The Sounds of 1973
The superstars, the one hit wonders and the fads that made up the music of 1973. Here are the year's Top 10 best selling singles in the UK.
1. Tie A Yellow Ribbon - Dawn Featuring Tony Orlando
Written by Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" was a massive worldwide hit in 1973 for Dawn featuring Tony Orlando.
It reached Number One on both the US and UK charts for four weeks in April 1973 and Number One on the Australian charts for seven weeks from May to July 1973. It was the top-selling single for the year 1973 in both the US and UK.
The song enjoyed duplicate success on country radio, as a cover version by Johnny Carver and One by Barry Manilow. Carver's rendition - titled simply "Yellow Ribbon" - was a top 10 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart in June 1973.
The song lists at #37 on Billboards Greatest Songs of all time.
2. Eye Level - The Simon Park Orchestra
"Eye Level" was selected by Thames Television in England to be the theme tune for the Netherlands based detective series, "Van der Valk".
The work was based on a Dutch nursery rhyme which Simon Park arranged for his own orchestra and conducted. The track was fully entitled "Eye Level (Theme from the TV series 'Van der Valk')".
1973's Best Selling Albums (UK)
Number One Through Five - Biggest Albums From 1973
Simon & Garfunkel - Greatest Hits
Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 12/26/2009) ![]()
List Price: $8.99
Usually ships in 24 hours
Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player
Amazon Price: $8.99 (as of 12/26/2009) ![]()
List Price: $9.98
Usually ships in 24 hours
The Best of Peters & Lee
Amazon Price: $10.98 (as of 12/26/2009) ![]()
List Price: $10.98
Usually ships in 24 hours
1967-1970 (The Blue Album)
Amazon Price: $27.99 (as of 12/26/2009) ![]()
List Price: $34.98
Usually ships in 24 hours
3. Welcome Home - Peters and Lee
Coming after their success on the British talent show Opportunity Knocks, Peters and Lee recorded the former French language song "Welcome Home". It became the duo's one and only Number One single in the UK, spending a single week at the top in July 1973.
4. Block Buster! - The Sweet
"Block Buster!" was written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, and was The Sweet's sole UK Number One hit.
Released in January 1973, it spent five weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart, and also made Number One in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Ireland. Outside Europe it fared less well, as it peaked at Number 29 in Australia and at Number 73 on the American Billboard Hot 100.
1973 Music Collections
The Definitive Collection
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/26/2009) ![]()
List Price: $7.99
Usually ships in 24 hours
Sweet - Greatest Hits
Amazon Price: $13.99 (as of 12/26/2009) ![]()
List Price: $11.98
Usually ships in 24 hours
5. Cum On Feel The Noize - Slade
Written by band members Jim Lea and Noddy Holder, "Cum on Feel the Noize" was Slade's fourth Number One single in the UK and their first to enter the chart at Number One. Quite a rare feat at the time, it was the first time this had happened since The Beatles with "Get Back" in 1969.
It went on to spend four weeks at the top of the chart in March 1973. Typical of Slade's releases at the time, it fared less well in the USA, where it would only peak at Number 98 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Great Deals on 1973 Music
Find 1973 Music Bargains
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byDiscover More Seventies Music!
Click on the Link Below
-
Block Buster! British Glam Rock of the 70s
-
At the beginning of the 1970s, I was in my early teens, an excellent age to appreciate a new phenomenon about to hit the British airwaves: Glam Rock. At the time Glam was a joke. Those of us with Sweet records were laughed at by our friends who wer...
6. I Love You Love Me Love - Gary Glitter
Written by Gary Glitter with Mike Leander, "I Love You Love Me Love" was Glitter's second Number One single in the UK, spending four weeks at the top of the chart in November 1973.
7. See My Baby Jive - Wizzard
Written and produced by lead singer, Roy Wood, "See My Baby Jive" was the second single by Wood's band and their first to reach Number One in the UK, spending four weeks at the top of the chart in May 1973.
The record is deeply indebted to Phil Spector's Wall of Sound.
Wizzard: Their Story
Wizzard were a Birmingham-based band formed by Roy Wood, former member of The Move and co-founder of Electric Light Orchestra. The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits states, "Wizzard was Roy Wood just as much as Wings were Paul McCartney."
