Billboard charts 70's VI

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.

It's taken me this long to feature an Elvis Presley song on this list, that should tell you just how unpopular the king of rock and roll had become by the 70's even though this almost became a Billboard chart topper for him. He fared much better in the UK where he'll have more representation on that list, however it was us Aussies that kept his career alive and kicking till the bitter end.

We still haven't featured every eligible Billboard chart topper on this list yet as we have the third and final chart topper from Three dog night to feature here, again we have to thank the kiwis for allowing this to happen as we Aussies were done with the soft rock group by the time this rolled around. This is their final entry on this list, although they had four more candidates for what it's worth.

This is one of only two entries from ELO on this list as like most British bands, they didn't find much success in America like they did internationally throughout the decade. They had a third candidate in the form of "Shine a little love," however that was too much of a minor hit to appear on my site up until now and thus won't be appearing on here like this follow up to that single is.

As this was the lead single to the Carpenters album A song for you, it was natural that it would have a serious shot at getting to number one even if that shot was taken away by Nilsson's earlier entry on this list. Even though this was a big hit for the duo, it wouldn't be until their label decided to release their version of "Top of the world" almost two years after this came out that the album would take off over there.

Of all the songs to be an international success for JPY, I certainly wasn't expecting this to be it even though in retrospect it makes sense given how it was his only hit in NZ. I bring this up because if you've gone through my 70's lists on the Australian side of my site, you'll know this wasn't his biggest hit here, yet this was pushed as an international single where it took off for him worldwide.

We have another song that was only eligible for this list due to how well it did in NZ, make way for Rickie Lee Jones who scored a huge hit with her debut single in her homeland just like she did over there with this entry. Much like the kiwis, her fellow Americans also failed to give her a second hit moving into the 80's despite the success of her second album Pirates.

Even though this will be Bobby Sherman's only appearance on this list, it's worth noting that he had two more candidates from his catalogue from the start of the decade as he was quite popular during the dying days of the hippy movement. Like many from this trend, he would be seen as yesterday's news even in his homeland once the general population sobered up in time for the disco craze.

It's been a while since we looked at Chicago, here they are with the lead single to their eleventh album which just like in Australia, wasn't as inescapable as their earlier entry on this list. At least they were able to balance out the success they had with this with their earlier entry as opposed to this being on the opposite end of the Australian equivalent of this list as that song was.

Given how this was one of the first mega hits of the decade worldwide, it makes sense that Mungo Jerry would find success over in America even if it's a fraction of what it achieved in Australia, NZ and their native UK. Despite having a strong start to their career, they would struggle to come up with a second hit in most parts of the world even though they retained their popularity in their homeland for quite some time.

Given how this was a decent success for Hamilton Joe Frank and Reynolds (what is with that name?) here in Australia, it makes sense that it would be an even bigger success in their homeland even if I'm a bit confused as to how this managed to see crossover success here and not the dozens of songs I've skipped over on this list. For what it's worth, I skipped over their biggest hit which was a Billboard chart topper.

Surprised to see this so low on my list? It turns out that this was a worldwide smash due to it being a surprise chart topper for Donna Summer in the UK which more than explains why it was a bigger hit in Australia and NZ than it was in her homeland. That said, even her fellow Americans wasn't able to let this be a flop for her, although the best was still to come as we've seen already on this list.

Your eyes don't deceive you my dear readers, it turns out that this iconic track from John Lennon was indeed a mere decent hit for him in America back in the day despite it being a massive worldwide chart topper for the former Beatle upon its release. At the very least it was released on time over there as opposed to his native UK where it didn't see the light of day until 1975.

We haven't heard from Bread in a hot minute, here they are with their biggest hit here in Australia which was a mere decent hit for them in their homeland. We still have one more entry to come from the band as well as them having a fourth candidate for this list that didn't make the cut given how "If" failed to connect with us Aussies and kiwis.

I have to imagine there was a Countdown performance that boosted this songs popularity here in Australia, otherwise I have no idea how this managed to be a hit here when it was only a decent hit at best in the band's native America. At the very least, Pablo cruise did score a second hit in their homeland "Whatcha gonna do" which was actually almost as big as this was on Billboard.

We have another song that appears low on this list from an American artist that became a huge international hit due to how well it did in the UK of all places, this time it's Clarence Carter who scored a massive hit throughout Europe even though it was a decent hit at best in his homeland as evidence by its placement on this list.

