This was the only hit that Harry Chapin managed to achieve in his lifetime, indeed like some artists who made it big this decade, he didn't live for very long after he scored his big hit as he died in a car crash in 1981 meaning there was every chance he could've scored a second hit in his career if he lived through the 80's. This song was covered by Ugly kid joe in the early 90's where it became an even bigger success for them.
#52 for 1975
This was the first pop hit that David Essex was able to score in his career, I bring this up because he scored massive success earlier in the decade with "Rock on," which is more in line with glam rock than any of his other hits. This is also his cheesiest song as he claims that associating with him will make the person in question a star.
#53 for 1975
Well, this is a ballad that still manages to hit hard all of these years later, Christmas of 1974 was a dire time for those living in Darwin as they were struck by Cyclone Tracy proving that climate change has been a thing for many years at this point. In order to raise funds for the survivors, NZ duo Bill and Boyd recorded this track which had all the proceeds going towards those that were affected by the disaster.
#54 for 1975
We have another British band making it big in Australia this year, although this is about as pop as you can get while still being from a band as this is obviously meant for all the Julie Anne's in the audience and how much these guys love them. It's innocent fun and easy to see why it was a huge success around this time.
#48 for 1976
This was the only hit that Roger Voudouris was able to score anywhere in the world, again we have his appearance on Countdown to thank for this as I don't think it would've been as big here in Australia had he not performed the song on the show. I guess you can file this in the same category as all the hits that Leif Garrett and Shaun Cassidy had during the second half of the decade, a good-looking pop star scoring a hit with girls who found him attractive.
#46 for 1979
Continuing with his meta commentary of the state of music, John Paul Young decided to target the state of love songs which often resulted in setting up unrealistic expectations in real life romances. I guess it's good to know that people have been making these observations in music for this long, although John manages to do so while having an aurally pleasing song that managed to become a huge hit for him.
#55 for 1975
This was the second hit that 10CC managed to achieve in Australia, although this was different from their other hits as each of them were in a different genre in music. Here we have something that feels like it belongs in the sophistopop genre a decade prior to when it became a thing in their native UK, I guess the ambience of this track was what got it to become a massive crossover success in America.
#56 for 1975
This was the only noticeable hit that Richard Clapton was able to score throughout his career, although at least it remains a staple on oldies stations so he can take comfort in the fact that he wrote a song that would stand the test of time in Australia. I feel that this was the type of music that Daryl Braithwaite wanted to make during his time with Sherbet but got stuck making teen pop for his female audience.
#57 for 1975
It looks like Peter Allen wasn't the only person who wanted to escape to Rio this year as Michael Nesmith also had a hit about the Brazilian capital in the southern hemisphere. It's worth noting that the Monkees vocalist didn't have much success in his native America once the band broke up earlier in the decade, although he managed to score three hits here and in NZ throughout the decade.
#48 for 1977
This was the double A-side that cemented Queen as one of the most endearing bands to ever make it big in the mainstream, after all you begin with the stomping beat of "We will rock you" before immediately preceding to the soaring victory lap of "We are the champions" which helped this become a massive hit worldwide for them. They would have a bit of a quiet period for the remainder of the decade before they scored a massive hit with "Crazy little thing called love."
#49 for 1977
#46 for 1978
Although he would see massive success in his native America throughout the 80's, it likely wouldn't have happened had this breakthrough hit for him here in Australia not become as such this year. I'm guessing the lyrics didn't jive well with American audiences as it is essentially Johnny looking for the perfect one-night stand, however it certainly did jive with us largely thanks to a memorable performance of it on Countdown.
#47 for 1978
This was one of the more popular disco tracks to emerge from this decade, it comes to us courtesy of this family group who obviously wanted to become the new Jackson 5 (or I guess Jackson nine in this case) with this upbeat song about shaking your groove thing. Unfortunately, this was their only hit even in their native America as other disco acts came in to replace them on the dance floors.
