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.
I'm surprised that A: this is so low on this list given how it was a Billboard chart topper for Bachman Turner overdrive and B: they didn't have another hit over there especially since "Taking care of business" still gets plenty of airplay on oldies stations to this day. Admittedly they did see a ton of success with their albums, so perhaps even back then they were considered an albums band.
Even in her homeland, this was the only hit that Freda Payne had in her career even if it was a big one for her at the start of the decade. Admittedly I do stand by that this feels like it was ahead of its time and that she would've thrived during the second half of the decade had the likes of Donna Summer and the brothers Gibb did not make the disco scene their own.
This got denied the top spot on Billboard by two previous entries on this list, those being the ones from Carly Simon and Billy Paul which means this song has nothing to be ashamed of in terms of missing out from being a number one hit in America. We still have one more entry to come from the Irish crooner, proving just how popular he was over there like he was internationally.
We have another entry on this list to be nominated for an Oscar and not win; it was sadly the only song from Grease to be up for the prize which it lost to Donna Summer's theme to the film Thank God it's Friday (which we'll look at in a bit.) This didn't get to number one in America, although that didn't mean it was unpopular given its placement on this list.
I really can't stress enough how much of this list is comprised of songs that were big in NZ but not here in Australia, here's another entry in that regard from Elvin Bishop who remains a one hit wonder in his homeland just like he does in NZ. I'm not sure why the kiwis decided to make this a hit and not the dozen or so country tracks that I've skipped over from my RYM list, but it is what it is.
This will be Blondie's only appearance on this list as this was their only hit in their homeland this decade, for whatever reason, their fellow Americans weren't too interested in their catalogue outside of their four Billboard chart toppers. Although the Brits like to claim responsibility of their international success, the real unsung heroes were us Aussies when we featured "In the flesh" on Countdown.
We have another one hit wonder for this list; this time it's the Canadian band Edward Bear and this track of theirs (why these chose a name that suggests they're a solo artist I'll never know.) It makes sense that this was a hit in America given its success in Australia and NZ, however it also makes sense why they didn't have a second hit in any of these countries.
Although this wasn't Neil Diamond's first hit single in his homeland, it was his first Billboard chart topper which means that the three he has on this list (the third one is still to come) are the only songs to go to number one in his homeland given how nothing he released in any other decade was able to do so.
Even in America, Dan Hill remains a one hit wonder with his Breakthrough single from his native Canada. Even though he's a one hit wonder in his homeland, he can at least take comfort in the fact that this was the biggest hit of the decade over there which no doubt led to its international popularity.
Surprised that it's taken me this long to feature a David Soul track on this list? Not only was this his only chart topper on Billboard, but it was the only hit he had in his homeland as he proved to be far more popular internationally than he was among his fellow Americans back in the day. I wonder how many of them don't even realise he had two other hits internationally back in the day.
Unlike here in Australia where this was the final hit single from Dawn that became a hit here, they continued to have success in their homeland including having a third Billboard chart topper in the form of "He don't love you" during the midpoint of the decade. This and "Stepping out" would still be to come had they been hits in the southern hemisphere like they were in their homeland.
It's a bit weird that this proved to be more popular in Australia than it did for Norman Greenbaum's native America, although then again, Christian music tended to be more popular with us Aussies than it did over there back in the day for whatever reason. This was his only hit even in his native America, meaning that he was never able to top the Billboard charts like he did down under.
We once again have to thank the kiwis for how this manage to make the cut for this list given how it was a huge failure here in Australia for Three dog night, even so it was a much bigger hit for them over there than it was in their homeland given how it was a chart topper on the Listener charts but not on Billboard. They had one more hit after this with "The show must go on" which they stole from Leo Sayer.
If it wasn't for the fact that this topped the NZ charts, I wouldn't be featuring it on this list as Eric Clapton had a hard time finding success here in Australia even prior to his problematic remarks about the origins of blues he made later in the decade. Even so, it was way more successful over there than it was in America despite this also topping the Billboard charts for him.
I'm a bit surprised that this isn't higher on the list given how much of a radio staple it's become over the years, although it failing to get to number one in Boston's homeland does explain why it was more of a sleeper hit here in Australia back in the day. They had another candidate for this list in the form of "Don't look back" which was the lead single to their second album.
It's a bit strange that the only international success Hall and Oates had was with songs that topped the Billboard charts including their big breakthrough hit, indeed they had two other candidates for this list that would've comfortably made the list had anyone outside of their fellow Americans bothered to make them a hit in the first place.
If it weren't for Janis Joplin's earlier entry on this list, this would've been a Billboard chart topper for Tom Jones as it remains his biggest hit in America to this day. He had a few top ten hits over there throughout the 60's, however none of them reached the dizzying heights of success this did which makes it the fact it's his final hit single in most parts of the world all the more ironic.
If you're wondering why this song did so much worse in Shaun Cassidy's homeland than it did here in Australia, I should remind my readers that he was among the first international guest on Countdown which allowed him to perform the two big hits he had down under on the show which made them as big as they were here. He didn't have such a luxury in his homeland, hence why this is so low on the list.