This is the final appearance from Donna Summer on this list as this was her least popular track of the decade in her homeland (at least out of all of them that became a hit.) Indeed, the fact this was a big deal here in Australia should tell you how much she was on a roll with us Aussies, in fact I'm convinced that "Dim all the lights" would've been a huge hit here were it not the third single from Bad girls.

Well, if only these guys had the success with their singles that they did with their albums here in Australia, they would've already had two entries on this list as well as a fourth entry that was still to come. Again, we have to thank Countdown for the fact that we Aussies even knew who Foreigner was prior to their 1981 hit "Waiting for a girl like you" as well as allowing this to be a sleeper hit for them here.

Surprised that this outranks "Blame it on the boogie" on this list? Well, what if I told you that song won't even be appearing on here and that it was only a success in NZ due to it being a hit in the UK? This more than explains why their album Destiny was a massive failure here in Australia upon its initial release, although thankfully we Aussies gave it a second chance when MJ released his solo album around this time.

Now this is a surprise indeed, what's easily one of the biggest hits of the decade worldwide wound up being a mere decent hit for Donny Osmond in his homeland likely due to the success he had with his family band prior to its release on Billboard. Despite its mediocre success over there, it's widely considered one of the worst songs of the decade likely due to its overwhelming international success.

And the surprises keep on coming as we have this one and only hit from Gallery even from their homeland appearing so low on this list, I would say this was a hit here in Australia due to a memorable performance on Bandstand, except that doesn't explain how it was so big in NZ where it was easily one of the longest running songs on the Listener charts.

Well, this just dumbfounds me, although again we have to thank the Brits for why this was a massive hit in the southern hemisphere given how it was a surprise hit for Kenny Rogers in the UK despite it being a decent hit at best in his homeland. He really didn't have much luck throughout the 70's given how he only had two other candidates for this list, neither of which were chart toppers for him on Billboard.

Here we are with the final entry from Bread on this list, this one of course made somewhat redundant with the Boy George cover from 1987 if you're from anywhere in the world except their native America as that was a flop for him on Billboard that year. This means the average American will only think of this version of the track if you were to bring up the song title to them.

Here's the other big hit that 10cc had in America, it was the lead single to their fifth album Deceptive bends which meant that this was a bit of a comeback for them on Billboard just like it was here in Australia. As a bit of a fun fact, their two biggest hits in America were not their two biggest hits here in Australia given how "Rubber bullets" and "Dreadlock holiday" both bombed on the Billboard charts.

So, you're probably wondering how many entries from Earth wind and fire I've skipped over on this list, one. That's right, I've only skipped over one which is of course their Billboard chart topper "Shining star" from the midpoint of the decade. As it turns out, they weren't that much more popular in their homeland than they were in the southern hemisphere save for their chart topping first impression.

I feel the remainder of the list will be nothing but surprises given how there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to what crossed over to Australia based on how well a song did in America, take this track from Donna Fargo for example, it was easily one of the biggest of the decade down under despite it only being a decent hit at best for the American country star.

This is the only success that Paul Simon had here in Australia as a solo artist this decade, were it not for "Kodachrome" being a huge hit in NZ, it would be his only appearance on this list despite him having an additional three candidates for this list including his chart-topping hit "50 ways to leave your lover." That would be his final hit in his homeland given how "You can call me al" bombed in America.

This is among the bigger surprises on this list given how this was a decent hit here in Australia for Toto, although their album was one of the biggest of the decade here and in their native America, so perhaps this is a rare example of their fellow Americans passing up a future staple on oldies stations in favour of the album it came from back in the day. They would of course explode in popularity over there with their fourth album.

To think this was easily CCR's biggest hit here in Australia when it appears this low on the list of the biggest hits of the 70's in their homeland, again I can't stress enough just how much more well-loved these guys were among us Aussies than they were their fellow Americans back in the day which perhaps explains why they didn't do nearly as well in NZ than they did down under.

I bet you forgot that Melanie had a second hit given how long it's been since we looked at her earlier entry, here it is on this list which like many songs from the first half of the decade, is much lower than it appears on the Australian side of my site. As this came out before "Brand new key," it makes you wonder how we Aussies came across this ballad in the first place (I'm guessing a memorable Bandstand performance.)

This got stuck behind "Bridge over troubled water" for two weeks back in the day, even so, this is still an impressively low placement for this lead single from Cosmo's factory on this list given how high it peaked on the Billboard charts. This is the final entry from CCR on this list as "Have you ever seen the rain" bombed on the Billboard charts where it thrived in Australia and NZ.