#49 for 1976
It's hard to believe that these guys were considered to be rock dinosaurs when this became a hit for them, after all they had only been active in the music industry for fifteen years by this point. I'm guessing that's how the youth of the day referred to them when they scored a massive hit with this disco track, after all they hadn't had a hit in five years, and this was the perfect comeback for them.
#48 for 1978
Although this wasn't their first song to find success in their native America, this was the song which made them an international household name likely due to it being written by Bruce Springsteen for a rock artist no one's heard of. The three ladies would go on to have massive success in the 80's here in Australia which would've been impossible for them to achieve if they had of peaked in the 70's.
#47 for 1979
This was the only hit single that prog trio Emerson Lake and Palmer were able to achieve anywhere in the world, this no doubt led to the success of their album the Works vol 1 here given how it had a genuine hit single to its name down under. If you thought Genesis gets a bad rep when it comes to prog fans, I'd advise asking them what they think of these guys unless you're prepared for a foul-mouthed rant.
#50 for 1977
We looked at the Jim Capaldi version of this Everly brothers track earlier on this list, now let's look at the version that is trying to copy which was originally released two years prior to deafening silence for the Scottish band Nazareth. I'm guessing this was given a second wind due to it becoming a surprise hit for them over on Billboard, either that or there was a competition to see which one of these songs were better.
#50 for 1976
Skyhooks were on a roll as they released the advanced single to their third album, a song that acknowledges that they needed to up their production if they wanted to remain relevant now that they've become one of the biggest names in Australian music. Although it wasn't as successful as their earlier hits, this was a huge hit regardless and reassured the band that they had a loyal fanbase.
#58 for 1975
#51 for 1976
This was one of two hits that Raydio were able to achieve in Australia, the other being "You can't change that" from the following year which seems to explain the popularity of their front man Ray Parker Jr throughout the following decade. Here he tells the story of Jack and Jill in a modern setting which tugged at the heartstrings of audiences thus enabling it to be a huge worldwide success.
#49 for 1978
Even though he saw sleeper success earlier in the decade with Piano man and its title track, this was the first hit single that Billy Joel was able to achieve in Australia and in most parts of the world due to him reassuring audiences that they were perfect the way they were and that they didn't need to change for anyone. I feel like if this were released in modern times it would be one of the biggest hits of all time.
#50 for 1978
It had been a good twenty years since Johnny Mathis last troubled the charts with one of his ballads, so it was a bit of a surprise to see him score a number one hit in his native America with this ballad that introduced the world to Deniece Williams who would go on to have massive success in the 80's. As an extra fun fact, Johnny is one of the first musicians of colour to come out as gay in the music industry.
#51 for 1978
While this wasn't the final hit single these guys were able to score in Australia (that honour goes to "Rocking all over the world" from the following year) it was the last massive hit they had which goes to show how little success these guys had compared to their native UK where they were massive hit makers as recently as the early 90's. At least you still hear all of these songs on oldies stations to this day.
#51 for 1977
Following the success of her film Grease, Olivia Newton John decided to use the transformation that her character in the film Sandy went through and apply it to her real-life music career as she went in a more risqué direction with her music. This was the first song she released in this vein which while quite tame to what would come in the 80's, was still sexier than anything she had released up until this point.
#48 for 1979
This guy isn't the bassist for Queen despite them sharing the same name, instead he was an Australia TV composer who scored his one and only hit for the TV show Rush which was a popular Australian crime show from the 70's that was remade in the late 00's. From what I can gather, it was the Magnum P.I of its time, making this another occasion that American media stole from Australian media throughout history.
#59 for 1975
This was originally Abba's debut single which was released to deafening silence here in Australia likely due to it being a little ahead of its time back in 1973, indeed it was given a second chance once the band had conquered the world where this became yet another hit they had in a year where they had a ton of hits.
