The Top 100 Songs by Singers/Songwriters

First posted 4/22/2020; updated 5/29/2020.

Singers & Songwriters: Top 100 Songs, 1970-1979

The Singers and Songwriters compilations were a series of albums issued in the early 2000s by Time-Life. The U.S. series covered 445 songs over 19 volumes. The focus of the albums was on the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s. That meant most songs were written and performed by the same artist and most were released from 1970 to 1979 and fit most comfortably into the genre known as “soft rock” or “adult contemporary.” To create this list, Dave’s Music Database took all 445 songs featured on the collections and ranked them according to their overall DMDB status. Non-‘70s songs were left off this list, but songs not necessarily recorded by the same artist who initially wrote them are included. A few other lists were also factored in to include some important songs not featured on any of the collections. Here are the results: 1. Elton John “Your Song” (1970) 2. Rod Stewart “Maggie May” (1971) 3. Don McLean “American Pie” (1971) 4. Carole King “It’s Too Late” (1971) 5. Carly Simon “You’re So Vain” (1972) 6. Harry Chapin “Cat’s in the Cradle” (1974) 7. Warren Zevon “Werewolves of London” (1978) 8. Janis Ian “At Seventeen” (1975) 9. Cat Stevens “Wild World” (1970) 10. John Lennon “Imagine” (1971) 11. George Harrison “My Sweet Lord” (1970) 12. Neil Young “Heart of Gold” (1972) 13. Elvis Costello “Alison” (1977) 14. David Bowie “Life on Mars?” (1973) 15. Jackson Brown “Running on Empty” (1978) 16. Gordon Lightfoot “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” (1976) 17. Eagles “New Kid in Town” (1976) 18. Lou Reed “Perfect Day” (1972) 19. Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On” (1971) 20. Janis Joplin “Me and Bobby McGee” (1971) 21. America “A Horse with No Name” (1971) 22. Harry Nilsson “Without You” (1971) 23. Elton John “Tiny Dancer” (1971) 24. Gerry Rafferty “Baker Street” (1978) 25. Elton John “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” (1973) 26. Roberta Flack “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” (1970) 27. Bill Withers “Lean on Me” (1972) 28. James Taylor “Fire and Rain” (1970) 29. Commodores “Three Times a Lady” (1978) 30. The Doobie Brothers “Black Water” (1974) 31. 10cc “I’m Not in Love” (1975) 32. Elton John “Daniel” (1972) 33. The Grateful Dead “Truckin’” (1970) 34. Gladys Knight & the Pips “Midnight Train to Georgia” (1973) 35. The Temptations “Just My Imagination Running Away with Me” (1971) 36. Elton John “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” (1974) 37. Todd Rundgren “Hello It’s Me” (1972) 38. Stealers Wheel “Stuck in the Middle with You” (1973) 39. Marvin Gaye “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology Song)” (1971) 40. The Doobie Brothers “What a Fool Believes” (1978) 41. Chicago “If You Leave Me Now” (1976) 42. The Doobie Brothers “Listen to the Music” (1972) 43. Daryl Hall & John Oates “She’s Gone” (1973) 44. Peter Frampton “Baby I Love Your Way” (1975) 45. Fleetwood Mac “You Make Loving Fun” (1977) 46. Eric Carmen “All by Myself” (1975) 47. Grateful Dead “Uncle John’s Band” (1970) 48. Commodores “Easy” (1977) 49. Dobie Gray “Drift Away” (1973) 50. Elton John “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” (1975) 51. Gary Wright “Dream Weaver” (1975) 52. Stephen Stills “Love the One You’re With” (1970) 53. America “Ventura Highway” (1972) 54. Todd Rundgren “I Saw the Light” (1972) 55. Three Dog Night “Mama Told Me Not to Come” (1970) 56. America “Sister Golden Hair” (1975) 57. Cat Stevens “Morning Has Broken” (1971) 58. Rick Nelson & the Stone Canyon Band “Garden Party” (1972) 59. Commodores “Still” (1979) 60. Elvin Bishop “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” (1976) 61. Fleetwood Mac “Say You Love Me” (1975) 62. Brook Benton “Rainy Night in Georgia” (1970) 63. Rod Stewart “You Wear It Well” (1972) 64. Commodores “Sail On” (1979) 65. Stephen Bishop “On and On” (1977) 66. Jefferson Starship “Miracles” (1975) 67. Grateful Dead “Sugar Magnolia” (1970) 68. Grateful Dead “Friend of the Devil” (1970) 69. Gary Wright “Love Is Alive” (1975) 70. Stevie Wonder “Superstition” (1972) 71. Paul Simon “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” (1975) 72. Dolly Parton “Jolene” (1973) 73. Terry Jacks “Seasons in the Sun” (1974) 74. Dire Straits “Sultans of Swing” (1978) 75. Gilbert O’Sullivan “Alone Again (Naturally)” (1972) 76. Tony Orlando & Dawn “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” (1973) 77. Glen Campbell “Rhinestone Cowboy” (1975) 78. Jim Croce “Time in a Bottle” (1972) 79. Elton John & Kiki Dee “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” (1976) 80. Rod Stewart “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)” (1976) 81. Olivia Newton-John “I Honestly Love You” (1974) 82. Eric Clapton “I Shot the Sheriff” (1974) 83. Al Stewart “Year of the Cat” (1976) 84. Joe Cocker “You Are So Beautiful” (1974) 85. Johnny Nash “I Can See Clearly Now” (1972) 86. John Denver “Take Me Home, Country Roads” (1971) 87. Charlie Rich “The Most Beautiful Girl” (1973) 88. Starland Vocal Band “Afternoon Delight” (1976) 89. Linda Ronstadt “You’re No Good” (1974) 90. Captain & Tennille “Love Will Keep Us Together” (1975) 91. Christopher Cross “Sailing” (1979) 92. Rupert Holmes “Escape (The Pina Colada Song)” (1979) 93. Bill Withers “Ain’t No Sunshine” (1971) 94. Player “Baby Come Back” (1977) 95. Jim Croce “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” (1973) 96. Blue Swede “Hooked on a Feeling” (1974) 97. Tony Orlando & Dawn “Knock Three Times” (1970) 98. John Denver “Sunshine on My Shoulders” (1971) 99. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band “Mr. Bojangles” (1970) 100. Mary MacGregor “Torn Between Two Lovers” (1976) Resources and Related Links: Time Life Music Wikipedia.org (2020). “Singers and Songwriters (Time Life Music)”