All three of James Taylor's entries from the Australian side of my site will be accounted for on this list, although none of them were his biggest hit in his homeland as "You've got a friend" would've already appeared on this list had it been a hit internationally due to it topping the Billboard charts. He had one other candidate for this list, bringing the total number of his he had to five in his homeland.
It's strange to think that this was the big hit from Queen throughout the decade in America, although I need to remind my readers that British artists found it notoriously difficult to break into the American market with these guys being no exception. In any case, we have the double A single from their fourth album that likely benefitted from both songs being played separately on the airwaves over there.
How has it taken me this long for me to feature a John Lennon track on this list? He has a total of three candidates for this list with only two of them making the cut as the third candidate bombed in Australia and NZ (which is coincidentally his only solo Billboard chart topper of the decade.) Technically this isn't a solo entry as this is a collaboration with his wife's band the Plastic Ono band.
This got stuck behind "Island girl" for two weeks on the Billboard charts, meaning that one of the more popular songs from the Eagles catalogue was blocked from the top spot by one of Elton John's more problematic songs in his catalogue. I'll also bring up the fact that many of these songs including this one all failed to appear on a yearend list due to how shoddily Billboard calculated their charts back in the day.
This is one of the unluckiest songs on the list as three different songs managed to prevent it from getting to number one on the Billboard charts, at least all three songs have already appeared on this list (those being "The hustle," "One of these nights" and "Jive talking") so it's not like it was the victim of a cash grab or anything. That said, we still have another entry from the English band to come on this list.
This is one of many entries on this list to come from a female singer/songwriter that was a massive hit here in Australia and nowhere else in the world, although much like us Aussies, Maria Muldaur's fellow Americans also didn't give her a second hit as she's a one hit wonder in both countries. Still at least she did better than many of her contemporaries that I'll be skipping over from my RYM list.
Although this was a minor hit in Jigsaw's native UK, it was more of a success internationally for reasons I couldn't seem to find anywhere on the internet. At least they didn't have to be referred to as British Jigsaw in America like they did in the southern hemisphere given how Australian Jigsaw didn't see any success in NZ and thus weren't exported anywhere else in the world.
Here's the other Billboard chart topper that Ray Stevens had throughout the decade, it was also his only chart topper here in Australia likely due to the message of the song being a beautiful one at its core. The issue of course is that if you know anything about this man, then you'll know that him singing this track makes him one of the biggest hypocrites in the music industry.
If this seems a bit low on this list for you, that's because its popularity worldwide was the result of it being a massive hit in the UK for the duo even though it was a number two hit in both countries. In America, it was blocked from getting to number one by "Bad bad Leroy Brown" from earlier on this list.
We still haven't featured every eligible chart topper on this list as we have this mammoth worldwide hit that from the Carpenters that was only a decent hit at best despite its number one status. Even though their popularity was in decline in their homeland, they still had one more hit after this that we'll get to as well as another entry on this list they had earlier in the decade.
This is a huge surprise on this list, mainly because despite this getting blocked by "Alone again" form earlier on this list for the number one spot on Billboard, it was a complete bust for the Hollies in their native UK which makes you wonder why this did so well in America and not in their homeland. I've heard theories it's due to people confusing it for a CCR track, which is as good an explanation as any.
Given how this song is best known nowadays for that infamous rant from Casey Kasem (which I'll include here) it makes sense that this would be a hit for Henry Gross even though it was only as such due to it being a song about a recently deceased puppy that was owned by Carl Wilson.
Even in his homeland, this was the only hit that Meco had as audiences weren't impressed with the other remixes he made for films such as the Godfather or Superman. At least this was a Billboard chart topper for the self-admitted nerd, that and the fact it was an international success despite the actual title sequence also charting on the Billboard charts.
Wings return yet again on this list with another song of theirs that became a decent hit worldwide throughout the decade, this was sandwiched between their two biggest albums Band on the run and Venus and mars which allowed it to be a success here in Australia given how it couldn't be found on any of their albums.
Even though this was easily one of the biggest hits of the decade in most parts of the world, it still took nearly two years for this to see the light of day in America where it eventually became a decent hit for Sweet. You can't even say it was due to them being a new act as their earlier entry on this list only came out six months after its international success over there.
This is the second and final Billboard chart topper I'll be featuring from Barry Manilow on this list as "Looks like we made it" failed to become a hit anywhere in the world but his homeland, again it's shocking that this appears so low on the list given how it did so much better here in Australia without going to number one on our charts. We still have one final entry to come from the (at the time) closeted LGBT crooner.
It's a good thing that this was a huge hit over in NZ, otherwise I wouldn't be able to feature this chart topper from the Hues corporation on this list as it was a huge dud here in Australia. This was their only hit in their native America despite them scoring a second minor hit in NZ with "I caught your act" in 1977, meaning they were more popular over there than they were in their homeland.
