This will be the earliest year I'll be covering on this site, mainly because A: I don't have much love for music made prior to this year and B: this is where the southern hemisphere began tracking the popular music of their respective countries.
This was the biggest hit of the 70's in NZ, it's curious because it wasn't even his big international hit (which we'll look at in a moment) proving that even from its inception, the RIANZ charts were able to display the kiwis as contrarians when it came to the music industry.
Here's that big international hit that Freddy Fender had in NZ, both of these songs charted as if they were from the album charts which perhaps gives you an idea of how unreliable the RIANZ charts were during the first few years of its existence in determining what was popular in NZ.
From what I gathered going through the Listener charts, Glen Campbell wasn't as successful in NZ as he was in Australia which means that much like in his native America, he was more popular with his post sellout material over there than with his more authentic country work.
This proved to be an even bigger hit in NZ than it was in Australia, I'm guessing because the charts were still in their infancy at the time and also the kiwis didn't have as much variety to make a hit as we Aussies did given how they lacked a Countdown equivalent that we had to help them discover new music.
This was another RNB ballad that managed to become a huge success in NZ that was a massive flop here in Australia, this time it's from Johnny Nash who scored a massive worldwide hit with the final hit from his career following the success he had earlier in the decade with "I can see clearly now."
Well, this was certainly a surprise, we have this comedy track from Bob Hudson becoming more of a success in NZ than it was in Australia which likely means the kiwis have a Bogan population as well (I'm not entirely sure if that's the case.) This allowed the album to be a moderate success over there proving how entertaining they found Bob as a comedian.
This was the second single to come from Abba's self-titled album, given how "Mamma Mia" wasn't released until the following year, it allowed this song to be a massive success over there without having to compete with their other single which proved to be much more popular here in Australia.
This was an even bigger hit for the George Baker selection in NZ than it was in Australia, although this was more inevitable as Dutch groups tend to have a free pass when it comes to finding success in NZ for reasons I never quite understood.
Well at least this songs popularity was a worldwide anomaly given how this was a hit in Roger's native UK as well as in Australia and NZ this year. At least this was had a hit earlier in the decade on the Listener charts over there, not like here in Australia where he remains a one hit wonder with a song that was three years old at the time of its success.
This was another successful ballad to come out of Rod Stewart this decade, one that I'm pretty sure led to a rather nasty rumour about him concerning sailors that I won't bother repeating on this entry.
This was the only hit that Bill and Boyd were able to achieve in their native NZ throughout their lengthy career, it only became as such a year after they nearly topped the Australian charts with their touching tribute to the victims of Cyclone Tracy from the Christmas of 1974 in Darwin.
Well, here's that other chart topper that Mark Williams had in NZ this decade, again it's the original version of a track that became popular in the mid 00's over there thanks to NZ idol reviving its popularity.
From what I can gather, this was the first big hit that the Eagles had in NZ as none of their earlier material made it big over there on the Listener charts. Honestly, it's less of a surprise that this was a hit over there and more so that it was a flop here in Australia, yes, the album was big here, but you'd think a song that was a Billboard chart topper for one of the biggest bands in the world would've done better here.
Well at least this guy had more success in NZ with his two Billboard chart toppers, yes, his Oscar winning ballad from the start of the decade was the big hit on the Listener charts and not the inferior John Farnham cover that topped our charts in 1970. BJ Thomas didn't have any other hits after his second Billboard chart topper anywhere in the world, suggesting his brand of country was no longer in vogue.
This was also a two for one deal in NZ like it was in Australia, although given how both songs were heavily marketed over there back in the day, they became much bigger hits and could even be considered two separate entries as they bounced in and out of the top twenty over there for several months.
Sweet were another band who had massive success in NZ during the first half of the decade according to the Listener charts, arguably more so than what they had here in Australia which is the best proof I have that glam rock was quite popular over there even if the likes of Suzi Quatro and Gary Glitter weren't.
