This piece rounds up four hit songs from 1972 that a writer suggests defined childhood car journeys to school for children growing up in that decade, tapping into the strong link between music and nostalgic memory. It's a light, retrospective feature rather than a news story, drawing on chart data to explain why each track became such a fixture of early-morning radio at the time.

The songs featured are Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", Bill Withers' "Lean On Me", Gallery's "Nice To Be With You" and America's "A Horse With No Name" — three of which topped the Billboard Hot 100, with Gallery's track peaking at No. 4. The article notes some background trivia, such as Flack's song originally being written by Ewan MacColl for Peggy Seeger, and American Bandstand initially giving Gallery's single a poor rating before the band later performed on the show.

– Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" hit No. 1 in the US, Canada and Australia
– Bill Withers' "Lean On Me" reached No. 1 and charted well in the UK
– America's "A Horse With No Name" also topped the Hot 100 in 1972