This was the first solo hit that Paul McCartney released following the breakup of the Beatles, as I said earlier, this was a number one hit in Australia which is why it appears much higher on the Australian equivalent of this list than it does here where it failed to top the Billboard charts. This is his final candidate for this list that doesn't have him as a part of his wife's band Wings.

Even though they were never among the most successful bands in America like they were in their native UK, the Kinks nonetheless were able to score a few hits on Billboard including this track about a trans woman from the start of the decade. This wasn't their biggest hit by any means as their 1983 hit "Come dancing" takes that prize and would've appeared on my Billboard 80's list had it been a hit in the southern hemisphere.

We haven't heard from Dr Hook in a while, haven't we? Time to rectify that by featuring this ballad of theirs that only made the cut for this list due to how well it did in NZ as we Aussies had grown tired for them by this point in time. If it's confusing as to why this was so much bigger in NZ than it was in their homeland, that's because this was their second biggest hit in the UK where it topped their charts.

This was blocked from getting to number one by "I just want to be your everything" and "Best of my love," meaning that we have Andy Gibb and the Emotions to thank for why this novelty track about a tinder dating app made decades before it even existed failed to become a Billboard chart topper despite it topping the NZ charts for the novelty band of colour back in the day.

Although they had plenty of buzz in America prior to this third single from A new world record, this was ELO's first big hit they had on Billboard as nothing they released prior to it became a hit for them in America like they were internationally. I get the feeling this was only an international success because of how well it did in America, particularly in NZ where it was their lone chart topper.

Well at least we now know why this was a sleeper hit in Australia and NZ given how it was only a decent hit at best for Peaches and Herb in their homeland, again how this wasn't the big Billboard chart topper for the duo I'll never know given the fact that the oldies stations prefer this over their actual chart topper from earlier on this list.

This was the final hit that Simon and Garfunkel had anywhere in the world as the duo would call it quits shortly after its release, or at least that was the case here in Australia as "El condor pasa" was pushed back as the fourth single from their final album which more than explains why that wasn't a hit in America despite it being a massive chart topper down under.

Much like in NZ, this had the misfortune of being released the exact same time as Linda's earlier entry on this list, meaning the two songs from the same album had to compete with each other which likely explains how neither of them became a Billboard chart topper for her. Again, we have the sleeper charts I made for the NZ 70's list to thank for its presence here given how the kiwis allowed it to become as such over there.

If I ever do a retrospective list for the 60's, you can rest assured that Engelbert Humperdinck will have several more appearances on this site given how popular he was during the final stretch of the decade worldwide. Even though this got him out of the one hit wonder bin in America that "Release me" threatened to trap him in, it wasn't even released as a single in his homeland where he was much more lucrative.

It appears that being the girlfriend of Neil Young didn't do Nicolette Larson many favours when it came to success in her career, the best she could do was a decent hit with her debut single both in Australia and her native America only to then never be heard from again in either country. OK that's not fair as her album also did really well in both countries.

When I said this was a surprise hit for James Taylor during the second half of the decade, I meant it as it was equally out of place on the Billboard charts for James Taylor among the rise of disco and newer adult contemporary (for the time that is.) As you can imagine, it was his final hit anywhere in the world as the 80's weren't particularly kind to him.

Given how I've skipped over three entries from Barry White on my RYM list, it's a bit of a mystery that this would be what he saw success with here in Australia if there was an insistence of him having only one hit down under. What's even stranger is that none of the three entries I skipped over was even his Billboard chart topper as that would've still been to come had it been eligible for this list.

Now I know for a fact you forgot that I mention these guys had two more entries on this list, although it turns out this is their final entry as what I meant to say before is that they only had three hits total as "I'll meet you halfway" didn't quite rack up the point to make it on here like this did.

I've had to skip over two entries from Elton John on my RYM list (those being "Someone saved my life tonight" and "Sorry seems to be the hardest word") and I would've done the same for this second single from Caribou were it not a huge hit in on the NZ Listener charts. It's by far one of the campiest songs of all time because...... it's called "The bitch is back," no duh it would be made purely through camp.

So, it turns out that this is another example of a song that did far better in NZ than it did in the artists homeland as this was very nearly a chart topper over there as opposed to being a decent hit at best on the Billboard charts. This more than explains why it was only a sleeper hit for the duo here in Australia, although don't think that means they did poorly in America as I skipped over "I'll be good to you" for this list.

