I've decided to show what was popular during the waning years of the go set charts in Australia, although again I haven't included any commentary here as I feel uncomfortable with talking about songs that I struggle to form opinion about while also feeling that talking about the select few that I do have strong feelings about would reveal my biases in a negative way on this site. I'll also include stats from the last quarter of 1974 to evenly round out this list even though I'm obviously using AMR stats for those entries.
There are two versions of this track that exist, there's the version with the disco trio Love unlimited which features vocalist from the three women of colour on the track. The other version is the instrumental version which is the version that became a massive worldwide hit given how it was commissioned from a group of session musicians by Barry White for one of his concerts with the girls.
#61 for 1974 (#55 AMR)
The Carpenters were on a roll when they released their second big hit around the world, in fact this nearly topped the Billboard charts much like their top entry on this list which confirmed the brother and sister duo as the real deal moving forward in the decade.
#64 for 1971 (#68 AMR)
Although these guys had success in their native America prior to this hit, this was the first of several Billboard chart toppers that Three dog night had likely due to them taking an Eric Burdon track and running through the funk sound with their interpretation. The rest of the world liked what they did with the track which allowed it to crossover internationally.
#67 for 1970 (#74 AMR)
I wasn't expecting to add another entry from an artist who would go on to become a politician apart from Peter Garrett on this site, however that seems to be the case for Mike Curb as the future politician for California would score a hit with the theme to the Clint Eastwood flick Kelley's heroes a decade prior to taking office in the west coast state.
#68 for 1970 (#58 AMR)
You'd think that "Stairway to heaven" would be the big hit from Led Zeppelin's fourth self-titled album, alas it wasn't as that honour goes to this track instead which is more of a conventional rock track as opposed to the prog classic that continues to invade our airwaves even to this day.
(this is Led zeppelin "Black dog)
#68 for 1972 (#70 AMR)
I'm shocked this was only a moderate success for Bob Dylan here in Australia, although that might be due to how Guns n roses revived this song's popularity in the 90's with their rendition which coincidentally came out the same year I was born (1992.) In any case, this was the second hit that the folk legend had here in Australia following "Like a rolling stone" from 1965.
#66 for 1973 (#84 AMR)
This was the only hit for Australian actress/singer Abigail Rogan, I'm guessing this was the case due to the popularity of a TV she was on at the time of its release (it's surprisingly hard to find information about this woman) given how this saw a release in the UK where it predictably flopped.
#67 for 1973 (#78 AMR)
This was a hit for Brian Hyland a decade after his first hit "Itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polkadot bikini" (I can't believe I had to type that up on this site even after mentioning its 1990 cover on the NZ side of my site.) This meant that the former teen idol was able to escape the one hit wonder bin here in Australia with this track about a Romani woman he's in love with (though not enough to not refer to her as a slur.)
#65 for 1971 (#56 AMR)
While these guys only had one inescapable hit here in Australia with "Hot love," their fortunes were much better in their homeland as this became yet another chart topper in the UK for the glam rock band as well as another staple on oldies stations to this day.
#69 for 1972 (#80 AMR)
We have another two for one deal on this list, this time it's from the king of rock and roll as Elvis Presley bundled his cover of a Dusty Springfield classic with a song that's long been forgotten by even his diehard fanbase for decades at this point.
#66 for 1971 (#57 AMR)
This was the only hit to come from American singer Bobby Bloom, mainly because he would tragically pass away four years after its release due to a self-inflicted gun wound (there's actually speculation on if it was a suicide or his gun misfiring on him.) The song would be covered by Australian band Allniters a decade after his death where it became a modest success for them (albeit a sleeper hit.)
#69 for 1970 (#72 AMR)
We've looked at the Boy George cover from 1987 on the NZ side of my site, time now to look at the original non reggae version from Bread which was a hit here in Australia fifteen years prior to when George's version briefly scrapped our top ten before quickly leaving our charts (making it a fan single in my opinion.) This failed to crack our top ten but stuck around for quite some time regardless.
#70 for 1972 (#65 AMR)
There was a popular TV crime series known as Van der Valk (Dutch for "of the falcon") which aired from 1972-1977 back in the day. As with most popular TV series, its theme song was quite popular in the music scene here in Australia as well as in the show's native UK where it topped the British charts.
