Best / Most Important Songs of the Decade: 1970-1979

[Lazario]

There's some time to kill before October, so... why not talk music?

I got this idea as a spin-off from Best Albums of the Decade. And did a search and though there are a couple of 80's threads, there's not a real Best Songs like we have a Best Albums. I hope to follow it up with another decade in a week or so, if this one gets some interest.

This is just a fun type thread and you don't have to think real hard, follow any specific rules to the letter, or get involved in a debate if you don't want to.

The idea: try to nominate the most memorable songs that either defined a spirit of the time it was made, were the best example of that kind of music, became an anthem for you or maybe your parents if they're older (like mine), or that you love a lot that really speak to you.

The only real rule: try to narrow down the amount of songs for one artist or band. Try to pick their best and try not to pick more than 2 songs from the same album.

Any and every kind of music is welcome (radio / pop, rock 'n' roll, folk, country, disco, hip-hop, blues, punk, soul, jazz, bluegrass - anything).



Other Threads:
1960's
1980's
1990's
2000-2009
2010-2019

[kenai3000]

I'd say that a few songs that defined the 70's. I have chosen 1 song from each 70's album of my 2 favorite bands ever.

Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath from Black Sabbath (1970)
Black Sabbath - Paranoid from Paranoid (1970)
Black Sabbath - Children Of The Grave from Master Of Reality (1971)
Black Sabbath - Supernaut from Black Sabbath Vol. 4 (1972)
Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath from Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973)
Black Sabbath - Symptom Of The Universe from Sabotage (1975)
Black Sabbath - Dirty Women from Technical Ecstasy (1976)
Black Sabbath - Never Say Die from Never Say Die (1978)
Genesis - The Knife from Trespass (1970)
Genesis - The Musical Box from Nursery Cryme (1971)
Genesis - Supper's Ready from Foxtrot (1972)
Genesis - Firth Of Fifth from Selling England By The Pound (1973)
Genesis - The Carpet Crawlers from The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (1974)
Genesis - Ripples from A Trick Of The Tail (1976)
Genesis - Afterglow from Wind & Wuthering (1976)
Genesis - Follow You, Follow Me from ...And Then There Were Three (1978)

Heavy Metal was started in the 70's, and Black Sabbath were the pioneers of the genre while Genesis were the most popular Progressive Rock band until 1975 when the original singer Peter Gabriel left, but were still famous when Phil Collins became the lead singer.

[Mr. Toad]

Layla is my favorite but there are so many more. So for those of you who listen to more than two bands.

Layla - Derek and the Dominos
Imagine - John Lennon
Stairway to Heaven Led Zeppelin
Hotel California - The Eagles
Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen
Let It Be - The Beatles
Won't Get Fooled Again - The Who
More Than a Feeling - Boston
Roxanne - The Police
No Woman, No Cry - Bob Marley and the Wailers
London Calling - The Clash
Lola - The Kinks
Sulltans of Swing - Dire Straits
Kashmir - Led Zeppelin
Me and Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin
Baba O'Riley - The Who
Paranoid - Black Sabbath
My Sweet Lord - George Harrison
Tangled Up in Blue - Bob Dylan
Rock and Roll - Led Zeppelin
Brass in Pocket - The Pretenders
Piano Man - Billy Joel
Old Time Rock 'n' Roll - Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
Blitzkrieg Bop - The Ramones
Angie - The Rolling Stones
Take It Easy - The Eagles
The Joker - The Steve Miller Band
Paradise by the Dashboard Light - Meat Loaf
School's Out - Alice Cooper
Jamming - Bob Marley and the Wailers
Moondance - Van Morrison
Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder
Knockin' on Heaven's Door - Bob Dylan
Just What I Needed - The Cars
Ramblin' Man - The Allman Brothers
Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton
Burning Love - Elvis Presley
Lust for Life - Iggy Pop
Werewolves of London - Warren Zevon
Refugee - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Behind Blue Eyes - The Who
Band on the Run - Paul McCartney and Wings
Surrender - Cheap Trick
The Logical Song - Supertramp
25 or 6 to 4 - Chicago
Psycho Killer - Talking Heads
Margaritaville - Jimmy Buffet
Running on Empty - Jackson Browne
Roadhouse Blues - The Doors
la grange - zz top
sympathy for the devil - the rolling stones -
papa was a rolling stone - the temptations
one way out - allman brothers band
exodus - bob marley & the wailers
travelin' band - creedence clearwater revival
right place, wrong time - dr. john
take the money & run - steve miller band
run through the jungle - creedence clearwater revivala
dance the night away - van halen
m0ther & child reunion - paul simon
-gimme shelter - the rolling stones
good times roll - the cars
try (just a little bit harder) - janis Joplin

[dvdjunkie]

Wow!! Mr. Toad, I love your list, and can't really think of anything else to add to it. What a great list of songs from the 70's and I agree with the list in total. Congratulations!!!!

