Dave’s Music Database book: Music of the 1970s

Dave’s Music Database book: Music of the 1970s

Abba, the Beatles, the Bee Gees, Black Sabbath, Blondie, David Bowie, Carpenters, Eagles, Al Green, Billy Joel, Led Zeppelin, Dolly Parton, Pink Floyd, Queen, Kenny Rogers, the Sex Pistols, Simon & Garfunkel, Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Donna Summer, Village People, Stevie Wonder, Neil Young. All of them and more are in this handy guide to the decade which: Explores disco, glam, punk, folk rock, heavy metal, pop, country, R&B, and more Highlights songs and albums which won awards each year from 1970 to 1979 Lists the decade’s biggest songs, albums, and acts, overall and in different genres Spotlights 50+ songs and 30+ albums Songs Featured in the Book: Abba “Dancing Queen” (1976) AC/DC “Highway to Hell” (1979) The Beatles “Let It Be” (1970) Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive” (1977) Black Sabbath “Paranoid” (1970) Blondie “Heart of Glass” (1978) Debby Boone “You Light Up My Life” (1977) Glen Campbell “Rhinestone Cowboy” (1975) The Carpenters “They Long to Be Close to You” (1970) Chic “Le Freak” (1978) Charlie Daniels Band “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” (1979) Deep Purple “Smoke on the Water” (1973) John Denver “Take Me Home, Country Roads” (1971) Derek and the Dominos “Layla” (1971) Eagles “Hotel California” (1976) Gloria Gaynor “I Will Survive” (1978) Al Green “Let’s Stay Together” (1971) The Jackson 5 “ABC” (1970) Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson “Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” (1978) Billy Joel “Just the Way You Are” (1977) Elton John “Your Song” (1970) Carole King “It’s Too Late” (1971) The Knack “My Sharona” (1979) Gladys Knight & the Pips “Midnight Train to Georgia” (1973) Led Zeppelin “Stairway to Heaven” (1971) John Lennon “Imagine” (1971) Loretta Lynn “Coal Miner’s Daughter” (1970) Lynyrd Skynyrd “Free Bird” (1973) Paul McCartney & Wings “Silly Love Songs” (1976) Don McLean “American Pie” (1971) Mott the Hoople “All the Young Dudes” (1972) Dolly Parton “Jolene” (1973) Pink Floyd “Another Brick in the Wall Part II” (1979) Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody” (1975) Lou Reed “Walk on the Wild Side” (1972) Kenny Rogers “The Gambler” (1978) Sex Pistols “God Save the Queen” (1977) Simon & Garfunkel “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (1970) Carly Simon “You’re So Vain” (1972) Sister Sledge “We Are Family” (1979) The Staple Singers “I’ll Take You There” (1972) Rod Stewart “Maggie May” (1971) Barbra Streisand “The Way We Were” (1973) Donna Summer “Hot Stuff” (1979) Three Dog Night “Joy to the World” (1970) T-Rex “Get It On (Bang a Gong)” (1971) Village People “Y.M.C.A.” (1978) Wild Cherry “Play That Funky Music” (1976) Bill Withers “Lean on Me” (1972) Stevie Wonder “Superstition” (1972) Neil Young “Heart of Gold” (1972) Albums Featured in the Book: David Bowie The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972) The Clash London Calling (1979) Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Déjà Vu (1970) Eagles Hotel California (1976) Fleetwood Mac Rumours (1977) Marvin Gaye What's Going On (1971) Genesis The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974) Michael Jackson Off the Wall (1979) Elton John Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973) Carole King Tapestry (1971) Kiss Alive! (live, 1975) Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV (1971) Curtis Mayfield Superfly soundtrack (1972) Joni Mitchell Blue (1971) Parliament Mothership Connection (1976) Gram Parsons Grievous Angel (1974) Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon (1973) Pink Floyd The Wall (1979) Ramones Ramones (1976) Rush 2112 (1976) Sex Pistols Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols (1977) Simon & Garfunkel Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970) Patti Smith Horses (1975) Bruce Springsteen Born to Run (1975) Van Halen Van Halen I (1978) The Who Who’s Next (1971) Stevie Wonder Songs in the Key of Life (1976) Yes Fragile (1971) Neil Young Harvest (1972) Grease soundtrack (1978) Saturday Night Fever soundtrack (1977) Resources/Related Links: Dave’s Music Database book: Music of the 1980s Dave’s Music Database: “The Top 100 Songs of the 1970s” Dave’s Music Database: “Other “songs of the decade” lists 90.9 The Bridge: “The Top 909 Songs of the 1970s” Dave’s Music Database: “The Top 100 Albums of the 1970s” Dave’s Music Database: “Other “albums of the decade” lists First posted 2/27/2024; last updated 2/28/2024.

