Billboard charts 70's VIII

I don't know what's stranger, the fact that Sister Janet mead wasn't the first woman of the cloth to find a massive worldwide hit (that honour going to Sœur Sourire from a decade prior) or that she did so with a rock and roll cover of the Lord's prayer. OK so calling this rock and roll is a stretch as this is more of a pop rock track given that it successfully retains the melody of the religious hymn in this rendition.

This isn't among my favourite tracks from Fleetwood Mac, granted it's certainly a departure from their previous sound as this feels more in line with a prog track as opposed to their usual folk rock but something about the marching beat just doesn't sit right with me. I'm obviously in the minority as this remains their biggest hit in their catalogue outside of America (where "Dreams" has that honour) and is still well loved to this day.

This was the last solo hit that Neil Diamond had in Australia, although he continued to find massive success with his albums and even scored a hit with a duet with Barbra Streisand later in the decade. I guess Countdown prevented him from scoring any more hits here but allowed his popularity to flourish with his albums.

This was the last song that the Hollies released in the 60's, meaning that it was inevitable that its success would roll over into the start of the 70's throughout the world given how they were at the height of their popularity when this came out. My UK readers will likely be surprised to see this ballad here and not from my late 80's lists, that's because it became a chart topper over there in 1988 as a rerelease.

This is another soft rock track that was huge in America and only a modest hit at best here in Australia, it comes to us from the Canadian band the Bells at a time where there were plenty of other songs just like it on our charts.

This is the other two for one deal that Cat Stevens released here in Australia back in the day, naturally this also managed to become a success for the English folk singer mainly through the strength of side-A which was the intended second single from Teaser and the firecat. This would be his only other major hit here in Australia, although he was always more of an album artist back in the day.

This was the first song that Elvis Presley released this decade, naturally it was a hit here in Australia given that it followed up "Suspicious minds" which remains one of his most iconic hit singles in his catalogue.

#42 for 1973

This is one of those songs that became big back in the day that doesn't seem to have much of a legacy anymore, I guess this was a hit due to it sounding like a Fleetwood Mac track which is odd because Fleetwood Mac weren't able to score a hit of their own in NZ with one of their songs, but this guy did.

This was the biggest hit that the New seekers had in their native UK as well as in America, this is due to the song being sampled for a Coca-Cola add shortly after its release which boosted its popularity throughout the world. Naturally this add had no affect on the song's popularity here in Australia given how it was far from the most popular song of its day here.

Peter Brown was normally a folk singer, however he managed to score his one and only hit this year with a disco track in NZ and his native America. I think this is the type of disco people point to when they say that the genre got out of hand, not that it was bad but rather it was made by someone who only made it to cash in on the popularity of the trend.

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.

This is the only other hit that Badfinger achieved here in Australia, it was also their breakthrough hit even though "Come and get it" was a huge worldwide success for the Welsh band at the start of the decade. This feels like a bit of an outlier for the band given how much heavier it is compared to the rest of their catalogue.

#39 for 1973

We looked at the Jim Capaldi version of this Everly brothers track earlier on this list, now let's look at the version that is trying to copy which was originally released two years prior to deafening silence for the Scottish band Nazareth. I'm guessing this was given a second wind due to it becoming a surprise hit for them over on Billboard, either that or there was a competition to see which one of these songs were better.

Often considered to be one of the greatest songs of all time (rightfully so in my opinion) this nearly six-minute rock opera initially struggled to find an audience due to its crushing length on the radio as well as record executives finding it too silly to be pushed as a single. Needless to say, the general public disagreed with those assessments.

This was the last hit that the Sweet were able to achieve anywhere in the world, I feel like these guys got ripped off in the mainstream throughout the decade given how they were one of the most popular bands worldwide thanks to how big glam rock was during the midpoint of the 70's. At least they got in one final hit before the decade was out with a song about how love is like the air that we breathe.

I know that there's only so much of a career you can get out of making rebellious anthems for the youth of any given time period, however I doubt many people want to accept the truth that barring his comeback single from 1989 "Poison," this is the biggest hit of Alice Cooper's career in certain parts of the world. For the remainder of the decade, he would stick to the adult contemporary scene much to the disdain of many of his fans both before and after this period.

Can you tell this is a country band by reading their name? I've come across some bizarre band names throughout music history, however the Nitty gritty dirt band might just be the worst I've ever featured on this site even if their music is typical country rock from the early 70's. As you can imagine, they were a much bigger deal in their native America where country was more popular.