[Lazario]

I concur with Junkie; great list. I had to edit my list to remove a couple of songs (I can't believe I forgot "Angie" and "My Sweet Lord"!) that you chose too. Hope there are no more overlaps:


Blondie - "One Way or Another"
Donna Summer - "I Feel Love"
John Lennon - "Happy XMas (War is Over)"
ELO/Electric Light Orchestra - "Showdown"
ABBA - "Dancing Queen"
Carly Simon - "You're So Vain"
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - "Don't Do Me Like That"
Boston - "Long Time"
Goblin - "Dawn of the Dead" (6:04 theme / aka- "L'alba dei morti viventi")
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Cast of) - "Time Warp"
Patti Smith (Group) - "Rock N Roll Nigger"
Paul McCartney - "Maybe I'm Amazed"
Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Free Bird"
The Dramatics - "Whatcha See is Whatcha Get"
Maureen McGovern - "The Morning After"
Blondie - "Atomic"
Hot Chocolate - "Emma"
Aerosmith - "Sweet Emotion"
Cher - "Half-Breed"
John Lennon - "Instant Karma!"
Elton John - "Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time)"
Curtis Mayfield - "Freddie's Dead (Theme from Superfly)"
Goblin - "Suspiria"
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - "American Girl"
ELO/Electric Light Orchestra - "Strange Magic"
Bobby Goldsboro - "Summer (The First Time)"
Fred Myrow & Malcolm Seagrave - "The Tall Man on Main Street"
Ennio Morricone - "Come Un Madrigale"
Charlie Rich / Euel Box - "Benji's Theme (I Feel Love)"
ABBA - "SOS"
Mike Oldfield - "Tubular Bells Part One" (Original) (25:29 version)
Rocky Horror Picture Show - "Science Fiction/Double Feature"
Cher - "Living in a House Divided"
Ringo Starr - "It Don't Come Easy"
John Travolta & Olivia Newton John - "You're the One That I Want"
Elton John - "Someone Saved My Life Tonight"
Donna Summer - "Dim All the Lights"
Blondie - "Dreaming"
The Sherman Brothers - "Snoopy Come Home"
Honey Cone - "Want Ads" (for my Mother)
Tanya Tucker - "Let's Keep it That Way" (for me)
Pink Floyd - "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 1)" into "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" into "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)"
The Undisputed Truth - "Smiling Faces Sometimes"
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - "I Need to Know"
The Charlie Daniels Band - "The Devil Went Down to Georgia"
Cher - "Carousel Man"
Paul McCartney - "Wonderful Christmastime"


EDIT #1:

Can't forget "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" - The Charlie Daniels Band. Way too many people from my past'd never forgive me.

Oh, and my favorite country song ever: "Let's Keep it That Way" - Tanya Tucker.

God, how many more can I possibly forget?:

The Undisputed Truth - "Smiling Faces Sometimes"
Curtis Mayfield - "Freddie's Dead (Theme from Superfly)"
The Dramatics - "Whatcha See is Whatcha Get"
Paul McCartney - "Wonderful Christmastime"
The Sherman Brothers - "Snoopy Come Home"


EDIT #2 (Wednesday, September 22nd):
Edited main list above to include the songs in Edit #1 I forgot before.

[Wonderlicious]

Mr Toad got a decent chunk of them, but I'll add a few more. They're not necessarily all the best, but a great deal of them are important and/or iconic significant enough to warrant mention in such a list.