I guess I should talk about the Listener charts with this entry, they were charts compiled by a magazine of the same name that tracked what was popular in NZ from 1966 to early this year. This was the last chart topper on those magazines as well as one of the first on RIANZ which means this song serves as a transition from the old charts to the "hip" and "modern" charts that launched this year in NZ.
This was the only hit from Sammy Johns, an American folk singer who scored a hit in NZ and his native America with this ballad that remains a staple on oldies stations to this day. I wish I could say more about this guy but he's honestly not that interesting outside of his one and only hit.
We already looked at the Pauline Henry cover of this from the Australian side of this site, so now let's look at the original version of that song from Bad company which became a massive success for the British band Bad company in NZ back in the day. These guys were more of an albums band given how big their albums were despite them not having any success with their singles save for this rock and roll track.
Well, every band and artist seem to have at least one problematic song in their catalogue, for Elton John it was this Billboard chart topper about him wanting to save this "island girl" from what appears to be life as a sex worker while cosplaying as an "island boy." I guess if you were to ignore the lyrical content, the song has a nice rock reggae groove that still holds up to this day.
This was yet another big hit that the Eagles had in NZ this decade, it was the second single from their breakthrough album One of these nights (at least in the southern hemisphere it was) where it became a massive hit over there despite it flopping here in Australia. As I said, all of these songs I've featured on this site from the band remain staples on oldies stations to this day.
If we were going by the Listener charts, this would've been a number one hit for Elton John, instead it only made it to number two in NZ which should give you an idea of the different demographics that the Listener charts and RIANZ had back in the day. Either way, this was still a massive hit for the British piano man this year, definitely much more so than it was here in Australia.
This was a much bigger hit in NZ this year than it was here in Australia, I'm guessing because the kiwis were all on board with the disco trend that was exploding around this time worldwide and that we Aussies needed a big more convincing before we were completely on board with it. Even though this was a much bigger hit over there, it wasn't enough to get Van out of the one hit wonder bin with his big UK hit "The shuffle."
While I'm not sure if this was the first hit single that had synthesisers on the track (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong for thinking it is) it was the song which popularised the usage of synths which would eventually explode in the 80's as more bands and artists got on board with the technology as the decade went on. Indeed, this one and only hit from Kraftwerk (at least in NZ) was a pioneer for everything great about 80's music.
This was a massive hit for Jim Gilstrap in NZ, Jim is perhaps best known for singing TV themes such as the Good times theme which was one of the highest rated sitcoms at the time (as well as the first to feature a predominantly black cast.) This was a huge flop in his native America, which is perhaps why he stuck to singing TV themes rather than pursuing any further hits on the Billboard charts.
It looks like the kiwis were more on board with the Brothers Gibb switching over to disco this year than we Aussies were, then again it wasn't until the Saturday night fever soundtrack when we Aussies were finally OK with them hopping on the disco bandwagon considering how their first two disco albums underperformed here back in the day.
This was another early disco hit that became a hit in NZ but not in Australia this year, although it did chart for a while down under so there was potential for this to become a hit here. Sadly, this was the only hit from Shirley and company as their subsequent follow ups failed to make an impact during a time where disco had exploded into the mainstream.
OK I try to avoid using album art that has any indication of a song being popular in a certain country, however this is the only album art I could find for this one and only hit from the British reggae duo Typically tropical that didn't have the cover model topless or in an otherwise sexually provocative stance (even this will probably be titillating to my audience if I'm being honest.) Suffice to say, this was a song meant to put audiences in the mindset of being in a tropical paradise which connected with the kiwis and their fellow Brits.
Well, it appears the kiwis weren't as impressed with the husband-and-wife duo of the Captain and Tennille as we Aussies were as this is the only other appearance they have in this side of my site after we looked at "Do that to me one more time" in my 1980 list. It was a huge hit over there this year, although mainly as a sleeper hit as it achieved most of its success in the lower regions of the charts.
This was another hit that Mark Williams managed to achieve in his homeland back in the day, I guess he was the most successful NZ artist of the decade over there even taking into accounts those that found success here in Australia first before taking it back home.
