Top 20 music hits in the 1970s
The Seventies was quite possibly the Western world’s sexiest decade. The early Seventies reflected those complexities in its hit parade with music that was evocative, entertaining and, for better or worse, unavoidable. Which is to say that the tunes on this list constitute much of the DNA of anyone alive at the time. Radio still mattered more than TV, and our seemingly endless culture wars were only beginning. New constituencies were arising and pop had even started reflecting on its own history.
There was more variety in music in the 1970s than ever before. Music listeners had dozens of genres to choose from and many of them rose to popularity at different points during the decade. Funk, Soul, R&B, Pop, Hard Rock, Soft Rock and Disco all carved out their place in the music world in the 1970s.
Some of the best disco and rock n roll of all time was recorded in the 70s. The 70s were also a golden era for vinyl records, they were affordable to everyone and everyone had a record player. It seems like almost every song ever made in the 80s had a 70s sample in it. Music equipment had finally given artists more than 4 tracks to work with and music became much more experimental than it was technically capable of being in the 60s.
In North America, Europe, and Oceania, the decade saw the rise of disco, which became one of the biggest genres of the decade, especially in the mid-to-late 1970s. Aside from disco, funk, smooth jazz, jazz fusion, and soul music remained popular throughout the decade. Rock music played an important part in the Western musical scene, with punk rock thriving throughout the mid to late 1970s.
The ’70s saw a lot more women on the upper reaches of the charts. While only one woman landed a top twenty hit in the ’60s top twenty recap, seven ladies achieved that status in the ’70s. Some of these were disco frontwomen, but more were balladeers: Debby Boone, Barbra Streisand, Carly Simon, and Roberta Flack. In contrast to the previous decade, there weren’t many big rock hits; The Knack and Paul McCartney’s Wings were the only two, and Wings’ “Silly Love Songs” featured a pronounced bass groove that is basically disco.
One family dominated the Billboard Hot 100 in the ’70s: The Gibbs.
The three brothers in the Bee Gees landed three of the top 20 hits of the decade, and Andy Gibb – another brother – had two more as a solo artist. The Gibb Brothers single-handedly account for 25 percent of the top twenty in the ’70s. The Bee Gees had the highest number of top hits at the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the 1970s (9 songs). In addition, The Bee Gees also remained the longest at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the 1970s (27 weeks).
But the Bee Gees weren’t the only act to have success with disco – so did Chic, Donna Summer, the Emotions, and Gloria Gaynor – meaning that the genre accounted for at least half of the decade’s biggest songs.
Rod Stewart remained at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 17 weeks during the 1970s. And Elton John was the artist with second-longest most cumulative number-one hits on the Hot 100 chart during the 1970s (6 songs).
Whilst there were many artists who had songs in the top 10 charts for months, this blog covers the number one hits in the billboards – with music clips of each single. We’ve included three categories to make the list more balanced, based on the following:
- total number of weeks the single was at number one in the charts
- the number one single of the year throughout the 1970s
- the single’s All Time Rank
Top 20 music hit singles in the 1970s
* Based on the total number of weeks the single was at number one in the charts.
1. “You Light Up My Life” – Debby Boone
No. of weeks at #1: 10
Date commenced at #1: October 15, 1977
2. “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)” – Rod Stewart
No. of weeks at #1: 8
Date commenced at #1: November 13, 1976
3. “Night Fever” – Bee Gees
No. of weeks at #1: 8
Date commenced at #1: March 18, 1978
4. “Shadow Dancing” – Andy Gibb
No. of weeks at #1: 7
Date commenced at #1: June 17, 1978
5. “Bridge Over Troubled Water” – Simon & Garfunkel
No. of weeks at #1: 6
Date commenced at #1: February 28, 1970
6. “Joy to the World” – Three Dog Night
No. of weeks at #1: 6
Date commenced at #1: April 17, 1971
