Smashing Pumpkins released "1979" in 1996 as the second single from their third album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. The song was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group at the 39th Grammy Awards and won Best Alternative Video at the MTV Video Music Awards.
Lead singer, Billy Corgan, wrote the song about transitioning into adulthood. Being a teenager with responsibilities like a car and a job, but still relying on his parents. Though Corgan was in a transitional period of his life in 1979, he was 12, this was not the time in his life to which he was referring. He chose 1979 for the year because it just worked with many of the lyrics he wanted to use.
Corgan worked tirelessly on songs for the Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness album after the Siamese Dream tour ended. He wrote 56 songs, "1979" being the last. When it came time to choose songs for the album their producer said "1979" wasn't good enough. Corgan put some finishing touches on it in four hours and the producer changed his mind. Good thing too because it went to number 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and the Alternative Songs chart and #10 on the Mainstream Top 40 and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2012, it was voted as the second best Smashing Pumpkins song of all time by Rolling Stone magazine readers.