This failed to appear on the Australian side of my site mostly because it was only a minor success here in Australia, I guess if Countdown hadn't of taken off when it did it would've at least been as successful here as it was in NZ for Wings.
This was the only success that country singer Billie Jo Spears had anywhere in the world, although like most country legends, she had a ton of success on the Billboard country charts further proving how detached from the mainstream that the country scene has always been.
From what I can gather, this was the earliest success that Leo Sayer had in NZ given how none of his songs prior to the release of the first RIANZ charts were successful on the Listener charts, I guess it makes sense that one of his more upbeat tracks would be the kiwis introduction to him as opposed to his single "The show must go on" which was the case here in Australia and his native UK.
This was a song that would've been higher on this list had the RIANZ charts launched sooner in the year given how well it did on the Listener charts and that it retained its popularity on the newer charts once it launched. It was Helen Reddy's final hit anywhere in the world given how it was a surprise hit for her over there following the success of "Angie baby" in Australia and America.
This was originally meant to be John Lennon's final hit single as he would announce his retirement after he released it from his album Rock n roll, it's a cover of the Ben E King classic which I'm guessing was meant to be reassurance to his audience that he was simply stepping out of the spotlight rather than becoming blacklisted from fame.
This was the first big hit that 10CC achieved in NZ given how "Rubber bullets" flopped on the Listener charts two years prior, this means that the band only achieved three hits over there with only two of them also being hits here in Australia. Even so, I can see how this managed to be a success over there for the band given how well it fitted in with the trends of the day.
I think this is the only native American band that ever saw success throughout the world over the years, sure we've had native American artists such as Cher find success, however I can't think of another band apart from these guys to reach international fame. With that said, we have the one and only appearance from Redbone on this site who is best known for their single "Witch queen of New Orleans."
From what I can gather, Ray Stevens didn't have as much success in NZ as he did in Australia as this saw considerably less success over there than it did over here this year. That said, his two big comedy tracks "Gitarzan" and "The streak" were very big on the Listener charts, so perhaps the kiwis were simply more interested in his brand of comedy rather than his more serious ballads.
Oh boy was this a pain to do research on, here we have a country cover of a ballad from the 50's that was only a hit in NZ this year likely due to country still reigning supreme over there as opposed to everywhere else in the world which had moved on to the likes of glam and early disco.
Unlike here in Australia where the hits dried up for the Carpenters once Countdown launched this year, they kept on coming for them over in NZ likely due to the lack of competition the duo had over there with up-and-coming artists from the southern hemisphere. For what it's worth, they dominated both our charts during the first half of the decade with their ballads.
This is another RNB group of colour to find massive success two decades after their initial breakthrough worldwide, just like the Drifters, this was due to their sudden popularity in the UK as this ballad managed to become a huge chart topper for them over there which of course sparked its success in NZ. I guess we Aussies passed this up in favour of the Three degrees who sadly flopped in NZ.
This certainly was an excellent time for country music in the mainstream, wasn't it? Here we have the one and only hit from the Ozark Mountain daredevils (yet another silly band name I have to write up on this site) which likely connected with the kiwis this year thanks to it having some elements of prog sprinkled throughout its runtime.
It appears the kiwis had so much love for Jim Gilstrap that they gave him a second hit this year in the form of this underrated gem, this would sadly be the full extent of his popularity worldwide in terms of his music as he wouldn't release another album due to the failure of his first album in his native America.
This only barely makes the cut for this list due to how it managed to hang around long enough during the early existence of the RIANZ charts to qualify for this spot, if I were to go over the Listener charts, this would've been much higher on this list due to it dominating the final stretch of that chart’s existence.
Speaking of the Listener charts, I've decided to cover the first stretch of the year using those charts in order to feature a more complete list for this year. You can expect some repeat entries from earlier on this list as I'll be talking about how well they did during the final few months of the chart’s existence.
It appears that these guys were far more successful in NZ than they were here in Australia given how much more popular their signature track was over there compared to over here, this naturally meant that their other singles did decently well over there, although not well enough to qualify for this list of mine.
