Before the past few years I always wrote off the 70s as a bit of a dud decade sandwiched between the revolutionary 60s and the iconic 80s with little to offer in comparison... and now I'm aware of how ignorant that opinion was. I've loved many of the Disco era songs and artists (Earth Wind & Fire, Donna Summer, Bee Gees etc) but outside of that genre I would like to expand my knowledge. So I thought what better than to make a thread where posters in the know can educate me (and maybe others) on the best of the 70s - whether it be hits by forgotten artists or obscure gems from famous artists if the music is good I want to hear. :D

 

I'll begin by posting a track I've only recently discovered from a band I had only known about from 'Africa'. :blush:

 

 

And this is one of my favourites from the decade.

 

Ooh both those tracks are fab.

 

A quick spin through the 70's?

 

Carpenters

T.Rex

David Bowie

Wizzard

Roxy Music

The Sweet

Suzi Quatro

Bill Withers

Marvin Gaye

Lou Reed

Paul McCartney & Wings

Elton John

KC & The Sunshine Band

Barry White

Abba

Gloria Gaynor

10CC

Queen

ELO

Kate Bush

Boomtown Rats

Madness

Specials

Gary Numan

The Police

Fleetwood Mac

Gerry Rafferty

Elvis Costello

The Undertones

Siouxise & The Banshees

 

 

That'll do for starters off the top of my head. Bound to be more.... :lol:

 

Plenty of one-off great singles too

 

I can give some recommendations, but you know that my music taste is mostly opposite to the majority.

Thanks guys.

 

PCF: I'm familiar with some of those artists and their material - not a fan of the Carpenters and Bowie isn't really to my taste but I only know his big ones but I love ABBA, Queen and Fleetwood Mac. Then the likes of Gloria Gaynor, 10CC and The Police I know their major hits but I'll delve more into their back catalogues. :)

 

Last Dreamer: go for it. ;)

I don't know where to start. If you like Hold The Line and Hotel California, you might like More Than A Feeling by Boston. You might know that one already so I'm also including here Airport by The Motors and Every Man Must Have A Dream by Liverpool Express which were both top 10 hits but are not so well known nowadays.

 

 

Airport is one of those songs I used to play to death back in the day :lol: I still like to play it occasionally even now.

 

Lots of great names on popchartfreak's list although he somehow missed Sparks. In the late 70s, they worked with Giorgio Moroder who also produced some of Donna Summer's biggest hits (including the still fabulous I Feel Love).

 

Boston is a classic! More rock-styled stuff would be:

 

Manfred Mann's Earthband Blinded By The Light, Jotbringer or Davy's On The Road Again

Bruce Sprinsgteen's Born To Run is epic.

Rainbow Since Youve Been Gone

Motorhead Overkill

AC/DC Whole Lotta Rosie

Thin Lizzy Don;t Believe A Word

Deep Purple Fireball

Redbone Witch Queen Of New orleans

Hawkwind Silver Machine

Focus Sylvia

Free Wishing Well

10cc Wall Street Shuffle

Sparks This Town Aint Big Enough For Both Of Us

Bachman Turner Overdrive You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet

Edgar Winter Group: Frankenstein

Ram jam: Black betty

 

and the more melodic end of Rock:

 

Styx: babe

Starbuck: Moonlight Feels Right

Bad Company: Feels Like Making Love

Foreigner: Cold As Ice

Status Quo: Whatever You want

Blackfoot Sue: Standing In The Road

Slade: Coz I Luv You

Jim Capaldi It's All Up To You

 

Supertramp are good, especially the Breakfast In America album

If you liked Toto you might like Boz Scaggs, which also included Toto members.

King Rollo - Thanks for the Boston suggestion. Great discovery! Not really feeling the other two as much but they're not offensive at least. :lol:

 

Suedehead - 'This Town...' didn't grab me on first listen but 'Self-Effacing' and 'When Do I Get to Sing' are a lot more instant.