We'll be looking at quite a few instrumental tracks on this list given how they seemed to be plentiful during the first half of the decade, by far the biggest came from Hot butter who were an American instrumental band who took the world by storm with this gem. If the melody sounds familiar to you, that's because Crazy frog "covered" this track on its 2005 album and found massive success with it.

#18 for 1970

Well, here we are with the one and only hit that Barry Manilow managed to score with a song he wrote, at least it's his signature tune as this lounge track has managed to endure over the years thanks to its inherent camp value. This was also one of many songs to make it big over the years to be dedicated to Rio, Copacabana being a district in the capital city of Brazil.

This was the final hit that Raydio scored during their short time together, I'm guessing they only served as a platform for their lead single Ray Parker Jr to launch his solo career which would go in all sorts of directions throughout the 80's. Here we have a yacht rock track about how much in love Ray is with this person and how there's nothing they can do about it; it's a nice sounding song provided you don't think too hard about the lyrics.

Billboard charts 70's VII

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.

This was a surprise hit for Rick Nelson (formerly Ricky Nelson) given how this is actually about how he had faded into irrelevancy since his heyday as a teen idol from the 50's and early 60's. I guess we Aussies and his fellow Americans felt pity for his career trajectory (particular him getting booed while on stage) which is how this managed to become a huge hit for the former teen idol.

The first of two entries from Cat Stevens, this was the lead single from his album Teaser and the fire cat, or rather it was a two for one deal given how both songs were released as singles internationally but were bundled together here in Australia. The first track remains as one of Cat's signature tunes due to the multiple covers it received over the years whilst the latter likely would've bombed here had it not been released with the former.

This was the debut single for Dr Hook and the medicine show, it was a decent hit in their native America and a massive international hit for the band likely due to the comedic lyrics in the song. That said, this isn't too far off from their material from the second half of the decade musically, I bring that up because a lot of their earlier work is straight up comedy tracks written by children's novelist Shel Silverstein.

This was the final hit that the Hollies managed to achieve here in Australia, although I'm sure they would've had continued success in the second half of the decade had Countdown not pushed them aside in favour of our local music scene. It's strange to think these guys found more success in the 70's than they did in the 60's down under considering how they greatly benefitted from the British invasion in America.

I feel that this instrumental belongs in a horror movie, either that or people really wanted to hear ice cream music on the radio back in the day. This was Frank Mills only hit even in his native Canada, although from what I can gather it was originally recorded five years prior to when it became a hit.

Dr Hook were previously known for their comedy tracks from the first half of the decade, so to see them come back with a ballad about being in love with a minor only for the twist to be that the narrator was also a minor during this relationship is a bit jarring to say the least. I'm guessing they played this song straight to avoid being accused of being paedophiles as there is a lot of comedic potential in the lyrics.

This is the only other entry from Tom Jones we have for this list, admittedly he was far more popular throughout the 60's given that's when he had his initial breakthrough. He would have a massive spike in popularity with his earlier entry on this list before fading into obscurity save for a few random spikes here and there throughout his career.

From what I can gather, this song was released internationally purely thanks to the success of Shocking blue's earlier entry on this list given how Tee set was another band from the Netherlands to find success at the start of the decade worldwide. It's even in the same genre which further links these guys to the geniuses behind "Venus," although sadly there's no 80's cover of this song like that track has.

While this wasn't his debut single, this was the song that put Elton John on the map given how it was a massive success in most parts of the world due to how sentimental it was compared to many of the other ballads on this list. He would continue to find success for the remainder of the twentieth century with his subsequent follow ups.

This was the biggest hit that Gilbert O'Sullivan had in his native UK, it wasn't quite as inescapable throughout the rest of the world likely due to this song feeling like it was written about a dog rather than an overexcited partner of his. At least this isn't anywhere near as pessimistic as some of the other songs in his catalogue.

This was one of two hits that Raydio were able to achieve in Australia, the other being "You can't change that" from the following year which seems to explain the popularity of their front man Ray Parker Jr throughout the following decade. Here he tells the story of Jack and Jill in a modern setting which tugged at the heartstrings of audiences thus enabling it to be a huge worldwide success.

#15 for 1972

And the country entries just keep on coming on this list of mine, this time it's the one and only hit from Michael Murphey who likely would've had a genuine hit with this here in Australia had Countdown not deemed it to be lame and outdated by the time it saw the light of day down under. Still, it remains a household name on oldies stations to this day.

