The #1's of the 1970's - A Decade Study

I can’t believe we’re already almost 3 months into this new decade – it’s already going by so fast. This week I’m coming back with another “decade” study, this time for the 1970’s, which produced some really excellent music.

I think when a lot of people think about the ’70s, they automatically think either psychedelic or disco, which to be fair did play a big part in this decade. However, I think a lot of people don’t realize that some of the top songs in history came out in the ’70s, thinking they were either more ’60s or ’80s. Therefore, let’s dive in and give the ’70s their due.

Like my previous Decade Study post, the following songs were the #1 songs on Billboard’s Year End Hot 100 list for the respective years.

1970 – Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel (written by P. Simon) Ya’ll, not only was this the #1 song of 1970 and the #1 song of Simon & Garfunkel’s career, it’s also one of the best songs of all time (don’t @ me). Released as a single in January 1970, this song was included on Simon & Garfunkel’s 1970 Album Bridge Over Troubled Water and ended up walking away with 5 Grammy awards, 6 weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Year End Hot 100 Chart, and #48 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. To be very candid, this last week was not a pleasant one for me emotionally, and this song just kept coming up on my playlist as I was listening and researching and each time, the lyrics and piano just filled my heart with hope. When you’re weary, feeling small/When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all/I’m on your side when times get rough/And friends just can’t be found/Like a bridge over troubled water/I will lay me down/Like a bridge over troubled water/I will lay me down

1971 – Joy to the World by Three Dog Night (written by H. Axton) I can’t consciously remember the first time I heard this song, but I know I was a pretty young child and from that very first listen this has been one of my favorite songs of all time. Released as a single in February 1971, this song was featured on Three Dog Night’s 1970 album Naturally. Not only did it spend 17 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #1, it is also certified Gold by the RIAA. Described by the band as a silly children’s song, I think it’s literally impossible to be in a bad mood listening to it. You HAVE to sing it at the top of your lungs, and you HAVE to dance at least a little (I’m doing a head bob listening to it as I type this right now). Jeremiah was a bullfrog/Was a good friend of mine/I never understood a single word he said/But I helped him drink his wine/And he always had some mighty fine wine/Singin’ joy to the world/All the boys and girls, now/Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea/Joy to you and me

1972 – The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack (written by E. MacColl) I think this might be one of the most romantic songs I’ve ever heard in my life. Released as a single in March 1972, this song was featured on Flack’s 1969 album First Take. The song was originally written for and sang by Peggy Seeger, the then mistress and eventual wife of songwriter Ewan MacColl. Flack’s cover ended up receiving 2 Grammy awards and spent 18 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #1. Confession time: I had never heard this song until Lea Michele, Naya Rivera, Amber Riley, and Jenna Ushkowitz covered it on Glee but I fell in love with it immediately. The lyrics about falling in love with someone at first sight just hit you right in the heartstrings. The first time ever I saw your face/I thought the sun rose in your eyes/And the moon and stars were the gifts you gave/To the dark and the endless skies/The first time ever I kissed your mouth/I felt the earth move in my hand/Like the trembling heart of a captive bird/That was there at my command, my love

1973 – Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree by Tony Orlando & Dawn (written by I. Levine, L. Brown) Omg what a bop. Released as a single in February 1973, this song was featured on Dawn’s album Tuneweaving, which was eventually renamed Tie a Yellow Ribbon due to the commercial success of this song. Billboard has listed this song as their 46th biggest song of all time on their 2018 list, having spent 23 weeks on the Hot 100, peaking at #1. I had heard of Dawn but had never heard this song before preparing for this post, but what a happy, upbeat melody with a moderately depressing meaning. The song ends on a happy note, but the narrator’s anxiety of whether or not his lover is still waiting for him after 3 years makes you really nervous for him. I’m coming home, I’ve done my time/Now I’ve got to know what is and isn’t mine/If you received my letter telling you I’d soon be free/Then you’ll know just what to do if you still want me/Oh, tie a yellow ribbon ’round the ole oak tree/It’s been three long years, do you still want me/If I don’t see a ribbon ’round the ole oak tree/I’ll stay on the bus, forget about us, put the blame on me/If I don’t see a yellow ribbon ’round the ole oak tree

1974 – The Way We Were by Barbra Streisand (written by A. Bergman, M. Bergman, M. Hamlisch) I love a good song by Queen Babs. Released as a single in September 1973, this song was featured on Streisand’s 1974 album The Way We Were, as well as being featured in the movie of the same name starring Streisand and Robert Redford. This song walked away with 2 Academy Awards, a Platinum certification from the RIAA, and 23 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #1. This song is so beautiful and so sad – the narrator and her former partner care so deeply for one another but just can’t be together because they’re too different. They don’t want to forget what they had, even though it hurts to remember. Memories light the corners of my mind/Misty watercolor memories of the way we were/Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind/Smiles we gave to one another for the way we were/Can it be that it was all so simple then/Or has time rewritten every line/If we had the chance to do it all again/Tell me, would we, could we