Why hello again Carpenters, indeed we have them both rounding out the RIANZ section and opening up the Listener section of this list as like I said before, they had quite the lengthy run during the final weeks of the Listener charts thanks to the kiwis being in love with their cover of the Marvelettes classic.
This was a massive hit for Billy Swan in NZ just like it was throughout the rest of the world this year, it was considerably more popular over there according to the Listener charts than it was over here, however I'm not sure if that's an accurate barometer of how much bigger it was due to the Listener charts only having twenty entries each week.
For whatever reason, this novelty track left the Listener charts quite quickly, likely due to the surprise success of Carl's follow up single "Dance the kung fu" which did become a minor hit over there (too minor to make an appearance on this list.) Were it not for this phenomenon, this likely would've been even bigger than it already was with the kiwis.
From what I can gather, John Hanlon is a NZ folk singer who scored his one and only hit with this ballad just as the Listener charts were beginning to be phased out in favour of the RIANZ charts. One thing of note is that few if any NZ artists who found success during the first half of the decade were able to do so once these charts launched in April.
It should be no surprise that this was so much bigger in NZ than it was here in Australia given how Neil's popularity didn't fade that much over there like it did over here during the second half of the decade, indeed this likely would've seen the dizzying heights of success here in Australia that it achieved internationally were it not for Countdown's influence.
I don't know if this was Paul Anka's only hit in NZ given how obviously they don't have charts that go back to the 50's where he was at the height of his popularity, all I know is that this was also a massive success over there like it was throughout the rest of the world for the aging crooner.
I think it's safe to say that this was an even bigger success in NZ than it was here in Australia given how much longer it lasted on the Listener charts than it did on our main charts here, it's easy to see why as Elton didn't have much competition from the kiwi’s local music scene with his Beatles cover like he did here in Australia with our local music scene.
Here we have another song from the RIANZ list that performs much better on this bonus list of mine, it's curious considering how as far as I can tell, this was Helen Reddy's biggest hit over there even though it was a massive flop for her both here in Australia and over in America.
This will be the only new entry from the Drifters on this side of my site, for what it's worth, "Kissing in the back row of the movies" was a huge chart topper for them on the Listener charts which no doubt convinced the kiwis to check out this follow up single to their comeback album from around this time.
From what I can gather, Space waltz was a short-lived NZ glam rock band who scored their one and only hit with their debut single before fading into obscurity conveniently when the RIANZ charts began to phase out the Listener charts. I guess this is the best proof I have that the kiwis were into glam rock back in the day given how much less successful the genre was over there compared to Australia.
Honestly this site felt incomplete without me featuring the breakthrough single for Queen on here, I don't know how this flopped here in Australia given how it even managed to become a moderate success in America this year. Admittedly this is the only edge that the kiwis have over us Aussies when it comes to the band's success given how all of their other songs weren't any bigger over there than they were over here.
It appears the kiwis loved these guys so much back in the day that they were willing to give them a third hit even though they remain two hit wonders throughout the rest of the world with their two entries I featured on the Australian side of my site, an interesting fact is that while it did chart over its American knockoff, "Billy don't be a hero" wasn't a huge chart topper in NZ like it was down under.
It shouldn't be that surprising that this didn't reach the dizzying heights of success in NZ that it did here in Australia given how Livie was considered to be an Australian artist by this point in her career, however it's worth noting that "If you love me" was a success over there prior to this being released as opposed to it being a hit after the fact over here.
These guys were completely inescapable on the Listener charts during the first half of the decade, so it makes sense that this would be a much bigger hit in NZ than it was here in Australia even if this was among their less popular songs with the kiwis according to the Listener charts.
I can't tell you just how much more popular these guys were in NZ during the first half of the decade than they were here in Australia according to the Listener charts, although it appears that popularity didn't translate to the RIANZ charts given how this remains their final big hit over there which coincidentally was as such right before the new charts were launched.
As you can imagine, this proved to be equally as popular during the final days of the Listener charts as it did during the launch of the RIANZ charts, as such, this is the best proof I have that both charts weren't too dissimilar to each other even though the Listener charts seems older fashioned for its time compared to the much hipper RIANZ charts.