 

PCF - the ones I like: Davy's On The Road Again, Born To Run (prefer his Born In The USA album though), Don't Believe A Word, WQONO, Wishing Well and Wall Street Shuffle. I'll listen to the more melodic ones in due course.

 

fiesta - I've only just realised Gym Class Heroes' Cupid's Chokehold heavily samples Breakfast In America. :lol: Supertramp were quite the source of inspiration in the 00s then with The Logical Song too. I'll give the album a listen soon. I gave Boz Scaggs a listen - Lido Shuffle is the standout from what I've heard.

Last Dreamer: go for it. ;)

 

If you like disco, so possibly you must start with Dutch girl group Luv', which were popular in a continental Europe.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luv%27_discography

 

After it I can't don't recommend two my favourite female singers from 70s, which are underrated and almost forgotten now.

 

Twiggy

Signature singles : Rings, Fallen Angel, A Woman In Love, A Room In Bloomsbury, Here I Go Again

 

Lynsey De Paul

Signature singles : Sugar Me, Rock Bottom, No Honestly, Rhythm And Blue Jean Baby, Happy Christmas To You From Me

 

From ABBA type of music there are :

 

Brotherhood of Man (maybe you already heard their three UK # 1s)

Signature singles : Figaro, Angelo, Save Your Kisses For Me, My Sweet Rosalie + two their 80s songs - Lightning Flash, When The Kissing Stops

 

New Seekers (it's more MOR than ABBA, but still good)

Signature singles : You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me, I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing, Beg, Steal Or Borrow, Goodbye Is Just Another Word

Edited March 11, 20214 yr by Last Dreamer

Airport is one of those songs I used to play to death back in the day :lol: I still like to play it occasionally even now.

 

Lots of great names on popchartfreak's list although he somehow missed Sparks.

 

This is my favourite song from Sparks

 

and the more melodic end of Rock:

 

Styx: babe

Starbuck: Moonlight Feels Right

Bad Company: Feels Like Making Love

Foreigner: Cold As Ice

Status Quo: Whatever You want

Blackfoot Sue: Standing In The Road

Slade: Coz I Luv You

Jim Capaldi It's All Up To You

 

I've given this list a listen and I've added Moonlight Feels Right, Whatever You Want and It's All Up To You to my 70s playlist. :D Thanks for the Jim Capaldi discovery - Love Hurts is a tune!

 

I'll give Last Dreamer's list a listen next.

 

One song from the decade I'm enjoying atm:

 

I've given this list a listen and I've added Moonlight Feels Right, Whatever You Want and It's All Up To You to my 70s playlist. :D Thanks for the Jim Capaldi discovery - Love Hurts is a tune!

 

I'll give Last Dreamer's list a listen next.

 

One song from the decade I'm enjoying atm:

 

Jim Capaldi's version of Love Hurts (the original is by Nazareth) is indeed a classic!

 

Riders On The Storm is a masterpiece.

Jim Capaldi's version of Love Hurts (the original is by Nazareth) is indeed a classic!

 

Riders On The Storm is a masterpiece.

 

Riders Of The Storm :wub:

 

Minor correction: Love Hurts is a Boudleaux Bryant song (Everley Brothers songwriter, and it was an album track for them!) Roy Orbison is the version I thought was the original (total Legend!) but it isn't either! Roy's version was a B side to Runnin' Scared but was a double A hit in Australia in 1961. Nazereth covered it in 1974 and flopped in the UK, then Jim Capaldi (of Traffic, a 60's band, see Hole In My Shoe or Paper Sun. which also had Steve Winwood in -see Valerie, Higher Love covers in the 21st century) had a UK hit in 1975, by which time Nazereth's version was a US hit and got reissued in the UK as the lead track on an EP featuring 2 of their best tracks Brokendown Angel & This Flight Tonight, but not my fave Bad Bad Boy :heart: Last seen in Deadpool 2, Love Hurts the song....