Billboard charts 70's V

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 was the other solo hit that went to number one on Billboard from MJ this decade, although as you can tell, this was far less popular in his homeland than it was here in Australia which likely explains why it was a dud in NZ of all places. Unlike Livie's entry from the Grease soundtrack, this didn't outrank the song that beat it for best original song at the Oscars given how Maureen McGovern took that prize.

The kiwis are here to save the day yet again as they were able to make this one and only hit from the RNB group Hot a massive success where we Aussies failed to do so. Of course, it was a bigger success in their homeland given how this was a particularly good decade for musicians of colour in America (as was the case for every decade from the 60's to the 2010's.)

Considering this was blocked from the number one spot in America by "Joy to the world" from earlier on this list, this means that the American public were feeling particularly religious during the first stretch of the decade likely due to personal shame that they allowed the hippy culture to run rampant throughout the 60's. Much like the rest of the world, this is the best the Canadian and could do on Billboard.

Even though this is Helen Reddy's final appearance on my list, she did have two more candidates for it as her popularity lasted slightly longer in America than it did here in Australia due to there being no Countdown equivalent that declared her to be yesterday's news like there was in her home country. That said, this didn't do nearly as well on Billboard as it did on our charts, making her more successful here overall.

It's been a while since we looked at either artist on this list, so here's the husband-and-wife duo Carly Simon and James Taylor with their collaboration that would've been much higher on my Australian list for the 70's had it not had to compete with a local version trying to steal its success. This is the final appearance from her with him still having one more entry to come on this list.

As far as Americans are concerned, this was the breakthrough single for Cliff Richard given how everything he released in the 60's crashed and burned on the Billboard charts. Indeed, he only had a total of three hits in America with this "We don't talk anymore" and "Dreaming," those two songs of course appearing on the 80's rendition of this list I made a while back.

This was only the third hit from Brian Hyland in his career in his homeland, the first two being "Itsy bitsy" (I'm not typing out the full name of that accursed song) and "Sealed with a kiss" from a decade prior to this entry. I guess we Aussies had enough nostalgia for those two hits to follow suit with his fellow Americans and make this a hit for him, however this would be the last anyone would hear from him.

It took us a while, but we finally have the first of several entries from Dr Hook on this list as they were indeed one of the biggest bands of the decade in their homeland just like they were here in Australia. This was their biggest hit purely for how long it lasted on the Billboard charts as none of their singles managed to crack the top five over there despite them having two chart toppers down under.

I have a feeling this only crossed over to America for Bonnie Tyler due to it being a chart topper here in Australia given how it failed to be as such in her native UK, don't get me wrong, it was a massive hit over there, just not to the extent of it being a hit in America. As you've likely read from my 80's list, the best was yet to come for the Welsh singer regardless of where in the world you're from.

This is the third and final entry from the Captain and Tennille on this list, although if I allowed every entry to appear from my RYM list onto this list, we would've also looked at "Shop around" and "Muskrat love" which are considered two of the worst songs of the decade as opposed to these three entries which are only at worst considered to be lame.

Given how "Ballroom blitz" had a two-year delay to its release in America, this meant that this had to be pushed back by a year over there which no doubt resulted in its potential popularity been weakened as the general public moved away from glam rock by the time it came out over there. That said, it still managed to become a decent hit for Sweet, proving how much appeal it had even with these setbacks.

Given how Eric Burdon had a Billboard chart topper with "House of the rising sun" with his previous band the Animals, it makes sense that he would score a hit with his debut single with his second band War over there even if it didn't do as well as it did here in Australia. Hey at least it made it comfortably on this list which is more than I can say for its presence on my UK list of the 70's.

This got stuck behind "Annie's song" for two weeks on the Billboard charts, meaning that this was another song from Elton John that missed out from getting to number one despite him still yet to have a number one hit in his native UK. Again, we need to thank the kiwis for allowing this to be a hit on the Listener charts as we Aussies passed this up in favour of making the album Caribou one of the biggest of the decade.

I bet you forgot that this was a chart-topping hit in America given how long it's taken us to look at this follow up to the Beatles earlier entry, here we are with the last hurrah from the band before they decided to officially go their separate ways throughout the decade. As a bit of a heads up, this won't be appearing on my UK list for the 70's due to it being a complete failure in their homeland.