 

Suzanne Vega Solitude Standing released

Solitude Standing Suzanne Vega

Released: April 1, 1987 Peak: 11 US, 2 UK, 5 CN, 7 AU, 12 DF Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.3 UK, 5.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: folk rock

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Tom’s Diner (a cappella version) (6/87, 32 CO, 58 UK, 3 DF) * Luka (5/21/87, 3 BB, 4 CB, 2 GR, 3 RR, 3 AC, 15 AR, 1 CO, 23 UK, 5 CN, 21 AU, 1 DF) Ironbound/Fancy Poultry (9 DF) In the Eye (28 DF) Night Vision (35 DF) Solitude Standing (8/87, 94 BB, 43 AR, 20 CO, 91 AU, 15 DF) Calypso (35 DF) Language (25 DF) Gypsy (4/87, 40 CO) Wooden Horse (Caspar Hauser’s Song) Tom’s Diner (Reprise) (instrumental) (17 DF) * In 1990, DNA remixed the song and it became a hit. (7/16/90, 5 BB, 4 CB, 10 GR, 8 RR, 7 MR, 2 UK, 13 CN, 8 AU, 14 DF) Total Running Time: 44:20

Rating: 4.173 out of 5.00 (average of 20 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About Suzanne Vega Folk-rock singer/songwriter Suzanne Vega was born in 1959 in Santa Monica, California. She said, “I knew I wanted to be a folk singer from the time I was 16.” CS While attending Barnard College, she started performing at small venues in Greenwich Village. After she graduated in 1982, she “devoted herself to the local folk arena.” CS In 1984 she landed a recording contract with A&M Records after being turned down by them twice. CS The next year she released her self-titled debut album “centered on meditative acoustic guitar.” TM She “wowed the critics with her literate, unguarded songwriting and naked delivery, compared by many to her earliest influences Leonard Cohen, Paul Simon, and Joni Mitchell.” CS It sold half a million copies in the U.S. and UK. The Second Album Vega struggled to follow-up the surprise success of her debut. She ended up “reaching back to songs she had written over the previous decade and putting together an eclectic sophomore effort Solitude Standing.” CS The album launched her into the mainstream. The album reached #11 in the United States and achieved five million in sales worldwide. “While continuing a focus on Vega’s acoustic guitar, the music of her second album is more strongly pop-oriented and features fuller arrangements.” WK Its Impact The album emerged at a time when vulnerability was out, replaced by dazzling guitar solos [and] punishing bass grooves.” CS “Hair metal, corporate rock, and slick pop rule the airwaves and hip-hop and alternative rock were threatening on the horizon.” CS Solitude Standing marked “Vega as a harbinger of change in the American music scene.” CS It became “a bedrock album that created a market for independent women in a male-dominated music industry.” CS Record companies “infiltrated every coffee house in Greenwich Village and beyond in search of soulful, introspective songwriters with pent-up emotions ready to be spilled onto vinyl.” CS Within two years, “a host of female songbirds – including Tracy Chapman, Shawn Colvin, Edie Brickell, the Indigo Girls, and Sinéad O’Connor – released albums on major labels.” CS They were part of a first wave that would lead to success for early ‘90s artists including Tori Amos, Sheryl Crow, and Alanis Morissette. “Within a decade dozens of female acts (ranging from acoustic singer-songwriters to women-led and all-female bands) crowded the airwaves and concert halls, enough o spawn a successful women-oriented touring festival in 1997 called Lilith Fair.” CS As Vega said, “Acoustic music had gone from the public scene…but not from people’s lives. People will always plat it because all you need is a guitar.” CS London Guardian said, “Suzanne Vega fills the current bill in much the same way as Joni Mitchell…did in pervious times.” CS “Luka” The album owed the brunt of its initial success to Luka, a top-five hit that told a “disquieting story of a city kid’s attempt to deal with a volatile (and seemingly violent) home situation. Vega focuses not on the details of the kid’s plight but on his awkwardness.” TM She revealed years later that it was inspired by her own abusive experiences with her stepfather. WK The song “sparked nationwide discussion about the domestic abuse of children. One reason it touched a nerve is its undeniable catchiness. Vega goes for exuberant refrains cushioned by cooing background vocals – if there ever was an effective counterbalance to a bleak and disturbing scene, this runaway musical optimism is it.” TM “Tom’s Diner” The album spawned another surprise hit three years later when the British producers known as DNA remixed her a cappella version of Tom’s Diner from Solitude Standing with a dance beat from Soul II Soul’s “Keep on Movin’.” They sent it to clubs without her permission but instead of suing for copyright infringement, A&M arranged to release the remix after consulting with Vega, who liked the interpretation. It “infected listeners with its hypnotic groove and innocent charm.” CS It became a club hit and gave Vega another top-five hit in 1990. Other Songs “’Luka’ is but one highlight of the entrancing Solitude Standing.” TM The album “presents Vega using color and shades and shadowy orchestrations. The album ranges from pure pop to almost ambient meditations, and every track resonates differently.” TM “The title tune alternates between a steady rock pulse and ethereal free-falling passages that seem borne from a daydream. Calypso is a gorgeously liquid homage to undersea explorers, while Ironbound/Fancy Poultry floats effortlessly between 3/4 and 4/4 time to sketch a Newark street scene.” TM

Resources: TM Tom Moon (2008). 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. Workman Publishing Company, Inc.: New York, NY. Pages 827-8. CS Chris Smith (2009). 101 Albums That Changed Popular Music. Oxford University Press. Pages 190-2. WK Wikipedia page on Suzanne Vega Related DMDB Links: First posted 12/3/2024.