Given how influential her music is to music enthusiasts, you'd think that Joan Baez would've had more success in her native America than the one hit she had internationally back in the day. Alas she's also a one hit wonder in her homeland as this was the only song that made any impact on the Billboard charts despite her being popular at the peak of the singer/songwriter craze of the early 70's.
This got stuck behind Jimmy Cliff's earlier entry on this list for two weeks, that means that were it not for the reggae track, the Moody blues would've had a Billboard chart topper to their name. I'm not sure why this live version of the track became a success in America of all places, however its success over there convinced the rest of the world to also make it a hit for the 60's band.
Given how this was easily one of the biggest hits of the decade here in Australia, you'd think that this success would be matched in Wayne Newton's homeland or at the very least also be a chart topper on Billboard like it was down under. Alas it appears we Aussies loved this heartbreaking ballad more than his fellow Americans even if his fellow Americans loved it enough for it to be a massive hit.
This wasn't MJ's first solo chart topper on Billboard (we'll get to that in a bit) however it was his first hit single as an adult solo artist given how this was released shortly after the success of his band's (then) most recent album Destiny. It's actually surprising that this did way better in Australia and NZ for the future king of pop, especially considering how late its release was down under.
This was the debut single for one of the (in my opinion) cheesier bands of the decade, even though it failed to get to number one in their homeland, that didn't prevent it from being a massive international success for them which no doubt convinced the world to make their previous two entries massive chart toppers for them worldwide.
Even though this topped the Billboard charts for Amii Stewart, it's worth noting how much less successful it was in her homeland compared to how well it did here in Australia where it failed to get to number one on our charts. Her second single "Light my fire" was a minor hit at best here and a complete dud in her homeland, likely resulting in her resentment towards the genre that made her big.
If it seems strange to you that we're looking at a Marie Osmond track before anything her older brother released, let me remind you that we skipped over "Go away little girl" from Donny as well as three entries from the family act due to them all failing to find an audience with us Aussies and kiwis. Indeed, it's odd that the several big hits they did have down under were among their less popular tracks in their homeland.
This is the second of three entries on this list from Linda Ronstadt, it's a bit strange that this was her big Billboard chart topper and not her earlier entry on this list given how it was only a minor success here in Australia and a decent success at best in NZ for her. She still has one more entry to come on here, although we've skipped over "When will I be loved" which almost topped the Billboard charts.
Even though this was a decent success in David Essex's native UK, it was nonetheless popular enough for it to find success in America given its appearance on this list. It was also decently successful here in Australia, suggesting that it had a niche but loyal audience in most parts of the world that became ride or die as the decade went on. Obviously his American fanbase died whilst us Aussies and his fellow Brits rode out his success.
I guess the failure to release "Mull of Kintyre" in America was compensation for when Paul and Linda McCartney decided against releasing their first Billboard chart topper in the former's homeland. It's a bit interesting that this was the first chart topper Paul had away from the Beatles given how that honour goes to "Another day" here in Australia that came out months prior to this collaboration.
This came close to becoming a chart topper for Deodato on Billboard, if Roberta Flack hadn't of lasted so long at number one, it would've gotten up there given how it's a remix of the 2001 theme which had only been out for three years when this came out. It's another instrumental track that led to the composer becoming a one hit wonder worldwide this decade.
For three weeks, "I just want to be your everything" prevented this from topping the Billboard charts for Peter Frampton. Considering the English rocker was more popular in America than he was in his homeland, it makes sense that this would be the case and likely explains the success it had here in Australia following the success of his live album Frampton comes alive.
This is another one hit wonder from an American band on this list as Brownsville station failed to achieve a second hit despite how well their breakthrough single did. Although it was far from the most popular song of the moment in their homeland, that didn't prevent it from finding an audience among us Aussies given how it was a huge deal down under back in the day as well.
Well, this is tragic, namely because this was the only hit from either artist they had in America. In the case of Chris Norman, that's simply due to him and his band being from the UK as Smokie was more popular here in Australia than they were in their homeland. Suzi Quatro on the other hand is really tragic as she's a pioneer for women in rock yet this duet with the Smokie frontman was the best she could do in her homeland.
This is another near miss when it comes to getting to number one on Billboard, although it was blocked by "Hot stuff" from earlier so at least the girls have nothing to be ashamed of for missing out on a number one hit in their homeland. I still can't believe this was flop here in Australia given how it's endured on our oldie's stations over the years, again thank the kiwis for allowing its presence on here.
This is the third and final Billboard chart topper from Neil Diamond on this list, although he still has two more entries to come given how his fellow Americans did allow him to have a string of hits during the first half of the decade. That said, he wound up being more popular in NZ as it turns out the kiwis kept him around despite his decline in popularity in his homeland.
All of Donna Summer's entries from my 70's list will be accounted for here, heck I even skipped over the third single from Bad girls "Dim all the lights" due to it not being a huge success in the southern hemisphere like it was in her homeland. Again, we have to thank the kiwis for this song's presence given how this Oscar winning ballad (which beat out Livie's solo entry from the Grease soundtrack) bombed in Australia.