Kool & the Gang hit #1 with “Celebration”

Celebration Kool & the Gang

Writer(s): Robert "Kool" Bell, Ronald Bell, George Brown, Robert Mickens, Claydes Smith, James "J.T." Taylor, Dennis "D.T." Thomas, Earl Eugene Toon Jr., Eumir Deodato (see lyrics here) First Charted: Octrober 18, 1980 Peak: 12 US, 11 CB, 11 HR, 7 RR, 34 AC, 16 RB, 7 UK, 13 CN, 33 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.25 UK, 2.5 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 221.0 video, 259.43 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Kool & the Gang’s origins date back to 1964 when Robert “Kool” Bell formed the Jazziacs at 14 years old. As they changed their sound from jazz to R&B, their following grew. They eventually became Kool & the Gang in 1969 and released more than 25 singles with De-Lite Records. When disco emerged, “Kool knew it was time to produce a new sound – or perish.” FB They brought James “J.T.” Taylor on board and he made his first appearance as their lead singer for the 1979 album Ladies Night, which produced top-10 hits with the title cut and “Too Hot.” The group’s next album, Celebrate, produced the single “Celebration,” which gave them their fifth R&B chart-topper and first #1 pop hit in 1981. That year, it was used to welcome home the American hostages after 444 days in captivity in Iran and it was the theme song for the Super Bowl. FB Ronald Bell, the group’s saxophonist, arranger, and co-founder, said, “The initial idea came from the Quran. I was reading the passage where God was creating Adam and the angels were celebrating and singing praises. That inspired me to write the basic chords, the line, ‘Everyone around the world, come on, celebration.’” WK The song has since become a stape at weddings and parties and an athem for sporting events because of its generic, celebratory nature. Taylor told Billboard, “My mother told me me when she heard it, ‘You’re gonna play this song for the rest of your life – so get ready!” SF Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Kool & the Gang FB Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 536. SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia First posted 6/24/2021; last updated 10/28/2022.

Diana Ross hit #1 with “Upside Down”

Upside Down Diana Ross

Writer(s): Bernard Edwards, Nile Rodgers (see lyrics here) First Charted: July 12, 1980 Peak: 14 US, 13 CB, 12 HR, 11 RR, 18 AC, 14 RB, 2 UK, 5 CN, 14 AU (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.25 UK, 1.51 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 41.40 video, 196.97 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: It had been four years since Diana Ross hit the top 10, much less #1, with 1976’s “Love Hangover.” Even though disco was waning, she turned to Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards to write, produce, and play on her 1980 album Diana. With Chic, they took “Le Freak” and “Good Times” to the top of the charts. They’d also written and produced “We Are Family” for Sister Sledge. Rodgers said, “Diana Ross was the first big start we ever worked with and we took it very seriously…We took a more personal approach.” RC Initially Ross “sounded more like a guest star on a Chic album than the center of attention on her own LP.” FB She remixed the tracks, bringing her vocals more to the front. It paid off, giving Ross the biggest album of her career and her longest-running U.S. #1 song as a solo artist with “Upside Down.” It also topped the charts in Italy, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. According to Rodgers, the song was “inspired by Ross’ desire to experiment with her career and have some fun.” SF Lyrically, the song is about “sticking with a cheating lover because he keeps their romance exciting, turning her emotions upside down and inside out.” SF “Another singer might’ve found pathos in those lyrics…but there’s a playfulness in the way Ross sings it…She’s horny and happy, and we can probably infer that she’s content to mess around on the side if the mood strikes her, too.” SG Ross “understood how a beat could work…her timing is impeccable. The hesitation in her delivery on the chours, the way she waits just a second to deliver every syllable of the title – it’s incredible. She dips in and out of the groove with an effortless grace, riding the beat effortlessly.” SG Resources: FB Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 530. RC Rod Couch (2015). The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era: 1955-2015. Page 390. SF Songfacts SG Stereogum (4/6/2020). “The Number Ones” by Tom Breihan WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 11/29/2021; last updated 4/17/2024.

 

Lipps Inc. hit #1 with “Funkytown”

Funkytown Lipps Inc.

Writer(s): Steven Greenberg (see lyrics here) First Charted: March 22, 1980 Peak: 14 US, 15 CB, 14 HR, 7 RR, 2 RB, 2 UK, 11 CN, 12 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 0.25 UK, 8.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 73.6 video, 297.58 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Lipps Inc. was the brainchild of Steve Greenberg, a part-time record producer and DJ for parties and weddings. He wrote, produced, and performed all the instruments except bass on the song “Rock It,” which topped the chart at a local Minneapolis radio station. FB He eventually assembled a seven-piece, multi-racial band which included Cynthia Johnson, who was Miss Black Minnesota 1976. The second single, “Funkytown,” from their debut album Mouth to Mouth featured Johnson singing “with a real gospel-trained verve that…elevates the track.” SG However, true to the pun of the group’s name, Debbie Jenner – a blonde British woman – was hired to served as the face of the group in West Germany and the Netherlands. SG She completely hams it up in the video with ridiculous dancing and lip-synching. SG Note: the woman featured in the video on this page isn’t Johnson either. WK Greenberg wrote the song about being bored with Minneapolis and wanting to move to New York, which he called “Funkytown.” While he may have lamented what he perceived as his town’s lack of funkiness, it arguably became known as “the funkiest town on earth” SG thanks to it being Prince’s hometown. “The song might have a backstory about dissatisfaction and wanderlust, but you can’t hear any of that in the finished product.” SG It was significant as a bridge “connecting the dying embers of disco” SG to the “coming synthpop explosion o the ‘80s.” SG It “adapts Giorgio Moroder’s gleaming, synthetic Euro-disco sound, transforming it into something beautifully dinky and amateurish.” SG In 1986, the pop group Pseudo Echo recorded the song, taking it to #1 in their native Australia. It was also a top-10 hit in the United States and United Kingdom. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Lipps Inc. FB Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 525. SF Songfacts SG Stereogum (3/25/2020). “The Number Ones” by Tom Breihan WK Wikipedia First posted 11/29/2021; last updated 10/22/2022.