#52 for 1976
This was the love theme for the third iteration of the A star is born franchise, a theme that was so popular that it won the Oscar for best original song at the academy awards despite the film being a critical disaster upon its initial release. I'm guessing it was this Oscar that made it a success worldwide as Barbra hadn't had a hit since her previous Oscar win with "The way we were" from earlier in the decade.
#52 for 1977
This was a massive hit due to it being the Bond theme for the Spy who loved me, one of the more popular films during the Roger Moore era of the franchise. Of course, Carly Simon was a good choice for submitting a Bond theme given that she was one of the more popular artists of the decade, even though this was her first hit in Australia since her cover of "Mockingbird" four years prior.
#52 for 1978
This is another popular disco track that's survived the test of time, I'm guessing due to the Kym Mazelle cover from Baz Luhrman's Romeo + Juliet which no doubt reminded audiences of this classic around the time where disco had regained its popularity in the mainstream. Like many women of colour who made disco this decade, Candi Staton remained a one hit wonder with this classic even in her native America.
#53 for 1976
Of the four hits that these guys had in Australia back in the day, this was by far the most normal as it wasn't a cod reggae track like "Dreadlock holiday," a glam rock track like "Rubber bullets" or even a sophistopop track (or whatever the 70's equivalent of that was) like "I'm not in love." Instead, we have a fairly straight forward pop rock track from the band which came from their biggest album Deceptive bends.
#53 for 1977
This was the lead single from Abba's album Voulez vous, an album that proved to be more successful than their previous effort likely due to it being released when the decade was coming to an end and audiences were overlooking the biggest music trends of the 70's. Indeed, this is one of their most well-known songs to this day, so there's little surprise that it was a huge success for them back in the day.
#49 for 1979
It seems odd that Glen Campbell would score so much success here in Australia and have his sellout track about well...... selling out be his final hit single here. Indeed, this song about how Glen was going to be as he puts it, a rhinestone cowboy to the masses was his final hit here in Australia despite it being the first of two Billboard chart toppers for the country legend.
#60 for 1975
These guys already had a hit earlier in the decade with "United we stand," although it was this song which helped them win Eurovision that made them a household name as that earlier track was only a modest success upon its initial release. These two songs were the British group's only success here in Australia, although they scored further success later in the decade by ripping off Abba's material.
#54 for 1976
This was one of the cheesier songs to become a hit this decade, although I feel there was enough room for this type of ballad considering how much disco and rock opera there was as an alternative for audiences looking for cooler music. Alan remains a one hit wonder in most parts of the world with this ballad including in his native America, however he did score a second hit here in Australia with "Skinny girls."
#54 for 1977
This is another musician of colour that had to wait for quite some time before they finally found any success in their career, in this case we have Dorothy Moore who scored a massive hit this year with this cover of an obscure track from around the time she began said career. This led to her album of the same name being a massive worldwide success before she was sadly relegated to yesterday's news.
#55 for 1976
While this wasn't Leo Sayer's first hit in Australia (that honour goes to "The show must go on" from the previous year) it was the song that made him a household name despite it being a far cry from the soft rock ballads or even pseudo disco bangers that he would become synonymous with later in the decade.
#61 for 1975
You'd think these guys would be a French band given how their biggest hit was a song from the French genre chanson, you'd be wrong as these guys were based in America and only saw success throughout Europe due to how catchy this update of a 50's chanson track was throughout this decade. They did eventually score a hit on Billboard with "Boy from New York," I'm guessing to pander to American culture.
#55 for 1977
This was the lead single to Marcia Hines third album in Australia, an album that spawned her biggest hit which we looked at earlier on this list. She would continue to have success here for the remainder of the 70's, although she struggled to retain her popularity going into the 80's once Diana Ross started having hits down under again.
#56 for 1977
Smokie were certainly on a roll throughout the 70's as they managed to score yet another hit in Australia during the second half of the decade, I get the feeling these guys replaced Bay city rollers as the British pop rock band of choice once the Scottish lads began to saw a dip in their popularity.
