Monday, December 31, 1979

Dave’s Faves: #1 Songs in the 1970s

First posted 4/28/2020.

Dave’s Faves:

#1’s: 1970-1979

September 18, 1982. I can peg my fascination with music charts to that date. After listening to a local radio station’s countdown of the hits of the summer, I decided to make my own list of favorites (see original list here). I ended up revising it every few days, eventually developing my own charts which I maintained into the ‘90s.

I’ve also projected before and after those lists to create speculative lists of #1 songs for eras not covered by those original charts. You can check out those links here, but this page is focused on the #1 songs that might have been for me in the 1970s.


1970:

  • Jan. 10: Arlo Guthrie “Alice’s Restaurant” (3 wks)
  • Jan 31: Simon & Garfunkel “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (4 wks)
  • Feb. 28: Norman Greenbaum “Spirit in the Sky” (3 wks)
  • Mar. 21: The Doors “Roadhouse Blues” (3 wks)
  • Apr. 11: The Beatles “Let It Be” (2 wks)
  • Apr. 25: Van Morrison “Moondance” (2 wks)
  • May 9: The Guess Who “American Woman” (2 wks)
  • May 23: Neil Young “Cinnamon Girl” (2 wks)
  • June 6: The Beatles “The Long and Winding Road” (2 wks)
  • June 20: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young “Teach Your Children” (3 wks)
  • July 11: The Kinks “Lola” (3 wks)
  • Aug. 1: Chicago “25 or 6 to 4” (2 wks)
  • Aug. 15: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young “Ohio” (3 wks)
  • Sept. 5: Neil Young “Southern Man” (2 wks)
  • Sept. 19: James Taylor “Fire and Rain” (3 wks)
  • Oct. 10: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young “Our House” (3 wks)
  • Oct. 31: The Who “See Me, Feel Me” (2 wks)
  • Nov. 14: Cat Stevens “Wild World” (2 wks)
  • Nov. 28: Eric Clapton “After Midnight” (1 wk)
  • Dec. 5: Elton John “Your Song” (2 wks)
  • Dec. 19: Santana “Black Magic Woman” (1 wk)
  • Dec. 26: Cat Stevens “Father and Son” (1 wk)

1971:

  • Jan. 2: George Harrison “My Sweet Lord” (3 wks)
  • Jan. 23: Stephen Stills “Love the One You’re With” (2 wks)
  • Feb. 6: John Lennon “God” (2 wks)
  • Feb. 20: Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On” (2 wks)
  • Mar. 6: Janis Joplin “Me and Bobby McGee” (2 wks)
  • Mar. 20: Three Dog Night “Joy to the World” (3 wks)
  • Apr. 10: Jethro Tull “Aqualung” (3 wks)
  • May 1: Derek & the Dominos “Layla” (4 wks)
  • May 29: John Denver “Take Me Home, Country Roads” (3 wks)
  • June 19: The Rolling Stones “Brown Sugar” (2 wks)
  • July 3: James Taylor “You’ve Got a Friend” (4 wks)
  • July 31: Cat Stevens “Moon Shadow” (2 wks)
  • Aug. 14: The Who “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (3 wks)
  • Sept. 4: The Doors “Riders on the Storm” (2 wks)
  • Sept. 18: Rod Stewart “Maggie May” (2 wks)
  • Oct. 2: Cat Stevens “Peace Train” (1 wk)
  • Oct. 9: John Lennon “Imagine” (3 wks)
  • Oct. 30: The Who “Behind Blue Eyes” (1 wk)
  • Nov. 6: Led Zeppelin “Stairway to Heaven” (4 wks)
  • Dec. 4: Don McLean “American Pie” (2 wks)
  • Dec. 18: The Grateful Dead “Truckin’” (1 wk)
  • Dec. 25: John Lennon & Yoko Ono “Happy X-Mas (War Is Over)” (2 wks)

1972:

  • Jan. 8: America “A Horse with No Name” (2 wks)
  • Jan. 22: Yes “Roundabout” (4 wks)
  • Feb. 19: David Bowie “Changes” (4 wks)
  • Mar. 18: Neil Young “Heart of Gold” (3 wks)
  • Apr. 8: Elton John “Tiny Dancer” (2 wks)
  • Apr. 22: Loggins & Messina “Danny’s Song” (2 wks)
  • May 6: Elton John “Rocket Man” (2 wks)
  • May 20: Bill Withers “Lean on Me” (3 wks)
  • June 10: Neil Young “Old Man” (3 wks)
  • July 1: Eagles “Take It Easy” (4 wks)
  • July 29: Alice Cooper “School’s Out” (1 wk)
  • Aug. 5: Gary Glitter “Rock and Roll Part 2” (2 wks)
  • Aug. 19: Chicago “Saturday in the Park” (3 wks)
  • Sept. 9: Chuck Berry “My Ding-A-Ling (live)” (2 wks)
  • Sept. 23: Three Dog Night “Black and White” (2 wks)
  • Oct. 7: Mott the Hoople “All the Young Dudes” (3 wks)
  • Oct. 28: Styx “What Has Come Between Us” (3 wks)
  • Nov. 18: Loggins & Messina “Angry Eyes” (1 wk)
  • Nov. 25: Lou Reed “Walk on the Wild Side” (4 wks)
  • Dec. 23: Stevie Wonder “Superstition” (2 wks)

1973:

  • Jan. 6: John Denver “Rocky Mountain High” (3 wks)
  • Jan. 27: Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show “The Cover of ‘Rolling Stone’” (2 wks)
  • Feb. 10: Carly Simon “You’re So Vain” (3 wks)
  • Mar. 3: Stealers Wheel “Stuck in the Middle with You” (2 wks)
  • Mar. 17: Steely Dan “Reeling in the Years” (2 wks)
  • Mar. 31: Stevie Wonder “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” (1 wk)
  • Apr. 7: Paul McCartney & Wings “My Love” (2 wks)
  • Apr. 21: Eagles “Desperado” (4 wks)
  • May 19: Pink Floyd “Money” (3 wks)
  • June 9: Deep Purple “Smoke on the Water” (2 wks)
  • June 23: Led Zeppelin “Over the Hills and Far Away” (3 wks)
  • July 14: Aerosmith “Dream On” (3 wks)
  • Aug. 4: Joe Walsh “Rocky Mountain Way” (3 wks)
  • Aug. 25: The Doobie Brothers “China Grove” (2 wks)
  • Sept. 8: The Rolling Stones “Angie” (2 wks)
  • Sept. 22: Bruce Springsteen “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)” (2 wks)
  • Oct. 6: Todd Rundgren “Hello It’s Me” (3 wks)
  • Oct. 27: Elton John “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding” (2 wks)
  • Nov. 10: The Who “Love Reign O’er Me” (3 wks)
  • Dec. 1: Jim Croce “Time in a Bottle” (3 wks)
  • Dec. 22: Golden Earring “Radar Love” (3 wks)

1974:

  • Jan. 12: Bob Dylan “Forever Young” (2 wks)
  • Jan. 26: John Denver “Sunshine on My Shoulders” (3 wks)
  • Feb. 16: Billy Joel “Piano Man” (4 wks)
  • Mar. 16: Elton John “Candle in the Wind” (2 wks)
  • Mar. 30: ZZ Top “La Grange” (2 wks)
  • Apr. 13: Paul McCartney & Wings “Band on the Run” (4 wks)
  • May 11: Steely Dan “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” (2 wks)
  • May 25: Hues Corporation “Rock the Boat” (3 wks)
  • June 15: Bachman-Turner Overdrive “Takin’ Care of Business” (3 wks)
  • July 6: Lynyrd Skynyrd “Sweet Home Alabama” (3 wks)
  • July 27: Eric Clapton “I Shot the Sheriff” (3 wks)
  • Aug. 17: The Rolling Stones “It’s Only Rock and Roll But I Like It” (2 wks)
  • Aug. 31: Olivia Newton-John “I Honestly Love You” (3 wks)
  • Sept. 21: Bachman-Turner Overdrive “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet” (2 wks)
  • Oct. 7: Harry Chapin “Cat’s in the Cradle” (5 wks)
  • Nov. 9: Styx “Golden Lark” (7 wks)
  • Dec. 28: Lynyrd Skynyrd “Free Bird” (4 wks)

