  |
 Official Top 10s of Each Year in the 70s, Ranked and Reviewed by Me. |
| Track this thread - Email this thread - Print this thread - Download this thread - Subscribe to this forum |
 Aug 24 2021, 09:38 AM
Post
#1
|
|
 Yes, it's me.
Joined: 4 November 2009
Posts: 19,810 User: 9,885 
  
|
Back by overwhelming public indifference - like I did with the 80s and 90s, I'll be listening to, ranking and reviewing the top 10 best sellers of each year of the 1970s.
This will involved listening to songs I've never heard before so bear with me. Perhaps it will reveal some gems too. Check this space for the first instalment coming soon. |
 |
 
|
|
Aug 24 2021, 11:52 AM
Post
#2
|
|
 BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,812 User: 17,376
 
|
always interested in how old stuff sounds to new ears
|
|
|
|
|
Aug 27 2021, 02:49 PM
Post
#3
|
|
|
Yes, it's me.
Joined: 4 November 2009
Posts: 19,810 User: 9,885
|
1970
10th place - England World Cup Squad - Back Home 4.0 There's nothing really awful in the 1970 top 10. This is ok and a lot more tolerable than many football songs that would come in the decades to come. I read that Back Home was the first official English football song. Surprisingly neither of the writers were English. Bill Martin (RIP) was Scottish and Phil Coulter is from Norther Ireland. Finished as the 6th best seller of 1970. |
|
|
|
|
Sep 2 2021, 10:05 AM
Post
#4
|
|
|
Yes, it's me.
Joined: 4 November 2009
Posts: 19,810 User: 9,885
|
1970
9th place - Elvis Presley - The Wonder of You 5.0 I'm not really an Elvis fan. I can enjoy some of his rock and roll numbers on a wedding dancefloor but not much else. This was his second last number 1 before reaching the top spot during his flurry of top 5 hits in 2005. It was the second best seller of 1970. |
|
|
|
|
Sep 2 2021, 10:16 AM
Post
#5
|
|
|
Yes, it's me.
Joined: 4 November 2009
Posts: 19,810 User: 9,885
|
1970
8th place - Christie - Yellow River 5.4 This seems to be some sort of hang-over from the 60s. I've never heard it before but the Yellow River refrain and the descending bassline remind me of Waterloo Sunset. Finished as the 9th best seller of the year. |
|
|
|
|
Sep 2 2021, 10:34 AM
Post
#6
|
|
|
Yes, it's me.
Joined: 4 November 2009
Posts: 19,810 User: 9,885
|
1970
7th place - Mungo Jerry - In the Summertime 6.5 I thought I'd dislike this a lot more because I remember Shaggy's version. It's a decent song - except for the unnecessary grunting. While re-listening to this it struck me how similar to George Ezra's voice Mungo's is. And the melody is quite like something he would do too, I read that it was a hit because it went down well at the Hollywood Music Festival in Staffordshire and demand sky rocketed. One of the handful of songs that leapt to number 1 from outside the top 10. Best seller of the year. |
|
|
|
|
Sep 7 2021, 10:23 AM
Post
#7
|
|
 Alone and wounded
Pronouns: She/her
Joined: 18 January 2011 Posts: 60,106 User: 12,810 
                  
|
I agree that these songs are progressively getting better so far! I remember being surprised to find out that Mungo Jerry had a second #1 hit ('Baby Jump'), that one feels very forgotten.
Funny you should mention George Ezra as he's actually covered 'In The Summertime' before! I think I have avoided the Shaggy version though 
|
|
|
|
|
Sep 7 2021, 10:45 AM
Post
#8
|
|
 Mansonette
Joined: 7 March 2006
Posts: 35,264 User: 54
      