#57 for 1977
#53 for 1978
This was the first major hit that Boney M achieved here in Australia, it's a Eurodance classic that fits in perfectly with the disco scene which made its worldwide success inevitable for the German band. Although their subsequent songs would become even bigger here as the decade went on, this still remains one of their most popular tracks on oldies stations due to how incessantly catchy it is.
#58 for 1977
Here's another favourite on oldies stations that made it big back in the day, although the Cars had to wait until their second album to find any success here due to how their debut album flopped here despite being one of the biggest albums of the decade in NZ. Indeed, they seemed to be more popular over there which is odd because normally new wave bands did better here in Australia.
#50 for 1979
This was the only notable success for the Spanish duo Baccara, mainly due to their unique vocals as well as the groovy disco beat which helped it stand out from many of their contemporaries this decade. There was little surprise this would be a hit in Australia given how inescapable it was in the UK, although I get the feeling this still would've been a hit here regardless because of how bit it was throughout Europe.
#54 for 1978
Shortly before she became one of the more popular female artists of the decade worldwide, Tina Charles began her career as one third of the British disco trio 5000 volts who scored a massive hit with this track about burning up for the love of their lives. Nowadays there's a more popular track with this title from Bruce Springsteen which has a very different premise to this track from the disco trio.
#56 for 1976
This was the second and final hit that Flash and the Pan were able to score in Australia, although they would score a surprise hit with "Waiting for the train" in the UK in 1983 which compelled this and their other hit "Hey St Peter" to be released throughout Europe in the 80's to capitalise off that song's success. I'm not sure why these guys didn't have success here in the 80's, their music seemed tailor made for the MTV era.
#55 for 1978
There was a popular miniseries airing from Australia which starred Jon English known as Against the wind, from what I can gather it takes place during the colonisation of Australia in the early 1800's which struck a chord with audiences back in the day. It came with a theme song which was a huge success for Jon and Mario Millo, so much so that it and the miniseries was also a success throughout Europe.
#51 for 1979
JPY was on a roll when he released the lead single to his third album Green, although he seems to have given up on his criticisms of the music industry as this is a much more straightforward track about how he wants to be with the person he's singing this to. It did hamper his success somewhat going forward, however he continued to find success throughout the rest of the decade.
#59 for 1977
There seemed to be no signs of these guys slowing down when they released this ballad which almost became yet another chart topper for them in Australia, indeed they were riding high off the success of their international popularity which makes the failure of their next album all the more upsetting (or hilarious depending on your point of view.)
#60 for 1977
This was another hit that Sherbet managed to achieve back in the day, it was a huge success for them as was just about everything they released during Countdown's first two years of existence due to being the most regular performers on the show.
#57 for 1976
These guys were on a roll as they managed to score a hit with this cover of a Jackie Deshannon track that was made popular by the Searchers in the early 60's. Indeed, this would be another successful year for the band as they would score more success with their earlier entries, although their time in the spotlight wouldn't extend to the 80's.
#56 for 1978
This was the last hit that Elvis Presley had during his lifetime, much like John Lennon after him, he died during the height of his popularity which resulted in the success of his final album worldwide. It's hard to say if this song would've been a success if he lived to see the end of the year, however his death certainly did prevent the song from failing much like some of his other ballads this decade.
#61 for 1977
I wonder how many LGBT people signed up for the navy when this became a hit for the Village people back in the day, after all, the YMCA was a safe haven for queer men, and they gave their endorsement with their earlier entry on this list. This was their final hit in their native America, although they had one more hit in most parts of the world as it was the theme to their theatrical disaster Can't stop the music.
#52 for 1979
This was one of three hits that Daryl Braithwaite managed to score on his own this decade, this should give you an idea as to how inescapable this man was between his solo efforts and his time as the front man of Sherbet.
