who appreciated its traditional song structure and agreeable melody. The song was an intentional subversion of Bob Dylan's caustic "It Ain't Me Babe," which was a hit earlier the same year, and its imagery of an outsider couple — possibly hippies — finding love and acceptance in each other represented a crossover moment for the counterculture of the day.

"I Got You Babe" launched Sonny & Cher to the top of the charts in the U.S., the U.K., and Canada, and represented the start of a lucrative partnership that would carry on into the following decade, when Sonny Bono and Cher's professional and romantic relationship eventually broke down.

Unfortunately, in the years following their divorce, the former duo found themselves caught in a bitter feud over the rights to their recordings, which may have affected how the sweet duet between then-husband and wife is received by some listeners. But aside from that context, it remains a beautiful performance.

The high points of blues rock haven't all come from the United States; in fact, some of the finest music in the genre has come from the British Isles, where there was a major explosion in people listening to and playing the blues in the 1960s and 1970s. The Climax Blues Band was one British outfit that found itself much in demand as a live act during these years, though for many years the band's ceaseless touring failed to translate into record sales.

That all changed in 1976, with the release of "Couldn't Get It Right." The radio-friendly track was notable for dialing down the heavier blues style of the band's early work and upping the pop niceties. The result is pure, smooth, mid-'70s pop rock that represents the taming of the harsher sounds of the earlier part of the decade, and of course, it was a huge hit, which changed the Climax Blues Band's fortunes. The band had another huge hit in 1980 with the even more commercial ballad "I Love You," but fell from the spotlight shortly after. "Couldn't Get It Right" represents the band at its studio best, and a high point for mid-'70s commercial rock.