|
Mungo Jerry is the first one that I know very well. The others are all misses for me, particularly Elvis who I have never been able to get at all.
|
|
|
|
|
Sep 8 2021, 02:21 PM
Post
#9
|
|
|
BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 18 July 2012
Posts: 22,812 User: 17,376
|
Back Home rightfully bringing up the rear, but still one of the best footie songs.
Elvis was a huge fave of mine at the time, but I've become fairly immune to Vegas Elvis over the years, bar a handful of decent later singles, so yeah 9th. Same goes for Mungo Jerry, adored it at the time (I was 13) but an HP Sauce commercial in the 70's put me off it a bit ever since, I'd place it 8th and Yellow River higher - sort of sub-Creedence Clearwater Revival-sounding these days. But surely George Ezra sounds like Ray Dorset (Mungo) than t'other way round Baby Jump was better though and I wonder of George Ezra will cover Ray's other famous song Feels Like I'm In Love.... 
|
|
|
|
|
Sep 8 2021, 02:27 PM
Post
#10
|
|
|
Yes, it's me.
Joined: 4 November 2009
Posts: 19,810 User: 9,885
|
QUOTE(Popchartfreak @ Sep 8 2021, 03:21 PM)  But surely George Ezra sounds like Ray Dorset (Mungo) than t'other way round Indeed.
|
|
|
|
|
Sep 8 2021, 02:44 PM
Post
#11
|
|
|
Yes, it's me.
Joined: 4 November 2009
Posts: 19,810 User: 9,885
|
1970
6th place - Free - All Right Now 6.6 Now this has gone up in my estimation, a bit. I don't love the chorus but I like the extended guitar stuff going on in the middle. A 15 year old Colm would lump this in with Relight My Fire (The Doors) and Should I Stay or Should I Go (The Clash) - all re-released in 1991 and all hoary old rock songs, so it never hand a chance to have any impact on these ears. Never made it to number 1 - 5 weeks at number 2 behind Mungo Jerry, but it has made the top 15 four times - 1970 (#2), 1973 (#15), 1978 (#11), 1991(#8). Seventh best seller of the year. |
|
|
|
|
Sep 8 2021, 02:50 PM
Post
#12
|
|
|
Yes, it's me.
Joined: 4 November 2009
Posts: 19,810 User: 9,885
|
1970
5th place - Norman Greenbaum - Spirit in the Sky 6.8 Another song that we're all slightly over-familiar with. And one of a handful of songs that has made it to number 1 in three or more versions. Doctor And The Medics took it to the top in 1986 and Gareth Gates And The Kumars released it for Comin Relief in 2003. It's fine. I like his voice. Fourth best seller of the year. |
|
|
|
|
Sep 8 2021, 02:57 PM
Post
#13
|
|
|
Yes, it's me.
Joined: 4 November 2009
Posts: 19,810 User: 9,885
|
1970
4th place - Lee Marvin - Wand'rin' Star 6.9 I had no idea that Lee Marvin was an actor and not a professional singer until this thread This is a literal one hit wonder - there was no predecessor or follow up to this number 1 single. I find this song strangely comforting - that voice.  Eight best seller of 1970. |
|
|
|
|
Sep 8 2021, 03:04 PM
Post
#14
|
|
|
Yes, it's me.
Joined: 4 November 2009
Posts: 19,810 User: 9,885
|
1970
3th place - Smokey Robinson and The Miracles - The Tears of a Clown 7.0 This is obviously a joy. Didn't know Stevie Wonder wrote the music for this with his producer. Just the one week at number 1 for this and it became the 10th best seller of the year. |
|
|
|
|
Sep 8 2021, 03:09 PM
Post
#15
|
|
|
Yes, it's me.
Joined: 4 November 2009
Posts: 19,810 User: 9,885
|
1970
2nd place - Freda Payne - Band Of Gold 7.7 Wow! I had never heard of this song before. What a gorgeous voice Freda has and the melody.  Like Tears of a Clown this was a Motown creation.Six weeks at the top to make this the third best seller of the year. This post has been edited by Colm: Sep 8 2021, 03:10 PM |
|
|
|
|
Sep 8 2021, 03:18 PM
Post
#16
|
|
|
Yes, it's me.
Joined: 4 November 2009
Posts: 19,810 User: 9,885
|
1970
1st place - Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water 10.0 Now I don't know how many 10s we're going to have in this run-down but this was a candidate when I first looked at the 1970 top 10 and it didn't disappoint when I went to re-listen to it. The verses are "all-time" great. It's unhurried progress to that climax is the very essence of magnificence. I am full sure that this is many people's favourite song of all time and rightly so. Finished the year as the 5th best seller. This post has been edited by Colm: Sep 8 2021, 04:50 PM |
|
|
|
|
Sep 8 2021, 04:29 PM
Post
#17
|
|
 Right in front of my salad?!
Pronouns: he/him
Joined: 7 March 2006 Posts: 82,468 User: 12
   
|
You may wish to change the title of your number 1
|
|
|
|
|
Sep 8 2021, 04:51 PM
Post
#18
|
|
|
Yes, it's me.
Joined: 4 November 2009
Posts: 19,810 User: 9,885
|
QUOTE(Jester @ Sep 8 2021, 05:29 PM) You may wish to change the title of your number 1 Thanks for saving me from embarrassment. 😁 This post has been edited by Colm: Sep 8 2021, 04:51 PM |
|
|
|
|
Sep 8 2021, 06:06 PM
Post
#19
|
|
|
BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 3 January 2017
Posts: 10,138 User: 23,961
|
I agree that Bridge Over Troubled Water is by far the best song here. I would put All Right Now second and Band Of Gold third.
|
|
|
|
|
Sep 8 2021, 06:35 PM
Post
#20
|
|
|
Yes, it's me.
Joined: 4 November 2009
Posts: 19,810 User: 9,885
|
I can't disagree with that ranking
|
|
|
|
|
| Time is now: 19th April 2024 - 04:53 PM |
Copyright © 2006 - 2024 BuzzJack.com
About | Contact | Advertise | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service