More 1973 Music Collections
Get Yer Boots On: The Best of Slade
Amazon Price: $8.99 (as of 12/26/2009) ![]()
List Price: $9.99
Usually ships in 24 hours
The Ultimate Gary Glitter - 25 Years of Hits
Amazon Price: $21.98 (as of 12/26/2009) ![]()
List Price: $21.98
Usually ships in 24 hours
The Wizzard!: Greatest Hits & More - The EMI Years
Amazon Price: $12.98 (as of 12/26/2009) ![]()
List Price: $12.98
Usually ships in 2 to 3 weeks
8. I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am) - Gary Glitter
Written by Gary Glitter and Mike Leander, "I'm The Leader Of The Gang (I Am)" was Glitter's first Number One single in the UK, spending four weeks at the top of the chart in July 1973.
The song is a Glam Rock anthem, and typical of Glitter's early Seventies output, based on a simple mid-tempo rhythm and loud chanted backing vocals.
1973's Best Selling Albums (UK)
Number Six Through Ten - Biggest Albums From 1973
Dark Side Of The Moon
Amazon Price: $12.99 (as of 12/26/2009) ![]()
List Price: $18.98
Usually ships in 24 hours
1962-1966 (The Red Album)
Amazon Price: $27.99 (as of 12/26/2009) ![]()
List Price: $34.98
Usually ships in 24 hours
And I Love You So/It's Impossible
Amazon Price: $15.99 (as of 12/26/2009) ![]()
List Price: $16.97
Usually ships in 24 hours
9. The Twelfth of Never
Donny Osmond
Written by Jerry Livingston and Paul Francis Webster, "The Twelfth of Never" had previously been recorded successfully by the likes of Johnny Mathis and Cliff Richard.
During the era of Osmondmania, Donny Osmond recorded his version which reached the summit of the UK charts for a single week in March of 1973.
Donny Osmond: His Story
Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, musician, actor and former teen idol. Osmond has also been a talk show and game show host, record producer, race car driver ABC TV website, and author. He is known for being half of the brother-sister singing act Donny & Marie and a member of the "Osmond Brothers" singing group. From 1991-1997 he played Joseph in the Canadian production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, impressed by his talents and the show's long run, chose Osmond to do the film version in 1999. On November 24, 2009, he was crowned Dancing with the Stars champion.
10. Daydreamer/The Puppy Song
David Cassidy
"Daydreamer" was David Cassidy's second and final Number One single in the UK, spending three weeks at the top of the chart in October 1973.
The song was a double-A side with a version of Harry Nilsson's "Puppy Song" on the reverse.
David Cassidy: His Story
David Bruce Cassidy (born April 12, 1950) is an American actor, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his role as Shirley Jones's eldest son, Keith Partridge, in the 1970s musical/sitcom The Partridge Family from 1970 to 1974. (Jones is Cassidy's stepmother in real life.) He was one of pop culture's most celebrated teen idols, enjoying a successful pop career in the 1970s, and still performs today.
Donny Osmond & David Cassidy Collections
The best of Donny Osmond: Millennium Collection
Amazon Price: $7.97 (as of 12/26/2009) ![]()
List Price: $9.98
Usually ships in 24 hours
David Cassidy & the Partridge Family: The Definitive Collection
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/26/2009) ![]()
List Price: $7.99
Usually ships in 24 hours
PS: The Top Sellers From the USA
The American Best Sellers 1973
The US Top 10 Best Selling Singles for 1973
1. Tie a Yellow Ribbon
Tony Orlando and Dawn
2. Bad Bad Leroy Brown
Jim Croce
3. Killing Me Softly With His Song
Roberta Flack
4. Let's Get It On
Marvin Gaye
5. My Love
Paul McCartney and Wings
6. Why Me?
Kris Kristofferson
7. Crocodile Rock
Elton John
8. Will It Go Round in Circles?
Billy Preston
9. You're So Vain
Carly Simon
10. Touch Me In the Morning
Diana Ross
AND:
Record of the Year: Killing Me Softly With His Song - Roberta Flack
Album of the Year: Innervisions - Stevie Wonder
Song of the Year: Killing Me Softly With His Song
Best New Artist of the Year: Bette Midler
Searching For Music From 1973?
Love This Lens?
Your Thoughts on Music From 1973
Share Your Favorite 1973 Stories
-
Reply
- 24websurf 24websurf Nov 30, 2009 @ 11:54 pm
- I love this lens! Slades version of "Cum on feel the noize" was awesome! Tie a Yellow Ribbon is an all time favorite too.
-
Reply
- The_Homeopath The_Homeopath Jul 27, 2008 @ 1:50 pm
- I remember when I was very young, I got to stay up late once a week to watch the Tony Orlando and Dawn show on TV!!! It was a VERY big deal for me at the time.

















