Although Billboard has yet to release a top 500 for the biggest hits of the 70's on their website (as of this writing of course) I've decided to make up my own list which I created on my RYM site to look over what I believe to be the biggest hits of the decade over there. As usual this list only includes songs that were popular in the southern hemisphere back in the day and not the songs that didn't appeal to us Aussies or kiwis.
This came really close to becoming the Carpenters second Billboard chart topper which is an impressive feat given how it would've been their second single to chart in their homeland, alas it was denied that privilege by four weeks thanks to "I'll be there" from the Jackson 5 which for some reason wasn't a hit anywhere else in the world. Considering they were up against such a juggernaut, the duo had nothing to be ashamed of here.
This got stuck behind "Top of the world" and "The most beautiful girl in the world" from getting to number one in America, meaning that this second single from the album of the same name was among the unluckier songs on this list when it comes to becoming a Billboard chart topper. At least Elton's next single would be a number one hit for him in America, and hey, he was still doing better there than he was back home.
Given how inescapable this was worldwide for Billy Swan, it makes sense that this would be a Billboard chart topper for him during the midpoint of the decade. Despite the overwhelming success it had, he curiously failed to score a second hit even in his homeland, meaning we have yet another one hit wonder on our hands for this list.
This is the first of four entries from Sweet on this list, it's also coincidentally their oldest single in their catalogue as well as the only entry that wasn't a hit here in Australia as we once again owe the kiwis our thanks for making this a hit back in the day to allow for its presence here. They're another band on this list that has plenty of entries with none of them coming close to topping the Billboard charts.
Even though this will be the Doobie brothers only appearance on this list, they had two other candidates including a second Billboard chart topper they had earlier in the decade in the form of "Black water." This is another example of oldie's stations utilizing the Billboard charts for their rotation list regardless of where in the world you're from given that this was their only international hit.
Not only was this Helen Reddy's first international hit, but it was also her first Billboard chart topper even though it only went to number two here in Australia back in the day. Nowadays this is considered the bane of every non feminists' existence due to how out of control the movement has become, however back in the day, it was an inspirational anthem for women who felt left out in the world.
We still haven't looked at all the chart toppers of the decade on this list, here's another one from Wings which was a predictable number one hit on Billboard for Paul and company given how it was the lead single to one of their bigger albums. We still have two more entries to come from the band on this list.
This is another entry we have to thank the kiwis for getting on this list as this was a huge flop for Livie here in Australia, it's curious how we Aussies were done with the (at the time) country star right as America was getting into her music as she didn't have much success on Billboard prior to her 1973 hit "Let there be love" (which we'll revisit in a bit.)
We have our third and final entry from Roberta Flack on this list, this time it's with her third and final chart topper which came a year after her top entry on this list. That said, she could've had a fourth Billboard chart topper had "The closer I get to you" not been blocked by Wings and Yvonne Elliman in 1978, that should give you an idea of how her popularity persisted in her homeland.
Even though this was an Oscar winning ballad for Maureen McGovern, it took forever in a day for her label to release it as a single which means it was a hit divorced from the context of the film it was written for. From what I can gather (since I haven't seen the film) this is another example of the song being different in the film as it was sung in universe by one of the characters.
I should point out that we've reached the point of the list where several songs that failed to chart in the upper half of the Billboard top ten will outrank several chart toppers that have yet to appear on this list, this one and only hit from Morris Albert being one of these songs as despite it failing to reach any higher than number six, lasted for quite some time in their top ten as opposed to those that outranked it on the weekly charts.
Finally, we have the first of two solo Billboard chart toppers from Livie on this list, this one coming to us from the same album as her other chart topper to give you an idea of how much on a roll she was in America right before she decided to pivot away from country in favour of more mainstream pop music. Indeed, her gambit paid off given how many of her post sellout tracks have already appeared on this list.
This is the final Billboard chart topper to come from Elton John on this list, naturally we would end of this streak with a Beatles cover given how this was the first rendition of the song to be released as a single. We still have a few entries to look at from the English piano man on this list, so don't think we've seen the last of him even if nothing from him topped the Billboard charts from here on out.
Aren't you glad that I'm including songs that were big in NZ for this list? I get that we Aussies passed up giving these guys any hits in favour of having their albums be the most successful of all time, however the kiwis and their fellow Americans managed to have them be successful with their singles and albums back in the day. Heck this was the second single from the album of the same name and it was a Billboard chart topper.