For whatever reason, I would've thought this would be a bigger hit for Michael Murphey given how this is the type of country music I've been skipping over quite profusely from my RYM list. That said, it would explain why it was a mere sleeper hit here in Australia as it was similar enough for us to confuse it for a John Denver track.

It's a bit odd that this wasn't nearly as successful in America as it was here in Australia, although considering "Ain't no mountain high enough" from Diana Ross is the song that prevented it from becoming a Billboard chart topper, I don't think they have much to be ashamed for in this case. There are three more entries to come from these guys on this list, proving they were big despite how long it's taken me to feature one of their songs.

I'd say we're looking at our seventh Oscar winning track on this list, except this isn't the version to take home the prize as this is a cover of the version used in the film Lovers and other strangers which no doubt became a worldwide hit due to the affiliation it had with the movie. It meant that the Carpenters were on a roll in their homeland just like they were here in Australia back in the day.

This is the only candidate that Led Zeppelin had for this list, that means that they found more success here in Australia and NZ given how they had a second hit with "Black dog" and "The immigrant song" in each respective country. If it's any consolation, there's at least one more entry from the band on this list than there will be on my upcoming UK list for this decade.

Had these guys found any success throughout the rest of the world outside their big hit in NZ, they would've had five entries on here with this being their third appearance on this list. It wasn't even their highest charting single as "Love train" went to number one on Billboard earlier in the decade for the long time RNB group of colour.

I wasn't expecting to see this guy on the list or have his popularity in Australia and NZ be the result of him scoring a hit in America even though it was also a hit in his native UK, I guess being a producer for the right clientele was all these guys needed to find an audience with their own material even if it only worked for one song each. Hurricane Smith isn't even the only producer to appear on this list for the record.

We have another song on this list that charted high despite its low placement on here, this time it's from the Ozark Mountain daredevil's (I can't even with that name) who had a decent hit in America as well as in NZ which allowed them to grace us with their presence on this list. Is it any surprise at this point that they were a one hit wonder in both countries?

This is another surprise for me on this list given how it was a decent success here in Australia for the Charlie Daniels band, I guess their fellow Americans considered this to be too much of a novelty hit to make it as big as a lot of the country classics that I skipped over on this list back in the day. They also didn't have a second hit, meaning we have yet another one hit wonder on our hands.

You know how my Australian list for this decade was peppered with female country artists? It turns out that was something unique to us Aussies as it appears that the surprising number of these artists didn't see nearly as much success in their homeland as they did down under including Lynn Anderson who only did decently well on Billboard despite having a huge chart topper here.

Even though this was a big hit for Paul Nicholas in America, it wasn't among the most successful of the decade which makes its overwhelming success in NZ all the more surprising especially given how he was a British artist who failed to crack the UK charts with this number. This is also another song that failed to appear on a yearend list for the record.

We had to skip over the Billboard chart topper from Midnight magic that the Commodores had given how "Still" was a massive dud throughout the rest of the world, we can however look at its lead single given how it was a big hit for the band in NZ erven though we Aussies decided to leave these guys as a one hit wonder with their earlier entry on this list (until we changed our minds with "Nightshift" in 1985.)

I have to admit that I'm a bit confused as to why this was a hit in Australia and NZ and not the dozens of other soft rock tracks, I've skipped over on my RYM list. Peter McCann is a one hit wonder even in his homeland with this track, so unless there was a popular performance he made in either country with this track (which is possible of course) then I don't know what made it stand out from the rest.

The 60's might've been over, however that didn't mean the hippy movement was given how this was one of the first big hits worldwide once the 70's began. Naturally it would catch on in America even if its success was a fraction of what it achieved in Australia, NZ and their native UK, this is typical of breakthrough songs from non-American artists making it big on the Billboard charts.

I'm not sure how the kiwis came across this and the follow up hit for the Commodores given how both of them appear low on this list (we'll get to "Brick house" in a bit) however it was because they were such big hits in NZ that they both appear on this list of mine. It definitely explains why we Aussies ignored these two songs and indeed the band altogether until their top entry on this list.

We have another entry on here where we need to thank the kiwis for making a success out of back in the day for its presence, admittedly we Aussies went with a different song for the Stylistics breakthrough (which we'll get to in a bit) which explains the failure this had over here. In any case, these guys were well on their way to becoming one of the biggest names of the decade with these entries.