It's strange that Dave Edmunds would score success on both ends of the decade but find no success during its midpoint, here we are with the first of his three hit singles (we'll look at his second in a bit) which was his biggest hit both here and his native UK due to being a cover of an old RNB track from the 50's that he faithfully interpreted for a (then) modern audience.

We have another two for one deal on this list, this time it's from Elton John who decided to bundle "Rocket man" from Honky chateau with "Tiny dancer" from Madman across the water in order to cross promote both albums even though the latter had been out for about a year when this was released. Naturally this became a success for him here in Australia months prior to his top entry on this list.

I think this was the earliest song to be a victim of the dreaded Countdown curse here in Australia as it seemed like this was all set to become a massive hit here like it was in John's native America, alas it was only a sleeper success for the country star likely due to it being the title track of his magnum opus of an album which broke him through to a mainstream audience worldwide.

We have another instrumental track that's loosely based on classical music for this list, this time it's the one and only hit from British band Apollo 100 (I'm assuming a reference to the Apollo 11 landing) where they make a musical arrangement of a Sebastian Bach track which impressed us Aussies and the Americans but not their fellow Brits.

This feels like a sequel to Lobo's earlier entry on this list, naturally this made it the perfect follow up to "I'd love you to want me" which is perhaps why it did so well internationally for the American singer/songwriter. It would be his final hit worldwide likely due to cheesy ballads like this falling out of vogue as the decade moved along.

Given how the Partridge family was one of the biggest names both in music and on TV, it only makes sense that its key member David Cassidy would find massive success on his own with his solo debut single worldwide. There'll be a few more entries from the actor/musician on this list, proving that he was well liked by audiences back in the day and far more for his smouldering good looks to boot.

This certainly was an excellent time for country music in the mainstream, wasn't it? Here we have the one and only hit from the Ozark Mountain daredevils (yet another silly band name I have to write up on this site) which likely connected with the kiwis this year thanks to it having some elements of prog sprinkled throughout its runtime.

We haven't had many musicians of colour on this list so far, let's change that by featuring the final hit from 5th dimension which was a huge success for them here in Australia as it was in their native America. I will say that these guys did quite well for themselves with us Aussies throughout their career given how they scored a few hits in the 60's in addition to this late entry from their catalogue down under.

Unlike here in Australia where the hits dried up for the Carpenters once Countdown launched this year, they kept on coming for them over in NZ likely due to the lack of competition the duo had over there with up-and-coming artists from the southern hemisphere. For what it's worth, they dominated both our charts during the first half of the decade with their ballads.

This was apparently recorded back in the late 50's when Freddy was just starting out in the music industry, apparently his label had faith in this ballad as they released it this year following the success of his earlier entry on this list. It became a huge success for him, although it was nowhere near as popular here or his native America as it was in NZ where no joke, it was the biggest hit of the decade.

#25 for 1974

OK so I exaggerated when I said earlier in the list that "Boogie wonderland" was the only hit these guys had in Australia, it was their only top ten hit and the only hit for the Emotions, however these guys did score a hit earlier in the year with this disco classic from their greatest hits package. I guess the fact the greatest hits album was a success did mean that we were at least aware of their catalogue back in the day.

Two years prior to score a massive worldwide hit with their earlier entry on this list, the Stylistics had a minor hit here in Australia with this RNB jam likely off the back of the success 5th dimension had here. This was actually one of their weaker hits internationally as their big hit in their homeland at the time was "Betcha by golly wow."

This is the only notable hit that the Canadian band Five-man electrical band (seriously what is with these wack band names?) had throughout the world, this song being a protest track about the political climate of the early 70's given how it appeared that the world had abandoned the protests of the 60's by this point in time. Naturally it drew criticism at the time for failing to provide a solution to the issues they addressed.

This was the only hit from Sammy Johns, an American folk singer who scored a hit in NZ and his native America with this ballad that remains a staple on oldies stations to this day. I wish I could say more about this guy but he's honestly not that interesting outside of his one and only hit.

Well, here's that surprise hit in America I mentioned at the start of this list; indeed, my American readers will think these guys are a one hit wonder due to this being their only appearance on the Billboard charts back in the day despite their earlier entry being their big hit internationally. Again, we have a song that's the embodiment of happiness which is how it was able to stand out back in the day.

Well, this is a participation trophy in song form if I've ever heard one, although I absolutely understand why this has endured over the years given how Errol and company reassure their audience that it's not about winning or losing but how much fun you have playing the game. It was an easy hit for the band, although it would be one of their last hits outside of their native UK.