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Top 20 music hits in the 1970s

Posted on November 26, 2021 by 60+Club

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:

  1. total number of weeks the single was at number one in the charts
  2. the number one single of the year throughout the 1970s
  3. 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:

  • Top 20 hits of the 1950s
  • Top 20 hits of the 1960s

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


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