Favorite Music of the 70s
Ranked #3,493 in Music, #96,679 overall
Remember your favorite music from the 70s?
Let's take a trip back in time and down memory lane to remember some of the 70s hits that either expressed our feelings or made us feel good. Time seemed infinite in those years, none of us ever thought we'd be older than 30...'cause after all, you couldn't trust anybody over 30! So we went our merry way, protesting whatever we felt strongly enough about to protest, and grooving to the music when we didn't.We wore big hair, platform shoes, bellbottom pants and not much in the way of skirts.
Contents at a Glance
Music from 1970
In the beginning of the 70s, we were "grooving" to a mix of pop and rock. Folk music from the 60s was gradually fading. So it's reasonable that someone would come up with a way to combine them....enter Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel ushering in the decade with a genre called "folk rock."They were fellow New Yorkers and childhood schoolmates and began a collaboration that produced "Bridge Over Troubled Water," a song that was heard everywhere and the recording immediately became a best-seller. Even today, it is a standard song for many groups, because of its easy-going tune and meaningful lyrics. They went on to record many other hits during their partnership such as "I Am A Rock," and "Sounds of Silence."
Other songs of the year were "American Woman," by The Guess Who, "Get Ready," by Rare Earth, "Band of Gold," by Freda Payne, and "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head," by B.J. Thomas.
Simon & Garfunkel
Music From 1971
In 1971, the nation was filled with highly debated issues; Native American rights, the Vietnam War and the lowering of the voting age to 18. Street demonstrations became a common occurrence, and people expressed their views more vehemently than ever. But when it came to music, we wanted it fun! Such was a catchy tune called "Joy to the World," by a group known as Three Dog Night. No, it wasn't the hymn you sang in church at Christmas! This "Joy" was about a bullfrog named Jeremiah who "always had some mighty fine wine" that he shared with his friends who were only too willing to drink it.Other songs of that year were "It's Too Late," by Carole King, "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart," by the Bee Gees, "Indian Reservation," by Mark Lindsey and the Raiders, and "One Bad Apple," by the Osmonds.
Three Dog Night
Music From 1972
In 1972, the Equal Rights Amendment providing for equality of the sexes passed the U.S. Senate on the 22nd day of March. This was also the year Mark Spitz won a record breaking 7 gold medals in the Summer Olympics in Munich. We had feel good and feel blue music, and one of our favorites was a tribute to the three recording artists who died in a 1959 airplane crash. Don McLean's "American Pie" with its refrain of "Bye Bye Miss American Pie, Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry, And good ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing this will be the day that I die," remained number one on the charts for four weeks. It also set a record for being the longest running song to reach that spot, having a running time of 8.36 minutes. Some radio only ran one side of the double-sided single.Other popular songs that year were "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," by Roberta Flack, "Alone Again Naturally," by Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Without You," by Harry Nilsson, and "The Candy Man," by Sammy Davis Jr.
Don McClean
Music from 1973
In 1973 the troops were withdrawn from Vietnam, Secretariat became horse racing's first Triple Crown winner in 25 years, and the World Trade Center in New York became the tallest building in the world. Our music was rockin' along with our feelings about living and loving. Marvin Gaye came out with a sexy sound called "Let's Get It On" that influenced many subsequent R&B artists. The recording became the most commercially successful Motown album of Gaye's career and is regarded as a milestone in soul music.Other songs from that year include "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree," by Tony Orlando and Dawn, "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown," by Jim Croce, "Crocodile Rock," by Elton John, and "My Love," by Paul McCartney.
Marvin Gaye
Music from 1974
In 1974 a speed limit of 55 miles per hour was imposed by the Federal Government to save gas usage. It was not uncommon to see long lines of cars waiting at a gas station, only to finally get close to the front of the line to hear, "Sorry, we're sold out." Sears Tower in Chicago became the world's tallest building. Our songs reflected nostalgia, and of course love and more love. Barbara Streisand's recording of "The Way We Were" from the movie of the same name won an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Song. The song made most of us yearn for the one lost love of our past.Songs from 1974 include "Come and Get Your Love," by Redbone, "Seasons in the Sun," by Terry Jacks, "Show and Tell," by Al Wilson, and "Love's Theme," an instrumental by the Love Unlimited Orchestra which was created and conducted by Barry White, the man with the sensual pillow talk voice.
