The Sounds of 1975
The superstars, the one hit wonders and the fads that made up the music of 1975. Here are the year's Top 10 best selling singles in the UK.
1. Bye Bye Baby
Bay City Rollers
The group's fanatical teen following ensured that the song became the best selling single of 1975.
2. Sailing
Rod Stewart
It was Stewart's third UK No.1 single, and subsequently returned to the Top 5 the following year when the song was used as the theme music to the BBC documentary "Sailor". Because of this, the single continues to be Rod Stewart's biggest selling in the UK.
3. Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)
The Stylistics
The Very Best of the Stylistics...and More!
Their popularity was such that the The Stylistics also captured the top spot for Best Selling Album of the Year with their "Best Of" collection.
4. Whispering Grass
Windsor Davies & Don Estelle
Originally recorded by The Ink Spots in 1940, this version went on to enjoy three weeks atop the Singles Chart during June.
5. Stand By Your Man
Tamm Wynette
Originally a hit in the US in 1968 (hence the bird's nest hairdo in the video), the single was not unleashed on the British public until 1975. It soon glided its way to No.1 in May and stayed there for three weeks. Quite possibly Tammy Wynette's trademark song.
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6. Give A Little Love
Bay City Rollers
Absolute Rollers:
The Very Best of the Bay City Rollers
It remained at the summit of the charts for three weeks, but proved to be the band's final No.1. By 1977, the hits had dried up and the group was in disarray.
7. Hold Me Close
David Essex
The song appears on Essex's album "All the Fun of the Fair", and was his second and final No.1 in the UK.
8. I Only Have Eyes For You
Art Garfunkel
Garfunkel's version also hit the Top Twenty in the US, but reigned supreme in the UK for two weeks beginning at the end of October.
Classic Music Albums From 1975
Shaved Fish
John Lennon's solo hits have been repackaged numerous times since his tragic death in 1980, but Shaved Fish--the only compilation actually released during his lifetime--remains the strongest solo Lennon collection. As with his former partner Paul McCartney, Lennon's post-Beatles albums were (with the notable exceptions of Plastic Ono Band and Imagine) generally patchy affairs, but his singles were almost uniformly excellent. Shaved Fish includes all of his hits from 1969 to 1975, including such non-LP singles as "Instant Karma," "Cold Turkey," and "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)." These tracks and others mirror the political and social turbulence of the Nixon era, as well as the inner turmoil that gripped Lennon during this period, but there's still room for the occasional slice of pure pop, like "#9 Dream" and "Whatever Gets You Through the Night." In short, it's a compelling capsule of Lennon's post-Fabs, pre-domestic-bliss period.
Amazon Price: $11.99 (as of 12/29/2009) 
List Price: $16.98
Rock of the Westies
Although it was viewed as one of Elton John's more lightweight efforts upon its 1975 release--possibly because it followed only half a year after the acclaimed Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (and partially because many thought the album was released to fulfill a contractual obligation)--Rock of the Westies appears in retrospect to be his last great rock album. It certainly does rock consistently harder than any other John album, with guitarist Davey Johnstone even getting cowriting credits (with John and Bernie Taupin) on the opening "Medley: Yell Help/Wednesday" and "Grow Some Funk of Your Own." Lyricist Taupin seems to be going off the deep end here at times with titles like "Dan Dare (Pilot of the Future)" and "Billy Bone & the White Bird," but "Island Girl" was another huge hit for the pair. And the CD version adds the wonderful pop gem "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart," which turned KiKi Dee into an eternal Trivial Pursuit answer.
Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 12/29/2009)
List Price: $11.98
Crisis? What Crisis?