1975 – Love Will Keep Us Together by Captain & Tennille (written by N. Sedaka, H. Greenfield) To me, Captain & Tennille are quintessential ’70s artists. Released as a single in April 1975, this song was featured on their 1975 album Love Will Keep Us Together. Songwriter Neil Sedaka actually recorded this song in 1973, but Captain & Tennille’s cover ended up spending 23 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #1. This is another absolute bop – I’ve got the head and shoulders going again as I’m typing while listening to it – not to mention it’s got some killer piano going on as well. Love, love will keep us together/Think of me, babe, whenever/Some sweet-talking girl comes along singing a song/Don’t mess around, you just gotta be strong/Just stop, ’cause I really love you/Stop, I been thinking of you/Look in my heart and let love keep us together

1976 – Silly Love Songs by Wings (written by P. McCartney, L. McCartney) I’ve made it abundantly clear how much I love the Beatles in previous posts, so I love this song by default thanks to the one and only Sir Paul. Released as a single in April 1976, this song was featured on the 1976 album Wings at the Speed of Sound. My favorite piece of trivia researched for this blog, and currently my favorite piece of music trivia ever, is that McCartney and his wife actually wrote this song as a sort of middle finger to fellow Beatle John Lennon and multiple music critics accusing McCartney of only being able to write “silly love songs” and “sentimental slush.” This song ended up becoming McCartney’s 27th #1 as a songwriter (which, by the way, is an all-time record for most #1’s achieved by a songwriter), and it spent 19 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #1. Just like its spiritual successors Love Song by Sara Bareilles (written when her label told her she needed to write more love songs if she wanted a career) and Harder to Breathe by Maroon 5 (written after the band was feeling smothered by the demands of their record label), don’t EVER tell Paul McCartney what he can or can’t do, because he’ll do it 100% more than you could’ve imagined and then be able to rub it in your face for all eternity. You’d think that people would have had enough of silly love songs/I look around me and I see it isn’t so/Some people wanna fill the world with silly love songs/And what’s wrong with that, I’d like to know/’Cause here I go again/I love you, I love you/I love you, I love you

1977 – Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright) by Rod Stewart (written by R. Stewart) Not gonna lie, I was very surprised that this song is the one that was the big number from Stewart’s career. Released as a single in May 1976, this song was featured on the 1976 album A Night to Remember. The song ended up spending 23 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 List, with 8 of those weeks being at #1 (his all time high as an artist), and listed as Billboard’s 19th biggest song of all time on their 2018 list. The lyrics have the narrator talking to his partner about them spending their first night together, and I’m on board with it until close to the end when the random woman starts speaking awkwardly in French which doesn’t mesh with the rest of the song at all with the exceptiion of a lyric at the very beginning. Stay away from my window/Stay away from my backdoor, too/Disconnect the telephone line/Relax, baby, and draw that blind/Kick off your shoes and sit right down/Loosen off that pretty French gown/Let me pour ya a good, long drink/Ooh baby, don’t you hesitate/’Cause tonight’s the night/It’s gonna be alright/’Cause I love you, girl/Ain’t nobody gonna stop us now

1978 – Shadow Dancing by Andy Gibb (written by B. Gibb, R. Gibb, M. Gibb, A. Gibb) I was vaguely famiiliar with this song and never realized it was the one Gibb brother who wasn’t in the BeeGee’s. Released as a single in April 1978, it was featured on the 1978 album Shadow Dancing. Written by teen-heartthrob Gibb and his three older brothers, the song spent 25 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 (7 of those weeks beiing at #1), and ended upu being certified Platinum by the RIAA. This song is I think what most people think of when they think 1970s music – it’s VERY disco in every sense of the world and could easily pass for a BeeGee’s song. You got me looking at that heaven in your eyes/I was chasing your direction, I was telling you no lies/And I was loving you when the words are said/Baby, I lose my head/And in a world of people, there’s only you and me/There ain’t nothing come between us in the end/How can I hold you when you ain’t even mine/Only you can see me through, I leave it up to you/Do it light, taking me through the night/Shadow dancing, baby, you do it right/Give me more, drag me across the floor/Shadow dancing, all this and nothing more

1979 – My Sharona by The Knack (written by D. Fieger, B. Averre) Remember at the beginning how I said some people think certain ’70s songs sound more ’80s? I will admit, that’s been me and this song. Released as a single in June 1979, this song was featured on the 1979 album Get the Knack. This song can admittedly get pretty problematic pretty quickly when you consider that it’s written about the time band member Doug Fieger (who was 25 at the time) met 17 year old Sharona Alperin, whom he eventually went on to have a 4 year relationship with. While its origins could be a little…icky… it’s also become one of the most popular rock songs from this era. The song spent 22 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 (6 of them at #1) and ended up being certified Gold by the RIAA. I actually danced to this song my sophomore year in high school on drill team, and still dance around to it to this day. Ooh my little pretty one, my pretty one/When you gonna give me some time, Sharona/Ooh you make my motor run, my motor run/Got it coming off of the line, Sharona/Never gonna stop, give it up, such a dirty mind/I always get it up for the touch of the younger kind/My, my, my-y-y, whoo/M-m-m-my Sharona

Hopefully this was a nice trip down memory lane for some and a good way to explore some classic music for others. See ya’ll next week!