American Songwriter has put together a short nostalgic list highlighting three classic rock songs from 1971 that it argues remain instantly recognisable to anyone who grew up in the 1970s. The piece is a light, opinion-driven celebration of the year's musical legacy rather than a news story, framing these tracks as enduring touchstones of the era despite two of them never being released as chart singles at the time.

The three songs are The Who's "Baba O'Riley" (the opening track of Who's Next, which didn't chart in America as it wasn't issued as a single there but is now regarded as one of the greatest hard rock songs ever), Deep Purple's "The Mule" (from Fireball, never a single but a fan favourite thanks to Ian Paice's live drum solos), and Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven", described as the most remembered rock song of the early 1970s despite also never being released as a single.