Supertramp - Crisis? What Crisis? Track Listing
1. "Easy Does It" - 2:18
* Lead vocals: Roger Hodgson
2. "Sister Moonshine" - 5:15
* Lead vocals: Roger Hodgson
3. "Ain't Nobody But Me" - 5:14
* Lead vocals: Rick Davies
4. "A Soapbox Opera" - 4:54
* Lead vocals: Roger Hodgson
5. "Another Man's Woman" - 6:16
* Lead vocals: Rick Davies
6. "Lady" - 5:24
* Lead vocals: Roger Hodgson
7. "Poor Boy" - 5:07
* Lead vocals: Rick Davies
8. "Just a Normal Day'" - 4:02
* Lead vocals: Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson
9. "The Meaning" - 5:23
* Lead vocals: Roger Hodgson
10. "Two of Us" - 3:27
* Lead vocals: Roger Hodgson
Amazon Price: $10.99 (as of 12/29/2009)
List Price: $11.98
![Atlantic Crossing [CD on Demand]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41TZ8R77KZL._SL75_.jpg)
Atlantic Crossing [CD on Demand]
Atlantic Crossing was Rod Stewart's first release on the Warner Brothers label and he recorded most of it at the famous Muscle Schoals Studio in Alabama. The album has a gritty, R&B edge, but is balanced out nicely by some ballads. "Three Time Loser", "Alright For Another" & "Stone Cold Sober" has a delta blues sound to them, while his cover of Dobie Gray's "Drift Away" has a Stax Records vibe. He does his original take on The Isley Brothers' "This Old Heart Of Mine" here and he does a heartbreakingly beautiful rendition of Danny Whitten of Crazy Horse's "I Don't Want To Talk About It". "Sailing" was not a hit in America, but was absolutely humungous in the UK. It is his biggest hit by far over there. Atlantic Crossing was a nice bounce back after the disappointing Smiler and a great start to his Warner Brothers career.
Amazon Price: (as of 12/29/2009)
List Price: $9.98
A Night at the Opera
Nothing succeeds like excess--at least that's the case with Queen's breakthrough classic, A Night at the Opera. On one level, the title is a reference to the band's operatic pretensions, best in evidence here on the classic "Bohemian Rhapsody," which was championed by headbangers a generation before being revived by the Wayne's World set. Of course, A Night at the Opera was also the title of a Marx Brothers movie, and the reference isn't lost on Queen, who seldom scaled the heights of pomprock without a knowing wink. The album is remembered for its meticulously produced bombast, but the truth is that there's a wide variety of material here, from the gorgeous piano-based "You're My Best Friend" and the McCartneyesque "39" to the music-hall-style "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon" and the pedal-to-the-metal rockers "Death on Two Legs" and "I'm in Love with My Car." A Night at the Opera is viewed by most as the quintessential Queen album, and justifiably so.
Amazon Price: $12.99 (as of 12/29/2009)
List Price: $13.98
9. The Last Farewell
Roger Whittaker
The Very Best of Roger Whittaker
The song had been recorded four years earlier in response to Whittaker's request to radio listeners to send in lyrics to his show so that he could write songs around them. One of his selections was "The Last Farewell" which subsequently began to get radio airplay in the US during the Spring of '75. It soon became a major hit, finally reaching the lower part of the Billboard Top 20. Its success there was surpassed in the UK, when the song peaked at No.2 in September and became Whittaker's best known recording.
10. I'm Not in Love
10cc
It became the group's second UK No.1 single, staying at the summit of the Chart for two weeks. It is included on the album "The Original Soundtrack".
1975 Music Search
PS: The Top Sellers in the USA
1975 American Hits
The US Top 10 Best Selling Singles for 1975
1. Love Will Keep Us Together
The Captain and Tennille
2. Rhinestone Cowboy
Glen Campbell
3. Philadelphia Freedom
Elton John
4. Before the Next Teardrop Falls
Freddy Fender
5. My Eyes Adored You
Frankie Valli
6. Shining Star
Earth Wind and Fire
7. Fame
David Bowie
8. Laughter In the Rain
Neil Sedaka
9. One of These Nights
Eagles
10. Thank God I'm a Country Boy
John Denver
AND:
Album of the Year: Still Crazy After All These Years - Paul Simon
Song of the Year: Send in the Clowns
Best New Artist of the Year: Natalie Cole
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What Are Your Memories of the Music of 1975?
Share Your Favorite 1975 Music Stories
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Reply
- 24websurf 24websurf Sep 14, 2009 @ 1:09 am
- Oh yeah! My faves are on this list.. won't telling that secret though :) Great job!
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Reply
- ChineseKitesforKids ChineseKitesforKids Jul 8, 2009 @ 10:46 am
- Excellent lens! 5***** I actually knew a few of these artists and I live in the U.S.
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Reply
- AndyPo AndyPo Jul 8, 2009 @ 8:45 am
- Excellent. That brought back memories
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Reply
- chefkeem chefkeem May 3, 2008 @ 6:46 pm
- Oh, my..."I'm not in love" brought back a lot of memories...I didn't know I was this old already...lol Wonderful lens! *****etc.
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