For my American readers, this song going to number one likely seems like a no duh moment given how it was a massive Billboard chart topper from their penultimate album London town. For everyone else however, this might be confusing as you're likely wondering why "Mull of Kintyre" hasn't appeared on this list yet. It turns out that never saw the light of day over there despite it being one of the biggest hits of all time internationally.
This is Livie's other Billboard chart topper of the decade following the two we've already looked at, admittedly I wasn't expecting this to be towards the top of the list however seeing it this far down is a bit confusing to me given how well it did here in Australia. If nothing else, this is further proof that getting to number one was never the end goal of popular songs even back in the day.
Much like the rest of the world, this was Janis Joplin's only hit in her native America which I can't stress is nothing like the music that her fans remember so fondly decades after her tragic passing. It was a number one hit on Billboard likely due to sentimental value as this was released six months after she passed away due to a drug overdose.
This is one of only four hits that Abba had in America, it was also their only Billboard chart topper given how the Swedish group simply didn't have the star power over there that they did throughout the rest of the world. They could've had another entry on this list, however "Take a chance on me" wasn't a hit anywhere else in the world and "Waterloo" didn't rack up the points to appear on here.
Given how inescapably popular John Denver and the trucker craze was in America throughout the decade, it's not too surprising that a novelty track that had a marketing director impersonating the country legend singing about being a trucker was a Billboard chart topper. What is surprising is just how inescapably popular the song was internationally as I thought that was only a fad happening in America.
This is the only other entry from Glen Campbell on this list, again we have to thank the kiwis for its appearance given how it was a sleeper hit over there when the rest of the world had already turned their back on the country legend. It's quite sad actually considering this was his second Billboard chart topper even if it was also his final hit.
Here's another victim of Debby Boone's top entry on this list, Carly Simon waited three weeks for this to overtake the Oscar winning ballad for the top spot on Billboard before it fell out of the charts shortly after. What's worse is that Debby also prevented her from another accolade, that being the Oscar for best original song as this was nominated for the prize as well.
This is the only other entry from George Harrison on this list, it's coincidentally his only other chart topper from the 70's meaning he's another artist who had a "go hard or go home" fanbase where they either made sure to send a song of his to number one or didn't bother making it a hit at all. Diana Ross is another example of this as all of her candidates for the list all went to number one.
This was blocked from the number one spot for three weeks and by two different songs, those songs being from the Four seasons and the Miracles which is an RNB group of colour best known for having Smokey Robinson as their lead singer for non-Americans reading this. Even though this was a massive worldwide hit for Eric Carmen, he would have to wait a decade to escape the one hit wonder bin even in his homeland.
It looked like Bay city rollers had no chance of crossing over to America given how their three biggest hits in Australia all failed to find an audience over there back in the day, however their fortunes changed when their label decided to rerelease their debut single worldwide to encourage Americans to make them a success which surprisingly worked as this became a Billboard chart topper for them.
Given how this was nominated for an Oscar (and lost to "Evergreen" from earlier on this list) it makes sense that this iconic instrumental would be a huge chart topper for Bill Conti in his homeland as well as it being a sleeper hit here in Australia. A bit of an embarrassing confession here, I've yet to see any of the Rocky films due to me not being a fan of Sylvester Stallone as an actor.
Given how inescapable this song was at the start of the decade, it makes sense that it would be a Billboard chart topper for the Dutch group Shocking blue when the hippy movement was still at its peak. It's hard to say if this was bigger than Bananarama's rendition or vice versa in America given how neither song appears on the all-time Billboard list, however I have to imagine it's a close race
Even though this was a huge Billboard chart topper for Alan O'day, this would be his only hit in his homeland despite him scoring a second hit here in Australia three years later with "Skinny girls." Admittedly it's one of the cheesiest songs arguably of all time, so perhaps his fellow Americans just weren't as willing to give him another chance like we Aussies did.
This lasted three weeks at number one on Billboard, I feel I should bring that up because even spending that long at the top of the charts didn't seem to guarantee that a song would be among the biggest of the decade as we've looked at throughout this list. That said, it's easy to see how it got to number one given how this was a duet between Neil Sedaka and Elton John during the midpoint of the decade.
This is the third and final entry from the Rolling stones on this list, it was their first Billboard chart topper of the decade given how they were still on a roll from the success they had coming out of the 60's. They had two other candidates for this list, both of them came between their two earlier entries as neither of them had that big push that these three songs had worldwide.