God Save the Queen - The Sex Pistols
Heart of Glass - Blondie
Hanging on the Telephone - Blondie
Cars - Gary Numan
Are 'Friends' Electric? - Gary Numan
Teenage Kicks - The Undertones
Heroes - David Bowie
Starman - David Bowie
Merry Christmas Everybody - Slade
The Robots - Kraftwerk
Psycho Killer - Talking Heads
The Long and Winding Road - The Beatles
Video Killed the Radio Star - The Buggles
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
We Will Rock You - Queen
<strike>House of Fun - Madness</strike>
Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me) - Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
Don't Stop Until You Get Enough - Michael Jackson
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John
Your Song - Elton John
Message in a Bottle - The Police
I Don't Like Mondays - The Boomtown Rats
Dream On - Aerosmith
Perfect Day - Lou Reed
The Name of the Game - ABBA
Waterloo - ABBA
Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel (it was written in the 60s but released at the very beginning of 1970)

By the way, good thread idea, Laz. Be sure to make some devoted to the 80s, 90s and 00s sometime soon.

[Lazario]

House of Fun - Madness

By the way, good thread idea, Laz. Be sure to make some devoted to the 80s, 90s and 00s sometime soon.

Thanks and, I think it's about time for a new one right about now.

Are you sure about "House of Fun" being released in the 70's? Wiki tells me it's from 1982.



EDIT (forgot some more):

The Knack - "My Sharona"
The O'Jays - "For the Love of Money"
Kate Bush - "Wow"
The Sweet - "Ballroom Blitz"
The Sugarhill Gang - "Rapper's Delight"

Oh, and I was thinking about this one- this is just me; it fascinates me when big names do songs for horror movies, and the 1970's featured 2:

Michael Jackson - "Ben"
Barbra Streisand - "Prisoner" (from Eyes of Laura Mars)

[Wonderlicious]

Are you sure about "House of Fun" being released in the 70's? Wiki tells me it's from 1982.

You're right, I made a mistake.

[carolinakid]

The Love I Lost- Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes
Rock Your Baby- George McCrae
Rock the Boat- The Hues Corporation

Disco was flourishing in the black/gay underground clubs and starting to be noticed by mainstream radio.

[DaveWadding]

American Pie? no? Bueller?

[Lazario]

American Pie? no? Bueller?

I thought someone else would put it up on their list, so I ignored it.

I hate that song, so if it has any hope of making this list- someone else will have to put it up.

[DaveWadding]

It's on my list. #1 with a bullet.

[Goliath]

@ Mr. Toad: Wow. Excellent list. Contains a lot of my favorite songs. My hat is off to you.

@ DaveWadding: Damn right that 'American Pie' is one of the best 1970's songs. Amazing lyrics, at least if you take the time to dissect them and get what they mean.


I would add:


Bob Dylan - Hurricane

Song about former middleweight contender Rubin Carter, who had been charged with a triple murder in Paterson, New Jersey in 1966. Carter was found guilty of committing the murders, which were widely reported as racially motivated crimes, and was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences. In the years that followed, a substantial amount of controversy emerged over the case, ranging from allegations of faulty evidence and questionable eyewitness testimony to an unfair trial.


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Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Ohio

Song about the Kent State shootings, which occurred at Kent State University, Ohio, and involved the shooting of unarmed college students (protesting the war in Vietnam) by members of the Ohio National Guard on Monday, May 4, 1970, killing four students and wounding nine others. Most radio stations refused to play the song because CSN&Y placed the blame directly on president Nixon.


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John Lennon - Working class hero

Forget 'Imagine', Lennon's most famous 'protest song'. Too optimistic, too idealistic. This is really his best song. According to Lennon in an interview with Jann S. Wenner of Rolling Stone magazine in December 1970, it is about working class individuals being processed into the middle classes, into the machine. A critique of modern day capitalistic society if there ever was one...


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[my chicken is infected]

Quite a few of the ones I'd think of have already been mentioned, but I have some more that I didn't notice:
Barbra Streisand - The Way We Were
Barbra Streisand - Evergreen
Donna Summer - Last Dance
Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive
Fleetwood Mac - Dreams
Fleetwood Mac - Rhiannon
Fleetwood Mac - You Make Loving Fun
Cher - Gypsies, Tramps, And Thieves
Dolly Parton - Here You Come Again
Ike and Tina Turner - Proud Mary
Diana Ross - Theme From Mahogany
Bette Midler - The Rose

[DaveWadding]

another one I noticed was missed:

CCR- Fortunate Son

[Just Myself]

Pretty much every song I wanted to name has been listed here, with one exception...

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Cheers,
JM