#62 for 1977
Well, this is just depressing, not the song itself as it remains a disco classic to this day but rather that it was the only hit that both bands involved had here in Australia. There was little chance this was going to fail as it's a celebration of disco right when the genre seemed to be at the peak of its popularity, although it's likely due to this oversaturation that the disco backlash took place in America.
#53 for 1979
Even though she was based in America when she released this country ballad, Diana Trask was nonetheless able to find success back home with this ballad despite it bombing on the Billboard charts. It became a huge sleeper hit down under this year likely due to older audiences being still being in love with female country ballads buying this despite what the younger audiences wanted to hear.
#62 for 1975
For eight years, this was the final hit that the Brothers Gibb had in most parts of the world, it's a pity because it remains a disco classic to this day thanks to the frenetic energy of the track as well as the Bee Gees themselves. They would eventually return with "You win again" in 1987, and indeed they would score another comeback ten years after that when their album Still waters became a surprise success.
#54 for 1979
These two were already part of some of the biggest bands to come out of Australia throughout the 70's, so it seems fitting that they would conclude the decade with a collaboration album which scored a massive hit with this ballad they made together. Their next hit wouldn't come until 1982 when John Farnham replaced Glenn Shorrock as the lead singer of Little river band.
#55 for 1979
Following the success she had with 5000 volts from earlier on this list, we have the first of three solo hits that Tina Charles managed to score throughout the world which all seem to have the same premise as each other. The premise is that she loves two things, her partner and dancing which naturally captivated audiences enough to make all of her hits as big as they were back in the day.
#58 for 1976
While the duo already had success in their native America prior to their Billboard chart topper, this was the song which made them an international household name likely due to the lyrics about how Daryl is calling out how privileged this woman is. The duo was in danger of becoming a one hit wonder in Australia as none of their other tracks from the 70's crossed over here, although they were very popular in the 80's.
#63 for 1977
This was the debut single for a band who would go on to dominate the 80's with some of the greatest and bestselling albums of all time worldwide, although here we have a more subdue performance from the band which likely helped it stand out from all of the disco that was becoming popular around this time. They wouldn't have another hit here until "Twisting by the pool" in 1983.
#57 for 1978
#56 for 1979
This was the breakthrough single from Dan Hartman, a closeted LGBT man who only scored two hits in his career before tragically passing away in 1994 due to complications with HIV. While he's more well known these days for his hit single "I can dream about you," this was the bigger hit in certain parts of the world due to it being a disco track released during the height of the genre's popularity.
#57 for 1979
This was the final hit that Raydio scored during their short time together, I'm guessing they only served as a platform for their lead single Ray Parker Jr to launch his solo career which would go in all sorts of directions throughout the 80's. Here we have a yacht rock track about how much in love Ray is with this person and how there's nothing they can do about it; it's a nice sounding song provided you don't think too hard about the lyrics.
#58 for 1979
This was one of several bands that Tony Burrows was a part of this decade, two others of note were Edison Lighthouse (of "Love grows" fame) and Brotherhood of man on their big hit "United we stand" from earlier in the decade. Here he is with his final hit worldwide which is a surf rock track that's clearly meant to be an homage to the Beach boys less than a decade after their last hit "Cottonfields."
#63 for 1975
I've seen this title track to Donna Summer's breakthrough album be described as porn music, I can certainly attest for its album version which takes up the full side A of the album as it goes for sixteen minutes. Thankfully the single version isn't nearly as long and thus doesn't wear out its welcome as quickly, thus allowing it to become a huge success for Donna and a gateway to her making disco tracks.
#59 for 1976
This was the second of two hits that this British disco group managed to achieve worldwide, although I wouldn't blame you for thinking that this was Boney M considering how similar this is to the German bands catalogue. This is a cover of a Neil Sedaka track form the late 50's, which would explain how simplistic the lyrics are even compared to some of the other disco tracks on this list.