If we were to include the Listener charts with the RIANZ charts, this would be Barry Manilow's biggest hit over there given how much more popular it was this year than what "Can't smile without you" was three years later. I guess it's safe to say that the kiwis weren't that impressed with his ballads compared to us Aussies back in the day overall.
Well this is one of those songs that comes off as creepy the more you think about it, naturally we're not meant to think of Donny and Marie as brother and sister on this track given how it's a love song about how they compare their love to a flawless couple, however this is a large reason as to why there's been so many jokes made about their relationship over the years.
It seems strange that the only hit that Seals & Croft would have over in NZ would be a song that was released exclusively over there given how the folk duo did have a string of hits in their native America throughout the decade, although it's worth noting that this ballad has somewhat become their signature track over the years due to how well received it was following the album's release.
We have another song that improved in the rankings on this list, this time it's the final international hit that Helen Reddy had in her career which no doubt led to the success of her earlier entry on this list with the kiwis. At least this was a decent success here in Australia even if it was pitiful compared to the rest of the world.
We have another early pioneer of disco to feature on this list of mine, this time it comes from Carol Douglas who scored her one and only hit with this jam worldwide that of course failed to become as such here in Australia likely due to it being pushed aside by what Countdown was promoting this year. This would be higher on this list had the Listener charts gone on a little while longer.
Even though Donny Osmond was one of the biggest names in music during the first half of the decade, this would be the only entry I'd be featuring from his family band were I to go further back in the day given how this was their only international success they had likely due to the success Donny and Marie were having around the time this song was released.
For whatever reason, this B-side to "You won't see me" wound up being the big hit that Anne Murray had in NZ this year. Anne had plenty of success in NZ during the first half of the decade, so it makes sense that she would find success with "You won't see me" given how it was a decent hit in her homeland and in America, however this was pushed as the A-side in NZ from what I can gather.
If you couldn't already tell from his two earlier entries, Elton John saw substantially more success in NZ than he did here in Australia during the first half of the decade on the Listener charts. As such, it shouldn't be that surprising that this second single from Caribou was a huge success over there as was the first single "Don't let the sun go down on me" which would've made my 1974 list.
As far as I can tell, Don Mclean actually had less success in NZ than he did here in Australia during the first half of the decade, meaning that this likely would've been a hit here in Australia had Countdown not pushed it aside this year like many of the new entries on this list. Sadly, Don would be another artist who naturally struggled to find success during the second half of the decade worldwide.
This is another entry that would be higher on this list had the Listener charts gone on for a little while longer, this time it's the debut single from Splinter which was a massive hit in NZ and their native UK and even a minor success here in Australia this year. I'm not sure why they didn't score another hit anywhere in the world after this as it fits in neatly with the folk rock of the day.
Given how Tony Christie saw tons of success on the Listener charts during the first half of the decade, it makes sense that A: this was a hit upon its initial release in NZ and B: it was released much earlier over there than it was over here.
This barely missed the cut from appearing on the Australian side of my site, mostly because it didn't rack up enough points to appear on this list on that side of my site likley due to us Aussies not being too interested in Linda Ronstadt's work during this phase of her career. She had much better luck over in NZ likely due to the kiwis being impressed with her cover of an old RNB hit from a decade prior.
This was only a minor hit once the RIANZ charts launched and thus, didn't qualify for this list had I just used those charts to construct it. This is likely due to it being a huge success on the Listener charts just as they went defunct, suggesting it was merely on its way out rather than it being considered a flop over there like it was over here back in the day.
This was the final chart topper on the Listener charts, it was a much bigger success once the RIANZ charts launched in April of this year even if it didn't reach the top spot in that format.
Well, that's it for our journey throughout the popular music of Australia and NZ during the twentieth century, sorry this list is much shorter than the rest on my site as the absence of the RIANZ charts from the first quarter of the year meant there was only so much that could be covered on this list. Stay tuned for when I get around to the twentieth century of music.
