3 Classic Rock Choruses from the 1970s to Sing Along to

Perhaps more than any other genre, classic rock is one you can listen to while communing with friends, shoulder-to-shoulder and arm-in-arm, singing along at the top of your voice. Many of the style’s songs are perfect for blasting in a bar with dozens or hundreds turning the place into a makeshift jukebox concert.

Here below, we wanted to explore three such songs from the 1970s. More specifically, three songs and their epic choruses. A trio of refrains that call for the listener to start belting out their lyrics. Indeed, these are three great classic rock choruses form the 1970s to sing along to.

[RELATED: No Skips: 4 Classic Rock Albums You’ll Never Have to Fast-Forward]

“Smoke on the Water” from Machine Head by Deep Purple (1972)

From the British-born band Deep Purple’s 1972 LP Machine Head, this song not only has a great chorus but it boasts an all-time catchy electric guitar riff. That fat, buzzy sound leads to the song’s refrain and on it, lead singer Rod Evans sings, Smoooooke on the waaaaaater! A fire in the sky! Smoooooke on the waaaaater! It’s just one of those lyrics that you start to sing before you even know you’re doing it. It’s branded in your mind.

“Dream On” from Aerosmith by Aerosmith (1973)

This is a song that when you try to sing with it at certain spots, your voice can get hoarse and scratchy. With a song that begins literally dreamy thanks to Joe Perry’s electric guitar, lead singer Steven Tyler builds and builds until he gets to the chorus,

Sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter and sing for the tear
Sing with me, if it’s just for today
Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away

But the real vocal challenge is when Tyler hits the titular refrain, screeching in falsetto—so as you sing along, be careful! As he belts,

Dream on, dream on, dream on
Dream until the dream come true
Dream on, dream on, dream on
Dream until your dream come true
Dream on, dream on, dream on
Dream on, dream on, dream on
Dream on, oh

“Lola” from Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One by The Kinks (1970)

An acoustic-driven song about meeting a new special someone, this track is about the lead singer meeting someone who is either a man in drag or perhaps a trans woman. There are amorous feelings and a love connection. Said the band’s lead singer and rhythm guitarist Dave Davies in Record Mirror, “It really doesn’t matter what sex Lola is, I think she’s all right.” But the song, for a time, was banned due to its then-controversial lyrics. Nevertheless, the chorus is one many love to sing along with today, as Davies belts, repeating the titular main character’s name,

Well I’m not the world’s most physical guy
But when she squeezed me tight she nearly broke my spine
Oh my Lola la-la-la-la Lola
Well I’m not dumb but I can’t understand
Why she walked like a woman and talked like a man
Oh my Lola la-la-la-la Lola la-la-la-la Lola

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Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns