If you’re reading this on January 1st: Happy New Year! Here’s hoping the next 365 days bring you good health, laughter and growth.
If you’re reading this on any other day of the year, that’s cool too – a new beginning can happen at any point on the calendar. Here’s 10 great rock songs to help you appreciate all that you already have while pursuing new goals and challenges:
The Beatles, “Here Comes the Sun”From: Abbey Road (1969)
Fed up with the conflicts and pressures of being a Beatle, George Harrison played hooky instead of going to one of the band’s business meetings one day in early 1969, and instead wrote this beautiful song about the gifts and opportunities each new morning presents to us.
Peter Gabriel, “Solsbury Hill”From: Peter Gabriel (1977)
Peter Gabriel took a gigantic risk by leaving Genesis in 1975, after helping them become one of the most popular progressive rock bands in the world. He openly sang about the internal fears and outside critiques he faced while making that decision with his debut solo single, “Solsbury Hill,” while also explaining that he could no longer go on as he was before: “I was feeling part of the scenery / I walked right out of the machinery.”
Van Halen, “Right Now”From: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991)
Van Halen’s third album with Sammy Hagar largely found them putting the keyboard-based pop influences of 5150 and OU812 aside in favor of hard rock guitar riffing and somewhat simpler subject matter. This helped the anthemic, piano-based pep talk “Right Now” stand out all the more on For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, as the always upbeat Hagar extolled the power of taking control of your own future. An innovative video – which the singer initially fought against – helped “Right Now” become one of the most enduring tracks from this lineup.
Read More: 10 Things Classic Rock Fans Can Look Forward to in 2025
Boston, “Don’t Look Back”From Don’t Look Back (1978)
Tom Scholz says that the title track for Boston’s second album came to him almost fully formed – so much so that he didn’t even cut a demo version, instead recording straight to the master tape. Maybe that’s why the song’s lyrics so perfectly illustrate the confidence of a person who has just found the correct path to follow in life.
Yusuf / Cat Stevens, “Morning Has Broken”From: Teaser and the Firecat (1971)
With a big assist from Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, Cat Stevens turned a 40 year old Christian hymn into a smash hit single. The lyrics tout the virtues of starting each day with gratitude. Decades later, upon learning Wakeman was upset about not being paid for the session, Stevens corrected the error, only to have Wakeman donate the sum to Stevens’ school. Good luck finding a sweeter royalty dispute story!
Pretenders, “Pack It Up”From Pretenders II (1981)
It’s perfectly acceptable to spice up your fresh start with a dash of piss and vinegar, as Chrissie Hynde proves on this flame-throwing kiss-off from the Pretenders’ second album: “My enemies, my new family, my new friends / My future enemies, I got to flush them out / Pack it all up, nothing goes in storage / I’m burnin’ every bridge / Burn, baby, burn.”
Bill Withers, “Lovely Day”From: Menagerie (1977)
Five years after his amazing “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Lean on Me” and “Use Me” chart run, R&B singer Bill Withers made another big splash with the irresistible “Lovely Day.” The song’s upbeat message about the power of love has quite deservedly been revived in lots of commercials and movies: “When the day that lies ahead of me / Seems impossible to face / When someone else instead of me / Always seems to know the way / Then I look at you / And the world’s alright with me / Just one look at you / And I know it’s gonna be a lovely day”
John Lennon, “(Just Like) Starting Over”From: Double Fantasy (1980)
It’s almost impossible to hear this song without feeling the pain of John Lennon’s untimely death barely one month after its release, but “(Just Like) Starting Over” has a message that deserves to stand on its own. After a five-year absence from the music industry, the Beatles legend returned with a sweet ode to romantic renewal: “It’s been too long since we took the time / No one’s to blame, I know time flies so quickly / But when I see you, darling / It’s like we both are falling in love again / It’ll be just like starting over.”
Kiss, “I”From: Music From ‘The Elder,’ (1981)
Did you really think you were going to make it out of this list without a Kiss song? Oh well! Self-confidence has seemingly never been in short supply for either Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, and the words a very oddly coiffed Demon sings here work well for anybody whose running a bit short of it themselves: “And then a bolt of lightning hit me on my head / Then I began to see I just needed to believe in me.”
Chumbawamba, “Tubthumping”From: Tubthumper, 1997
Early in my writing career I was forced to include this track on a list of the worst songs of all time. I tried turning in a very polite version of the story and was sent back to make it meaner. When I saw my coerced negative quotes turn up on the song’s Wikipedia page under my name, I promised that would never happen again. And it didn’t. In short, I got knocked down, but I got up again, and nobody’s ever gonna keep me down. So here’s a formal apology to Chumbawamba: This song and its message are both excellent.
Honorable mentions / “How could you not include….”: The Zombies “This Will Be Our Year,” Sheryl Crow “Soak Up the Sun,” ABBA “GImme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight),” Journey “Don’t Stop Believin’,” Prince, “The Rest of My Life,” Pink Floyd “Wearing the Inside Out,” Paul McCartney “One of These Days,” Johnny Nash “I Can See Clearly Now,” The Carpenters, “We’ve Only Just Begun,” Sting “Brand New Day” and U2 “Beautiful Day,” Chicago “Only the Beginning.”