7. “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” – Roberta Flack
No. of weeks at #1: 6
Date commenced at #1: April 15, 1972
8. “Alone Again (Naturally)” – Gilbert O’Sullivan
No. of weeks at #1: 6
Date commenced at #1: July 29, 1972
9. “Chic” – “Le Freak”
No. of weeks at #1: 6
Date commenced at #1: December 9, 1978
10. “My Sharona” – The Knack
No. of weeks at #1: 6
Date commenced at #1: August 25, 1979
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11. “I’ll Be There” – The Jackson 5
No. of weeks at #1: 5
Date commenced at #1: October 17, 1970
12. “One Bad Apple” – The Osmonds
No. of weeks at #1: 5
Date commenced at #1: February 13, 1971
13. “It’s Too Late” & “I Feel the Earth Move” – Carole King
No. of weeks at #1: 5
Date commenced at #1: June 19, 1971
14. “Maggie May” & “Reason to Believe” – Rod Stewart
No. of weeks at #1: 5
Date commenced at #1: October 2, 1971
15. “Killing Me Softly with His Song” – Roberta Flack
No. of weeks at #1: 5
Date commenced at #1: February 24, 1973
16. “Silly Love Songs” – Wings
No. of weeks at #1: 5
Date commenced at #1: May 22, 1976
17. “Best of My Love” – The Emotions
No. of weeks at #1: 5
Date commenced at #1: August 20, 1977
18. “Bad Girls” – Donna Summer
No. of weeks at #1: 5
Date commenced at #1: July 14, 1979
19. “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” – B. J. Thomas
No. of weeks at #1: 4
Date commenced at #1: January 3, 1970
20. “(They Long to Be) Close to You” – The Carpenters
No. of weeks at #1: 4
Date commenced at #1: July 25, 1970
The number one single of the year throughout the 1970s – Pop Category
1970 • “Bridge over Troubled Water” – Simon & Garfunkel
1971 • “Joy to the World” – Three Dog Night
1972 • “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” – Roberta Flack
1973 • “Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Ole Oak Tree” – Tony Orlando and Dawn
1974 • “The Way We Were” – Barbra Streisand
1975 • “Love Will Keep Us Together” – Captain & Tennille
1976 • “Silly Love Songs” – Wings
1977 • “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)” – Rod Stewart
1978 • “Shadow Dancing” – Andy Gibb
1979 • “My Sharona” – The Knack
and for good measure, the number one song to welcome in the 1980s was…
1980 • “Call Me” – Blondie
Want to delve deeper in to every number one track throughout the months and years of the 1970s? Check out of gigantic list of every single #1 song in the 1970s
Top 20 music hits from the 1950s – Based on the songs All Time Rank
1. “Stairway to Heaven” – Led Zeppelin
All Time Rank: 9
Year: 1971
2. “Anarchy in the U.K.” – Sex Pistols
All Time Rank: 11
Year: 1976
3. “What’s Going On” – Marvin Gaye
All Time Rank: 19
Year: 1971
4. “Born to Run” – Bruce Springsteen
All Time Rank: 21
Year: 1975
5. “God Save the Queen” – Sex Pistols
All Time Rank: 23
Year: 1977
6. “Imagine” – John Lennon
All Time Rank: 24
Year: 1971
7. “Superstition” – Stevie Wonder
All Time Rank: 33
Year: 1972
8. “London Calling” – The Clash
All Time Rank: 38
Year: 1979
9. “Hotel California” – The Eagles
All Time Rank: 40
Year: 1976
10. “Layla” – Derek and The Dominos
All Time Rank: 43
Year: 1970
11. “Let’s Stay Together” – Al Green
All Time Rank: 57
Year: 1971
12. “Bohemian Rhapsody” – Queen
All Time Rank: 61
Year: 1975
13. “Bridge Over Troubled Water” – Simon and Garfunkel
All Time Rank: 62
Year: 1970
14. “Walk on the Wild Side” – Lou Reed
All Time Rank: 64
Year: 1972
15. “Heroes” – David Bowie
All Time Rank: 65
Year: 1977
16. “No Woman No Cry” – Bob Marley and The Wailers
All Time Rank: 78
Year: 1974
17. “Stayin’ Alive” – The Bee Gees
All Time Rank: 94
Year: 1977
18. “Maggie May” – Rod Stewart
All Time Rank: 96
Year: 1971
19. “Good Times” – Chic
All Time Rank: 97
Year: 1979
20. “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” – The Temptations
All Time Rank: 115
Year: 1972
Check out our other articles on the Top 20 music hits from the 1950s and 1960s, including videos for every song listed:
Do you agree with the Top 20 hit list?
Leave a comment and let us know which single you think belongs in the Top 20 in the 1970s?
Source:
– Wikipedia. List of Billboard Year-End number-one singles and albums. Read article
– Acclaimed Music. The Top 200 Songs from the 1970s. Read article
– Wikipedia. 1970s in Music. Read article
– Retro Waste. Music in the 1970s. Read article