We now have my bonus 70's lists to thank for why some of these songs appear on this list as this was a sleeper hit for Ringo Starr in NZ where it was ignored throughout most parts of the world. He still has one more entry to come on this list as well as an additional three songs of his that were candidates for this list, meaning that if we don't count Paul's work with Wings, Ringo was the most successful Beatle of the decade.

This is the other British producer who managed to find success everywhere in the world except for his homeland on this list, I guess the success he had in America explains how he did so well in Australia and NZ with this ballad, although only in NZ would he be able to escape the one hit wonder bin.

This is Ringo's final appearance on this list given how he had a bit of a fumble when it came to making a first impression on his own compared to the other three members of the Beatles, again he would have the last laugh as Paul would only outrank him as the most successful member of the fab four this decade once you factor in his work with his wife's band Wings.

It was super lucky that this was a sleeper hit in NZ, otherwise I wouldn't be able to feature Supertramp's biggest hit in America which was this lead single to their biggest album Breakfast in America. The second single from the album was also a candidate for this list, however "Take the long way home" just couldn't compete with the high sales the album saw in the southern hemisphere.

Even though these guys had success in America with their 60's material, this is still the earliest song of theirs I'll be featuring on this list as they had a big of a stumble during the transitioning of the decades just like they did internationally. This is also their final entry on this list as their final candidate for this list was only a hit in America and not anywhere else (that being "Nights on Broadway.")

We have one final entry from Rod Stewart on this list; it turns out he wasn't anywhere near as popular in America as he was internationally given how we won't be looking at "Sailing" or "You wear it well" on this list. Even this track from Foot loose and fancy free was a downgrade in terms of success compared to what it achieved internationally as it had no chance of topping the Billboard charts.

This lasted three weeks at number two and was blocked from getting to number one by "Baby come back" and "Staying alive," I guess Randy's fellow Americans were torn between making this a hit or not given its insensitive lyrics towards little people that people have defending for being ironic. I guess you can make the argument it was an "OK boomer" track the same way I use that to excuse "Money for nothing's" homophobic lyrics.

I'm not exactly sure how this guy managed to find success in the southern hemisphere given again, how many other ballads like this I've skipped over on my RYM list, I guess we Aussies and kiwis just had a random way of selecting what we liked from what was popular in America as I once again fail to see any rhyme or reason to that process.

This is the final entry from the Grease soundtrack given how A: none of the other singles were hits in Australia or NZ and B: weren't candidates for this list even if they were. It's actually surprising that this was a mainstream hit back in the day the more I think about it given how this is the type of song from a musical that loses all meaning when it's divorced from the scene it takes place in.

With how beloved she remains in the country scene to this day, you'd think that Dolly Parton would've had more hits in her homeland than the three that wound up becoming international hits for her. At least two out of three were bigger on Billboard than they were in Australia and ESPECIALLY NZ, however her third hit with Kenny Rogers proved to be more popular in the southern hemisphere as we saw in my 80's list.

This is the only other entry from the Village people as it appears their fellow Americans weren't quite ready for their brand of queer music like we Aussies and kiwis were back in the day. At least they were able to balance out the success of their albums with their singles as we saw in my biggest albums on Billboard list a month back, something they struggled with here in Australia where they were clearly a singles band.

Although this was a decent hit in Dire strait's native UK, it was when it became a hit here in Australia that it took off for them throughout the rest of the world (likely due to a Countdown performance that's currently lost media.) This allowed their debut single to be a huge hit in America and set them up on the path for becoming one of the biggest bands of the 80's with their subsequent follow ups.

So, a bit of a fun fact (or not so fun fact depending on your point of view) about CCR, they never made it to number one in their homeland despite having five songs that came close to doing so. This wasn't one of them even though it's their second highest placement on my list, proving once again that getting to number one on Billboard isn't always everything if your song lasts for quite some time on the charts.

This is the only appearance from Donny and Marie Osmond on this list, although they did have a second hit together with "Morning side of the mountain" which would've also appeared on here had it been more of a hit in their homeland. Both of these songs were big in NZ as we Aussies were understandably put off by the implications these songs made by the brother and sister duo singing these love songs to each other.

We still have one more entry to come from Wings after this entry, although I will say that despite it making the top 500 on my RYM list, it only barely cracked the top five on Billboard which is further proof that number one didn't always mean everything even this far back in time. It feels odd that these guys would call it quits moving into the 80's given how well they were doing worldwide.