1975:

  • Jan. 25: The Doobie Brothers “Black Water” (4 wks)
  • Feb. 22: David Bowie “Fame” (1 wk)
  • Mar. 1: Led Zeppelin “Kashmir” (3 wks)
  • Mar. 22: John Denver “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” (3 wks)
  • Apr. 12: Bad Company “Shooting Star” (4 wks)
  • May 10: America “Sister Golden Hair” (2 wks)
  • May 24: Van McCoy “The Hustle” (2 wks)
  • June 7: Aerosmith “Sweet Emotion” (3 wks)
  • June 28: Glen Campbell “Rhinestone Cowboy” (2 wks)
  • July 12: Peter Frampton “Show Me the Way” (3 wks)
  • Aug. 2: ZZ Top “Tush” (2 wks)
  • Aug. 16: Eric Clapton “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” (4 wks)
  • Sept. 13: Bruce Springsteen “Born to Run” (4 wks)
  • Oct. 11: Pink Floyd “Shine on You Crazy Diamond” (4 wks)
  • Nov. 8: Barry Manilow “I Write the Songs” (2 wks)
  • Nov. 22: Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody” (7 wks)

1976:

  • Jan. 10: Nazareth “Love Hurts” (1 wk)
  • Jan. 17: Pink Floyd “Wish You Were Here” (2 wks)
  • Jan. 31: Styx “Suite Madame Blue” (5 wks)
  • Mar. 6: Paul Simon “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” (3 wks)
  • Mar. 27: John Sebastian “Welcome Back” (1 wk)
  • Apr. 3: Pratt & McLain “Happy Days” (1 wk)
  • Apr. 10: Paul McCartney & Wings “Silly Love Songs” (3 wks)
  • May 1: Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band “Turn the Page (live)” (3 wks)
  • May 22: Thin Lizzy “The Boys Are Back in Town” (3 wks)
  • June 12: Rod Stewart “Tonights the Night (Gonna Be Alright)” (2 wks)
  • June 26: Peter Frampton “Baby I Love Your Way” (4 wks)
  • July 24: Heart “Magic Man” (2 wks)
  • Aug. 7: Blue Öyster Cult “Don’t Fear the Reaper” (2 wks)
  • Aug. 21: Chicago “If You Leave Me Now” (3 wks)
  • Sept. 11: Manfred Mann’s Earth Band “Blinded by the Light” (4 wks)
  • Oct. 9: Boston “More Than a Feeling” (4 wks)
  • Nov. 6: Styx “Mademoiselle” (3 wks)
  • Nov. 27: Aerosmith “Walk This Way” (3 wks)
  • Dec. 11: Kansas “Carry on Wayward Son” (3 wks)

1977:

  • Jan. 1: Steve Miller Band “Fly Like an Eagle” (2 wks)
  • Jan. 15: Fleetwood Mac “Go Your Own Way” (2 wks)
  • Jan. 22: Boston “Foreplay/Longtime” (2 wks)
  • Feb. 5: REO Speedwagon “157 Riverside Avenue (live)” (3 wks)
  • Feb. 26: Eagles “Hotel California” (4 wks)
  • Mar. 26: Jimmy Buffett “Margaritaville” (2 wks)
  • Apr. 9: Peter Gabriel “Solsbury Hill” (2 wks)
  • Apr. 23: Andrea McCardle “Tomorrow” (3 wks)
  • May 14: Styx “Crystal Ball” (2 wks)
  • May 28: Elvis Costello “Alison” (2 wks)
  • June 11: REO Speedwagon “Ridin’ the Storm Out (live)” (3 wks)
  • July 2: John Williams “Star Wars (Main Theme)” (4 wks)
  • July 30: Alan Parsons Project “Breakdown” (4 wks)
  • Aug. 27: Debby Boone “You Light Up My Life” (2 wks)
  • Sept. 10: Styx “Come Sail Away” (7 wks)
  • Oct. 29: David Bowie “Heroes” (1 wk)
  • Nov. 5: Queen “We Will Rock You” / “We Are the Champions” (3 wks)
  • Nov. 26: Billy Joel “Just the Way You Are” (3 wks)
  • Dec. 6: Jackson Browne “The Load-Out/Stay (live)” (2 wks)
  • Dec. 17: Bing Crosby & David Bowie “Peace on Earth/The Little Drummer Boy” (3 wks)

1978:

  • Jan. 7: Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive” (3 wks)
  • Jan. 28: Kansas “Dust in the Wind” (2 wks)
  • Feb. 11: Styx “Fooling Yourself (Angry Young Man)” (5 wks)
  • Mar. 18: Jackson Browne “Running on Empty” (1 wk)
  • Mar. 25: Gerry Rafferty “Baker Street” (3 wks)
  • Apr. 15: Paul McCartney & Wings “With a Little Luck” (1 wk)
  • Apr. 22: Van Halen “Ice Cream Man” (2 wks)
  • Feb. 24: the Police “Roxanne” (2 wks)
  • May 20: Eric Clapton “Wonderful Tonight” (2 wks)
  • June 17: Barry Manilow “Cocacabana (At the Copa)” (2 wks)
  • July 1: Journey “Feeling That Way” / “Anytime” (3 wks)
  • July 22: Commodores “Three Times a Lady” (3 wks)
  • Aug. 12: Foreigner “Hot Blooded’ (4 wks)
  • Sept. 9: Meat Loaf “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” (3 wks)
  • Sept. 30: Journey “Lights” (2 wks)
  • Oct. 14: Alan Parsons Project “What Goes Up” (2 wks)
  • Oct. 28: Chic “Le Freak” (3 wks)
  • Nov. 18: Village People “Y.M.C.A.” (2 wks)
  • Dec. 2: Kenny Rogers “The Gambler” (3 wks)
  • Dec. 23: Rush “The Trees” (2 wks)

1979:

  • Jan. 6: Gloria Gaynor “I Will Survive” (2 wks)
  • Jan. 20: Poco “Crazy Love” (1 wk)
  • Jan. 27: Blondie “Heart of Glass” (4 wks)
  • Feb. 24: Styx “Renegade” (8 wks)
  • Apr. 21: Supertramp “The Logical Song” (4 wks)
  • May 19: Cheap Trick “I Want You to Want Me (live)” (2 wks)
  • June 2: Squeeze “Up the Junction” (3 wks)
  • June 23: Sniff ‘N’ the Tears “Driver’s Seat” (3 wks)
  • July 14: Little River Band “Lonesome Loser” (3 wks)
  • Aug. 4: Nick Lowe “Cruel to Be Kind” (3 wks)
  • Aug. 25: Boomtown Rats “I Don’t Like Mondays” (1 wk)
  • Sept. 1: Alan Parsons Project “Damned if I Do” (3 wks)
  • Sept. 22: The Police “Message in a Bottle” (3 wks)
  • Oct. 6: Eagles “Heartache Tonight” (1 wk)
  • Oct. 13: Styx “Babe” (3 wks)
  • Nov. 10: Little River Band “Cool Change” (2 wks)
  • Nov. 24: Blondie “Shayla” (1 wk)
  • Dec. 1: Kenny Rogers “Coward of the County” (3 wks)
  • Dec. 22: Pink Floyd “Another Brick in the Wall Part II” (4 wks)

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