This article rounds up seven pop songs from the 1970s that the author argues transformed painful or difficult experiences—such as heartbreak, adolescent insecurity, infidelity and mortality—into beautiful, enduring music. The piece suggests that the decade's political and social instability heightened songwriters' awareness of life's harsher realities, which fed into some of the era's most celebrated tracks.

The selection spans genres and themes, including Joan Baez's "Diamonds and Rust" (about her relationship with Bob Dylan), Janis Ian's "At Seventeen" (teenage alienation), Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" (existential dread), Fleetwood Mac's "You Make Loving Fun" (an affair within the band), The Temptations' "Just My Imagination" (unrequited love), Don McLean's "American Pie" (loss and historical upheaval), and Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" (post-breakup empowerment). Pink Floyd's "The Great Gig in the Sky" also receives an honourable mention.