Overlooked 1972 Rock Song Is Now Considered a Defining Track of the '70s

Many music fans will agreed hits like "Take It Easy" by the Eagles, ABBA's "Dancing Queen," and "Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin, are quintessential songs from the 1970s. However, there are plenty of other songs released in the decade that had a massive impact. For instance, American Songwriter recently released a list of three songs that "defined the 1970s without being the obvious picks."

The list, published on April 22, included overlooked songs like Bread's 1970 "Made It With You," "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" by Bruce Springsteen, released in 1975, and 1972's "Cold, Cold, Cold" by Little Feat.

American Songwriter reported that Little Feat's "Cold, Cold, Cold," off the band's record Sailin' Shoes, deserved recognition as a key '70s song because it is artistic, innovative, and appreciated by other top musicians.

The Band's Drummer, Richie Hayward, Shared Information About 'Cold, Cold, Cold' in 1988

In a 1988 interview with Modern Drummer Magazine, the drummer of Little Feat, Richie Hayward, noted that "Cold, Cold, Cold" had a unique time signature. Hayward, who died in 2010 at the age of 64, explained that the band's guitarist, Lowell George, had been using a drum machine when first working on the song.

"The odd 2/4 bars in 'Cold, Cold, Cold' came about in a strange way. Lowell had been playing with his drum machine at home. At that time, drum machines were very primitive. It was just a little red box with two knobs on it. He had the basic pattern repeated over and over again, and he played it with just himself and a little amplifier on a cassette at home," recalled the late drummer in the interview.

According to Hayward, George, who died in 1979, "edited the cassette, put it on a 16-track tape," and requested him to "overdub drums."

"It's funny because this drum part was turned around a couple of times due to the way he cut it together to fit. He wanted me to copy it and throw in fills. That's on Sailin' Shoes. On the first part you can hear the machine," said Hayward to Modern Drummer Magazine.

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This story was originally published April 24, 2026 at 3:44 PM.