#59 for 1979
This was a song that Shaun Cassidy released exclusively in Australia, likely because he felt he could get away with covering Ruby and the Romantics given that they never had any success here in Australia. In America, the second single he had was his Billboard chart topper "Da doo ron ron," proving how he was able to score success throughout his career.
#64 for 1977
We have another successful soft rock track from Dr Hook to become a hit during the second half of the decade, although admittedly this was one of the last hit singles that they were able to have in Australia despite their growing popularity internationally, likely because they were already a huge deal with their earlier ballads.
#58 for 1978
#60 for 1979
This was one of only three hits that Bob Dylan had as a solo artist in Australia, it was also his final hit here which should tell you how uninterested we were with his singles despite how huge his albums were. This was a protest song about the mistreatment of Ruben "Hurricane" Carter which came out less than a year after the success of a tribute track towards Muhammad Ali, making this a good time to write songs about boxers of colour.
#60 for 1976
This was the only hit for the two singers in question, both Dean Friedman and Denise Marsa managed to win over an audience with their ballad about how they felt lucky to have found each other the way they did and attributed their good fortunes to the lucky stars in the universe. Naturally this ballad didn't lead to any further success for them.
#61 for 1979
This was the breakthrough single for Heart, one of the more popular bands from America that unfortunately didn't receive much love here in Australia back in the day save for the occasional hit single here and there. Indeed, their next hit wouldn't come for another decade down under when "Alone" cracked the top ten here, by that stage they had changed their sound drastically from what it was here.
#65 for 1977
This was the only hit that K.C and the Sunshine band were able to score in Australia throughout the 70's, although they would score another two hits going into the 80's meaning that they weren't one hit wonders with this classic for long here. I guess a common complaint with their 70's material is that they all sounded the same to each other, after all try telling this apart from "Shake your booty," Keep it coming love" and "Get down tonight." Unless you're a fan of disco, you won't be able to do it.
#61 for 1976
Given how he had one of the biggest albums of the decade with the Stranger, Billy Joel no longer had any issues with finding success with his ballads even though he was criticised at the time for making the type of music that seemed to be catered to the soccer mums of the world. Naturally this criticism has died out over the years thanks to his complex songwriting as well as how memorably his compositions are.
#62 for 1979
This was an amazing year for Elton John given how he not only scored two massive hits this year but also managed to have each of his albums at this point be a massive worldwide success. Neither of his two songs this year appeared on his albums, and admittedly audiences likely wanted to hear this upbeat song about how awesome Philadelphia is over his more sombre ballad "Someone saved my love tonight."
#64 for 1975
This was the second Oscar winning ballad this decade to come from Maureen McGovern, an actress/singer who scored both of her hits with these two ballads in Australia as they were both attached to highly successful films that she also appeared in. This came from the Towering inferno, a disaster film about how a fire starts in what was supposed to be the tallest building in the world and the struggles that were had containing the fire in the building.
#65 for 1975
These guys had been active since the late 60's, meaning they didn't find any success in their career until this year when they released this bouncy country ballad that got them their Billboard chart topper in their native America. This was a good time for country music with a groove to it, so of course it was going to succeed internationally for the two brothers, and hey they scored another hit later in the decade.
#62 for 1976
It had been almost a full decade since Manfred Mann saw any success on the charts, so here he is with his second band, Manfred Mann's earth band (wow, creative name) scoring massive success worldwide with this staple on oldies stations. This was able to give him a comeback as it helped the album it came from become a moderate success as well as this topping the Billboard charts.
#63 for 1976
#66 for 1977
I guess this was a return to form for David Essex given how this feels more in line with his debut single "Rock on" than his previous two hits he had throughout the decade. I guess this did please his original fans as this became a huge hit for him this year, however his popularity would die out as the decade went on in Australia.