#62 for 1974 (#67 AMR)
This is the final hit that Axiom achieved during their short time together, it was the lead single to their second and final album which proves that although they weren't quite as popular with their first album, there was still love for the band regardless even mere months prior to them calling it quits.
#67 for 1971 (#67 AMR)
This was a short-lived covers band from Australia who scored two hits during the first half of the decade with cover songs, this one being of the Merry Clayton track that's best known nowadays for Cher's rendition for her film Mermaids. These guys likely would've had more success here had they stuck around once Countdown launched, alas they called it quits mere months after the show premiered.
#63 for 1974 (#65 AMR)
This was George Harrison's final hit here in Australia for eight years as he wouldn't touch our charts again until 1981 with his tribute to John Lennon "All those years ago." It was a much bigger deal internationally where this topped the Billboard charts for the former Beatle likely due to its strong message about world peace.
#68 for 1973 (#86 AMR)
This was another huge hit that Slade had throughout the world during their heyday, it was coincidentally their second UK chart topper given how it was their second biggest hit here in Australia for the glam rock band.
#71 for 1972 (#67 AMR)
This will be the last entry from Don Mclean on this site given how he didn't score any other hits throughout his career, indeed this was only a hit here in Australia likely due to the massive success of his two earlier entries on this list as well as the album they came from which didn't seem to be much of an incentive for the rest of the world in making this a hit.
#69 for 1973 (#61 AMR)
This was the last major hit that the Masters apprentices had in their career, although their next single "Because I love you" would receive plenty of airplay due to a 1988 release of the track that flopped but was regardless what made them a favourite on oldies stations. Their success was more prevalent in the 60's due to their sound fitting in perfectly with the hippy revolution.
#70 for 1970 (#76 AMR)
This is one of the many moderate hits that the Partridge family had here in Australia between their two earlier entries on this list, I'm guessing this song's success was due to how well it went over with us Aussies when it was performed on the show.
#68 for 1971 (#63 AMR)
This is a song that could've only been popular from the 60's or the start of the 70's, it comes to us from Daddy Dewdrop who scored his one and only hit worldwide with this novelty track that still pops up here and there in pop culture.
#69 for 1971 (#83 AMR)
We have another entry from the brothers Gibb, this will be their earliest entry to feature on my site as I don't think I'll ever be looking at what was popular in the 60's where most of their pre disco success came from.
#70 for 1971 (#60 AMR)
This is one of only two entries from Stevie Wonder, that's right, one of the biggest names of the decade only had two hits here in Australia even if his albums did do considerably well with us Aussies (which somewhat makes him an album artist as far as we're concerned.) At least this was a chart topper on Billboard even if it's one of his rare slow jams that got popular over the years.
#70 for 1973 (#79 AMR)
It's puzzling to think that this was the big hit from blues legend JJ Cale and not "Cocaine" here in Australia, although I guess the fact that he had a hit here in Australia is proof that we Aussies did at least love him for one single as opposed to his fellow Americans who completely ignored his catalogue.
#72 for 1972 (#76 AMR)
This is the only entry from Marie Osmond to appear on this side of my site, mainly because her duets with Donny failed to become a success here in Australia (possibly due to their incestual nature which was unintentional on their part.)
#64 for 1974 (#80 AMR)
We've featured the Joan Jett cover on this site on my list of Countdown performances, time now to look at the original version of the glam rock track from Gary Glitter which continued the icon's winning streak back in the day given how it was the lead single to his second album Touch me.
#71 for 1973 (#71 AMR)
Mark Lindsay was the lead single of Paul Revere and the Raiders, an American band who curiously failed to score any hits here in Australia despite how popular they were in their homeland. He did win us Aussies over with this ballad about a girl named Arizona (not the state) which sadly did no favours for his band at the time.
#71 for 1970 (#67 AMR)
This was the first song that John Farnham released in the decade; it was a guaranteed success for him given how this was coming off the heels of his top entry on this list which coincidentally was when the original version from BJ Thomas took home the academy award for best original song.
#72 for 1970 (#73 AMR)
Well, this is something different from Chicago, here we have a jazz rock track in the vein of early Santana or Blood sweat and tears which became a moderate success at the start of the decade worldwide for the band. I guess the genre became more niche as the decade went along, hence why they transitioned to a soft rock sound with their hit "If you leave me now."