 

Popchartfreak: "more info than you need or want on 70's pop" :lol:

Riders Of The Storm :wub:

 

Minor correction: Love Hurts is a Boudleaux Bryant song (Everley Brothers songwriter, and it was an album track for them!) Roy Orbison is the version I thought was the original (total Legend!) but it isn't either! Roy's version was a B side to Runnin' Scared but was a double A hit in Australia in 1961. Nazereth covered it in 1974 and flopped in the UK, then Jim Capaldi (of Traffic, a 60's band, see Hole In My Shoe or Paper Sun. which also had Steve Winwood in -see Valerie, Higher Love covers in the 21st century) had a UK hit in 1975, by which time Nazereth's version was a US hit and got reissued in the UK as the lead track on an EP featuring 2 of their best tracks Brokendown Angel & This Flight Tonight, but not my fave Bad Bad Boy :heart: Last seen in Deadpool 2, Love Hurts the song....

 

Popchartfreak: "more info than you need or want on 70's pop" :lol:

So the 1970sm DJs got it wrong when they said it was a cover of a Nazareth song. I feel betrayed :angry:

So the 1970sm DJs got it wrong when they said it was a cover of a Nazareth song. I feel betrayed :angry:

 

I feel the same about DJ's announcing it was a Roy Orbison cover! I believed that to be true until yesterday :lol:

 

Golden rule: unless it's Paul Gambaccini it might be wrong, I guess :lol:

So I've been playing some of these suggestions on repeat for the past month! So many treasures unearthed in this thread. :wub: Any more recommendations are very welcome!

 

I'm loving this and a lot of other CCR songs - Proud Mary especially!

 

Anne Karine Strom - Mata Hari

Teeny - Mini, Midi Oder Maxi

Cats U.K - Luton Airport

Marianne Mendt - Musik

 

I'm not a huge fan of 70s music in general but here are a few songs I really like... they're all probably well known enough for you to possibly know them already though

 

Carly Simon - You're So Vain

Joan Armatrading - Love and Affection

T-Rex - Get It On

Tubeway Army - Are Friends Electric?

Stevie Wonder - Superstition

Carole King - It's Too Late

Blondie - Sunday Girl (plus anything from Parallel Lines really)

Rose Royce - Is It Love You're After?

Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight

Five Stairsteps - Ooo Child

Lipps Inc - Funky Town

Emotions - Best of my Love

Staple Singers - I'll Take You There

I have Parallel Lines on vinyl - my Mum and Dad both bought it separately whenever it was released, before they met, and then they had two copies so I got to get one of them. It's an original! *.*

 

I have very few 70s songs on my iPod. I think this is all of 'em:

 

The Undertones “Teenage Kicks”

Kate Bush “Wuthering Heights” (she was just 19 when this went to #1!)

Suicide “Dream Baby Dream”

XTC “Making Plans For Nigel”

Sparks “This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us”

Buzzcocks “Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've?)”

ABBA “Dancing Queen”

Sister Sledge “Lost In Music”

The Cure “Boys Don't Cry”

Television “Marquee Moon” (whole LP)

Elvis Costello “Pump It Up”

David Bowie “Hunky Dory” (whole LP)

Iggy Pop “The Passenger”

AC/DC “Highway To Hell”

Led Zeppelin “Whole Lotta Love”

Michael Jackson “Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough”

Gary Numan “Cars”

Chic “Good Times”

The Sugarhill Gang “Rapper's Delight” - my favourite thing to do is mix Good Times into Rapper's Delight when I DJ at weddings because the bassline makes it really easy, plus they are both great party tracks.

Elton John “Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)”

The Clash “London Calling” (whole LP)

 

I've got some Jimi Hendrix, The Jam and others but it's not all labelled properly with the correct year because I'm too lazy to correct it...

 

I think most of them are from 1979 as well, flop 70s fan!