#64 for 1976
This was the second and final hit that the Babys managed to score here in Australia, making them the only artist from back in the day to score multiple hits with what I've described as late-night rock given how this also feels like the type of song that would play in the scenario I described earlier in this list. The band would struggle to find success going into the 80's, however this wouldn't be the last we hear from lead singer John Waite.
#63 for 1979
This was the only other hit that Marty Rhone had in his career in Australia, although it was a big enough success for him that it sparked international interest in him which sadly never came to be as with most Australian artists during the height of the Countdown era. He did try to retain his popularity after this, obviously to no avail.
#67 for 1977
Dave Edmunds already saw massive success from the start of the decade here in Australia before he joined the popular UK group Rockpile, although it was during his time with Rockpile that he was able to score a comeback hit with this pop rock track just as the decade was coming to an end. Incidentally this became a success around the same time his band mate Nick Lowe was also scoring a hit with "Cruel to be kind."
#64 for 1979
This was originally a hit for Richard Harris (Albus Dumbledore for Harry Potter fans) ten years prior where it became a massive hit for the Irish actor despite often being hailed as one of the worst songs of all time. Donna Summer decided to resurrect this song about a cake melting in the park (that's literally what the song is about) and make it a disco hit where it became a success all over again.
#59 for 1978
#65 for 1979
This was the only hit that Yellow dog managed to achieve in Australia and their native UK, I'm guessing because their brand of pop rock was invigorating for one hit during a time where more complex music was dominating the charts worldwide. Even so, it did better than many other pop rock tracks from the time, meaning that it did have a sizeable audience back in the day for the British band.
#60 for 1978
It's one of the greatest ironies in music that Barry Manilow didn't write this song about how he writes all the songs of the world, admittedly this needs the arrogance of its actual songwriter Bruce Johnston (of the Beach boys) in order to be the way it is. Apparently, it was originally given to the Captain and Tennille but was eventually given to Barry when the husband-and-wife duo felt it wouldn't make for a good single.
#65 for 1976
We have one final entry from Sherbet for this site, again it was a huge success for them due to how well loved they were on Countdown during the first few years of its existence.
#66 for 1975
This was the lead single to the latest album that Bay city rollers released this year, given how they released two new albums every year since their initial breakthrough (that's not even counting their album they released exclusively in America) I think it's safe to say that the band was a tad overexposed by this point. It doesn't help that their latest single was a cover of a Dusty Springfield classic.
#66 for 1976
This was the lead single to an E.P that Bryan Ferry released from around this time, although the E.P itself flopped in favour of the song likely due to it appearing on his second album which was a massive success due to his earlier entry on this list. This really does beg the question of how we Aussies loved this guy so much but only as a solo artist given how little love his band Roxy music received here back in the day.
#67 for 1976
This was the final hit that Wings were able to achieve before they called it quits heading into the 80's, I'm guessing they wanted to end things on a high note as this song came out around the time they released their final album London town which curiously didn't have this on the track listing.
#66 for 1979
Although they're best known for their disco classic "Groove thing" (which sadly won't be appearing on this blog) this was the big hit from Peaches and Herb due to it being their Billboard chart topper in their native America. It turns out that the Peaches on here wasn't the original Peaches when the duo formed a decade prior, in fact Herb Fame has gone through five different Peaches over the years.
#67 for 1979
This is often considered to be one of the worst songs of the 70's, this is mainly due to it sounding like an innocent love song but is really in fact about rough sex which obviously alienates everyone who could potentially like it as those into soft rock will be turned off by the subject matter and those into the subject matter will find it to be cheesy and boring.
#68 for 1976
This was a hit for Alicia Bridges twice in Australia, of course we'll be looking at its original success where it rode the disco bandwagon for a song that seems more in line with RNB than anything. It wasn't among the most inescapable tracks of its day; however, its legacy got a massive push fifteen years later when it was remixed for the soundtrack of Priscilla queen of the desert.