#73 for 1970 (#83 AMR)
This is the only hit to come from Brownsville station, a rare American glam rock band who quite surprisingly managed to make it big in their homeland give how rare it was for glam rock to become a success on Billboard (even from local artists such as Suzi Quatro.) Motley Crue fans will know this as one of that band's signature tracks due to their rendition being a minor success on Billboard in the 80's.
#65 for 1974 (#75 AMR)
We have our final Oscar winning track on this list, I've saved the best for last as it's the title track from the Shaft series courtesy of Isaac Hayes who scored his only American hit with this jam. For the rest of the world, he scored another hit in the late 90's as his character in South Park Chef with "Chocolate salty balls" from the Chef aid soundtrack (it only barely failed to appear on this site.)
#73 for 1972 (#64 AMR)
This was a modest success for Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds (what a weird band name) here in Australia, likely due to it being a huge hit in their native America where this type of ballad reigned supreme on the Billboard charts.
#71 for 1971 (#82 AMR)
This was John Farnham's final hit he had until his 1980 comeback with "Help," I guess he was seen as a relic of the 60's by this point in time which was a stigma that wouldn't hold once he released his magnum opus in 1986.
#72 for 1973 (#83 AMR)
This was the only hit for Leon Russell, one of the less influential icons of the hippy culture despite doing quite well with his albums here in Australia during the first half of the decade. I'm not sure how we Aussies came across his work given how little success he had in his native America.
#72 for 1971 (#80 AMR)
This was the last hit that the Brothers Gibb had before they had transitioned to disco, it's a good representation of their sound while they were a trio but before they were having us jam to their music on the dance floor.
#66 for 1974 (#71 AMR)
Bread was another band who managed to achieve quite a bit of success in their native America throughout the decade, this was their biggest hit here in Australia despite it not being their biggest hit on the Billboard charts (we'll get to what was in a bit.) Bread are one of those bands who are often described as "white people music" mainly due to their lack of appeal in other demographics.
#74 for 1972 (#62 AMR)
#67 for 1974 (#90 AMR)
These guys had been active since the mid 50's, which means they scored their final hit in Australia and most parts of the world two decades after their initial breakthrough. They had another hit earlier in the year with "Like sister and brother" meaning this RNB ballad didn't come out of nowhere for the band down under, indeed they were fairly successful worldwide as both of these songs were huge in the UK.
#68 for 1974 (#72 AMR)
#73 for 1971 (#87 AMR)
This was the second hit that the Doors had from their final album L.A woman, it's another song that's been fondly remembered over the years due to how much oldies stations love to play it. I guess if the album weren't so successful, it would've been even bigger here due to our charts revolving around physical sales which the album ate up for this song.
#74 for 1971 (#81 AMR)
Given the success of the Mike Curb congregation from earlier on this list, these guys had to be referred to as the English congregation here in Australia as well as anywhere else in the world that "Burning bridges" had charted in order to avoid confusion with them. In any case, this was a decent hit here in Australia, although it was much bigger internationally likely due to the lack of confusion.
#75 for 1972 (#78 AMR)
This was a hit a year after its initial release, I guess it wasn't released as a single here in Australia initially due to it having to compete with "Imagine" from earlier on this list as that was the Christmas chart topper of 1971 down under. It had its full chance to shine the following Christmas where it was too little too late for it to make an impact on our charts.
#73 for 1973 (#85 AMR)
This was John Farnham's penultimate hit here in Australia until his comeback from 1980, it's a song released during our Christmas which makes its lyrics about how things go out of season appropriate given how we Aussies have Christmas in summer as opposed to most of the world which has it during winter.
#74 for 1973 (#74 AMR)
This was the lead single to CCR's final album Mardis gras, or rather it was a throwaway track they released following the success of Pendulum that they included on the album due to the behind-the-scenes drama they went through during the album's conception.
#75 for 1971 (#84 AMR)
This is another one of those cheap covers of an international track from an Australian artist that got big throughout the decade, although at least we'll eventually get to the original version of this track further down the list as opposed to some of the other entries that missed out from appearing on this list.
#69 for 1974 (#81 AMR)
This was a hit for Lobo two years prior to his other two entries on this list, likely because it's a love song that revolves around a couple and their puppy which I'm sure melted the hearts of listeners back in the day despite how lame it seems for modern audiences.
#76 for 1971 (#79 AMR)
No comments:
Post a Comment