Barbra Streisand
Music from 1975
Bill Gates and Peter Allen created and registered the Microsoft trademark, and Motorola obtained a patent for the first portable mobile phone in 1975. Ex-Teamsters Boss Jimmy Hoffa disappeared never to be seen again and the 9.2% unemployment rate is officially recognized by President Gerald Ford as a recession. But the music rock 'n rolled on just the same.An R&B funk band known as Earth Wind and Fire took the music scene by storm with "Shining Star." The song became an inspiration for many rising stars in the industry, not only because of their success with it, but also because the lyrics ran in part, "Shining Star for you to see, what your life can truly be." It became number one on both the Pop and R&B charts simultaneously.
Songs from 1975 included "Love Will Keep Us Together," by The Captain and Tennille, "Rhinestone Cowboy," by Glen Campbell, "Fame" by David Bowie, and "My Eyes Adored You," by Frankie Valli.
Earth Wind and Fire
Music from 1976
In 1976, more songs contained controversial lyrics. Rod Stewart's "Tonight's the Night," is a good example of this, with the seduction suggestion, "Loosen off that pretty french gown, let me pour you a good long drink, ohh baby, don't you hesitate!" Rod Stewart's girlfriend of the time, Britt Ekland, sang the French words at the end of the song. It stayed in the top 40 for many weeks.Songs of that year include "Disco Lady," by Johnnie Taylor and the Muscle Shoals Band, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart," by Elton John and Kiki Dee, "Play That Funky Music White Boy," by Wild Cherry, and "Kiss and Say Goodbye," by The Manhattans.
Rod Stewart
Music from 1977 and 1978
The Bee Gees and their youngest brother Andy Gibb, dominated the charts in the years of 1977 and 1978. The song Andy Gibb hit the top 40 charts with in 1977 was "I Just Want to Be Your Everything," and was written by brother Barry Gibb of the BeeGees. Andy also recorded "Love Is Thicker Than Water," (co-written by Barry and Andy), and "An Everlasting Love," "Our Love Don't Throw It All Away," which sometimes traded top spots on the charts back and forth with his brothers' recordings of "Night Fever," "Stayin' Alive," and "If I Can't Have You."Songs from the year 1977 included "You Light up My Life," by Debbie Boone, "Evergreen," by Barbra Streisand, "Dancing Queen," by ABBA, and "Torn Between Two Lovers," by Mary MacGregor.
Songs from 1978 included "Shadow Dancing," by Andy Gibb, "Stayin' Alive," by the Bee Gees, "If I Can't Have You," by the Bee Gees, and "Three Times A Lady," by the Commodores.
Andy Gibb
Bee Gees
Music from 1979
Gloria Gaynor 'put it out there for us girls' with her hit, "I Will Survive," with lyrics showing the strength she knew she had found within herself in a breakup. The song became an anthem for feminine empowerment, gay civil rights and HIV/AIDS survivors. The song took a Grammy award for Best Disco Recording in 1980, the only year the award was given.Songs of the year include "Too Much Heaven," by the Bee Gees, "Bad Girls," by Donna Summer, "Reunited," by Peaches and Herb, and the perennial favorite at large drinking parties, "YMCA," by the Village People.
Gloria Gaynor
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Thanks for visiting, please let me know you stopped by.
What were your favorites?
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just_Dawn
May 30, 2012 @ 9:54 pm | delete
- Great lens! So glad I grew up with the music of the 70's ! It was the best & in my opinion- still IS ! :)
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grannysage May 21, 2012 @ 3:08 pm | delete
- Wow, some crazy memories got stirred up there.
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lisadh
May 21, 2012 @ 2:35 pm | delete
- I can still hum most of the songs on this page, even if I don't remember all the lyrics. :-)
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Ramkitten
May 21, 2012 @ 2:17 pm | delete
- I love most of this music and these performers. So sad to hear of Robin Gibb's passing this morning. And then there was one....
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tokyonights7
May 21, 2012 @ 2:02 pm | delete
- I have already liked your lens, Nancy, but I wanted to leave a comment anyway. Thank you for your kind tribute to Robin on Facebook. He will live on in our hearts forever.
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Hi, I'm Nancy Hardin, retired from the newspaper industry and now a freelance writer. I love reading true crime stories and the technology that helps... more »
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