Speaking of unlucky songs that got stuck at number two on the Billboard charts, this was blocked by "The morning after," "Touch me in the morning" and "Brother Louie" from a band known as Stories (they had no presence on the Australian and NZ charts.) It ties with Carly Simon's Bond theme as the second highest charting single from the franchise behind Duran Duran's theme from 1985.
This is the second entry from Ringo Starr on this list, it's curiously his biggest international hit as a solo artist even though it comes behind "You're sixteen" from earlier. I guess the success of his earlier entry explains why this has been overshadowed by that problematic track over the years even throughout the rest of the world where like I said, this was the bigger hit of the two songs.
This was the third and final chart topping single that Helen Reddy had in America, I bet you were expecting it to be "Leave me alone" weren't you? (Don't worry, it's still to come on this list.) Admittedly this could've been even bigger here in Australia had she not been swept aside in favour of the fresher Aussie talent that Countdown was promoting since she was now considered an international artist.
I debated on including "Billy don't be a hero" on this list given how it was a massive worldwide hit, however the version that got big in America was from a band known as Bo Donaldson, so I decided against it as that is technically a different song rather than a remix or a translation of a foreign single. I guess the Americans felt bad for cheating Paper lace out of a chart-topping hit, hence why their second single was as such over there like it was here in Australia.
This almost became Elton John's second consecutive chart topper after "Crocodile rock" in America, you can blame "My love" from Wings as to why that didn't happen as that's what prevented it from topping the Billboard charts back in the day. All of his 70's output is still to come on this list, and there are even one or two entries that were candidates that failed to appear due to their failure in the southern hemisphere.
This almost gave the Pointer sisters a Billboard chart topper, had it not got stuck behind "Da ya think I'm sexy" then it would've done just that which I get the feeling is the real reason why that song faces backlash in more recent years. In any case, we have this breakthrough single from the Pointer sisters which put them firmly on the map just in time for them to take the 80's by storm.
Even though this was far from Linda Ronstadt's highest charting single on Billboard, the fact it remains her biggest hit in her homeland more than explains why it was a huge success internationally for the female singer. I guess even her fellow Americans were impressed with this cover of the Roy Orbison track, this is despite the fact they allowed another entry on this list to chart with it back in the day.
If you're wondering if these guys managed to outrank the Osmonds on my RYM list, then I'll have you know that they didn't as those guys already had "One bad apple" appear on it by the time we get to this entry. There's even been a Donny Osmond track that outranks this as "Go away little girl" was a massive Billboard chart topper even though that bombed everywhere else in the world.
This got stuck behind Roberta Flack's top entry on this list for four weeks on the Billboard charts, an impressive feat for what's essentially two men having a competition to see who's the better banjo player (or at least that's the premise of this track from the context of the film it's used in.) As you can imagine, Eric Weissenberg failed to score another hit on the charts given how it's a miracle this was a hit in the first place.
It's a good thing I allowed for sleeper hits to be eligible for this list, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to include the other big hit that the Four seasons had following the success of their lead singers previous chart topper on this list. That said, this has largely been overshadowed over the years for their other entry due to it lacking a popular remix from the 90's that classic has.
Given how the Sting was a massive box office success back in the day, it was only inevitable that this condensed release of the score managed to become a massive success on Billboard even if it was a much bigger hit here in Australia and NZ for Marvin Hamlisch. As this was a score and not a character's theme like the Rocky theme, it was nominated for best score which it wound up winning.
We have another song on this list that owes its presence it being a success in NZ as opposed to Australia, this time it's the American band Dazz who beat George Benson to the punch by a few years when they fused jazz with disco for their one and only hit worldwide. It's hard to say if this was bigger in their homeland or NZ given how it was released during the infamous summer break of 1976/1977 in the latter country.
If you're surprised that the third band from Manfred Mann managed to score a Billboard chart topper with their debut single, remember that the first single he released with his self-titled band back in 1964 was also a Billboard chart topper which highlights just how lucky he was in the American market. Sadly, this was his final hit over there in any capacity as his subsequent follow ups all flopped over there.
I'm a bit surprised this wasn't a bigger hit for Andrea true and her connection (whatever that may be) mainly because it was a big hit in the UK for her which resulted in its sleeper hit status here in Australia. The song is best known for its production which would be sampled in Len's 1999 hit "Steal my sunshine" which was also a huge hit on both sides of the pond.