#68 for 1979
This was the last solo hit that Neil Diamond had in Australia, although he continued to find massive success with his albums and even scored a hit with a duet with Barbra Streisand later in the decade. I guess Countdown prevented him from scoring any more hits here but allowed his popularity to flourish with his albums.
#67 for 1975
Fans of Madonna's Confessions on a dance floor will recognise the beat to this song on her hit single "Hung up," however here it was used for a song that's about wanting to hook up with a man for a one-night stand in the middle of the night as opposed to Madonna being fed up with her partner wasting her time. The success of this track proved that Abba's popularity was still going strong entering the 80's.
#69 for 1979
The second half of the decade was a massive success for Hot chocolate who saw tons of worldwide success with their blend of RNB and disco, in fact they even became the multicultural band of choice in America over Kool and the gang who didn't score another hit on Billboard until the early 80's. Indeed, these guys also continued to see success well into the 80's, albeit mainly in their native UK.
#68 for 1977
This guy had been in the industry for over two decades before he finally scored his one and only hit outside of his native America with this ballad about his own heartbreak. I guess this being a hit makes sense as soft rock was one of the biggest trends of the decade when it wasn't centred around the dance floor or rock operas.
#70 for 1979
This was the first duet from Grease to be played in the film, although technically it's more of an ensemble piece as both characters recall how they came across each other over the summer which would set up the basis for their relationship throughout the rest of the film. It's one of the less conventional songs to become a hit over the years, but it's catchy and well performed.
#61 for 1978
This was the only hit from Canadian singer Patsy Gallant, although considering she's the only Canadian artist to have a disco hit outside her homeland, I feel that this having any international success should speak volumes to how well loved it was back in the day. It starts of as a typical love ballad before transitioning into a more upbeat track, a common troupe that many of her contemporaries failed to capitalise on.
#62 for 1978
It seems weird that Guess who never much success had here in Australia given how well remembered their catalogue is on oldies stations, what's even weirder is that the lead singer Burton Cummings managed to find success following the bands brief demise in the mid 70's. Burton never officially rejoined the band, likely due to the surprise hit he had with this ballad that he's been trying to replicate.
#69 for 1977
I'm a bit surprised that Jon English didn't see more success with his music career back in the day in Australia, especially considering how he did have minor international success thanks to his role as Judas in the Australian production of Jesus Christ superstar this decade. I guess this became a hit for him following his role in the miniseries Against the wind which was a massive success for him.
#63 for 1978
This was the final hit that Boney M achieved in most parts of the world, possibly as a last hurrah considering this came at the end of a very successful decade for them. If you couldn't gather from the title, this is a holiday theme which continues the trend they had with their biggest hit "The rivers of Babylon." It was likely adopted as a theme for TV commercials wanting to sell tropical vacations for a while.
#71 for 1979
This was originally a hit for the Dave Clark five over a decade prior, however Hush managed to make it their own this year with their glam version which proved to be their second and final hit in their discography. They did have moderate success with their album this year due to both of their entries on this list, however they would struggle to find further success as the decade went on.
#68 for 1975
You're probably wondering who Todd Rundgren even is, let alone how he managed to score a massive hit with this ballad across the world given how there was no shortage of ballads like this that were flopping at the time. It turns out that he was the one who produced Meat Loaf's Bat out of hell album, meaning that this guy is responsible for one of the best albums of all time which more than justifies this songs success.
#64 for 1978
This was the biggest hit that AC/DC had with Bon Scott on lead vocals, although they would go on to have bigger success in the 80's once Brian Johnston took over following Bon's death in 1980. This was the lead single to the band's third album Dirty deeds done dirt cheap, an album that didn't see the level of success their second album T.N.T saw back in the day.
#69 for 1976
This was the final hit that Alice Cooper was able to achieve for an entire decade given how he wouldn't bother the charts again until his 1989 comeback album Trash, that also served as a return to form as this era saw him being a soft rocker as opposed to the rest of this catalogue which had him in glam rock.
#65 for 1978
#72 for 1979
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