This also nearly topped the Billboard charts, were it not for the Emotions earlier entry on this list, it would've done just that for Rita Coolidge much to the chagrin of those who feel she ruins the Jackie Wilson original with this cover. She had a second candidate for this list with "We're all alone" proving that she wasn't a flash in the pan among her fellow Americans like she was internationally.
To think that this was one of only two Billboard chart toppers for both artists in question, for Deniece it makes sense as this was her breakthrough single and years before "Let's hear it for the boy" hit the airwaves. It's more curious for Johnny however as he was easily one of the most popular artists of the 50's here in Australia (an impressive feat for a man of colour) yet his only other chart topper in his homeland is "Chance are" from 1957.
Now I know what you're thinking, I've skipped over several entries from Earth wind and fire already on this list because we Aussies and kiwis (for some reason) didn't recognise their genius until fairly late in their catalogue. While it's true I skipped over their sole Billboard chart topper "Shining star," I can assure you that's the only song of theirs that managed to do better than this track that was a hit only in NZ for them.
Even in his homeland, this was the only notable success that Kenny Nolan had in his career likely due to it being one of many soft rock tracks from the time where disco was beginning to take over the world. It admittedly wasn't even that popular here in Australia and only racked up the points in NZ due to the lack of competition it had over there.
Given how Priscilla queen of the desert was a box office flop in America (as is the case for just about every Australian film) this means that this is the only version of this track form Alicia Bridges to become a success in her homeland. Like many artists on this list, she's also a one hit wonder in her native America, suggesting that her fellow Americans were fickle when it came to pop stars back in the day.
We have another Billboard chart topper from the Eagles; this time it's the lead single to their album Hotel California which was among the more popular songs on the Australian charts back in the day given how it at least cracked our top twenty for the band. Again, the fact that the kiwis and their fellow Americans could balance out their albums and singles success and we Aussies couldn't confuses me.
Here's the other big hit that Billy Joel had in his homeland this decade, admittedly this was what put him on the map globally given how it became a huge hit in several other countries including here in Australia and NZ. Both of these songs peaked at number three on Billboard, meaning his first chart topper was his "sellout" track "You may be right" which he made in response to critics of his earlier work.
Even in his homeland, Harry Chapin was a one hit wonder with this track that I feel people would think was an Ugly kid joe original given how that's surpassed this on oldies stations. At the very least, Harry Chapin can take comfort for the fact that this was a Billboard chart topper for him, or at least he could for the seven remaining years of his life when that happened given, he died in 1981.
And we're not done with thanking the kiwis for making an entry on this list a hit over there where it wasn't here in Australia, this time it's this literal advertisement for the camera company that we Aussies passed up on for obvious reasons. His fellow Americans didn't as this got stuck behind a Billy Preston track for getting to the top spot on the Billboard charts.
Oh, come on, how was this not more popular in George McCrae's native America? Admittedly this Billboard chart topper was far more lucrative in the UK which more than explains its popularity in the southern hemisphere, however the fact that one of the earliest disco tracks is so low on this list compared to the rest of the lists I've made for this site is just puzzling to me.
As far as Americans are concerned, this was the song that kickstarted Livie's career as her earlier material all flopped on the Billboard charts. This would mean that her rise to stardom over there was meteoric given how within a year of this song's release, she would have two chart toppers as well as a fourth top ten hit, an impressive feat for a non-American artist this decade.
This is the only other hit that Leo Sayer had in America, although considering it was his second consecutive Billboard chart topper as well as his international success, I doubt he minds too much that this was the best he could do in that market. This is a rare case of a non-lead single form an album performing much better than its lead single here in Australia given its ranking on that side of my site.
I'm not sure if this was a Billboard chart topper for M due to its success in the UK or in Australia, mainly because it was a huge chart topper down under but not in his homeland making this one of the rare tracks from a British artist to do better in America than in the UK. It's also funny how people consider this an 80's track simply because it appeared on the 1980 yearend list for Billboard and nothing more.
We finally have the song that nearly topped the Australian charts from the Three degrees on this list, it was also almost a Billboard chart topper for them in their homeland as this got stuck behind "Kung fu fighting" from earlier on this list despite appearing so low on here. Its success down under was more the result of it being a huge success for them in the UK of all places.
We have the only entry from LGBT singer/songwriter Janis Ian who managed to have a decent hit with her breakthrough single in her homeland that allowed it to become a sleeper hit here in Australia despite its lack of notoriety among her fellow Americans. What's interesting is that she had a surprise hit in the southern hemisphere with "Fly too high" despite it being a complete failure in her homeland.
