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Top 70s Pop Music Groups, Singers and Hit Songs

Chicago & Jacksons Among 1970s Best Bands, Elton John Leads Soloists

© Daniel Workman

Jul 12, 2008
Record player with vinyl records, turtlehawk2002@yahoo.com (morguefile 97295)
In the 1970s, solo singers including Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Rod Stewart gained on chart-topping bands in generating the most-requested hit singles.

Musical groups like Chicago, Jackson Five and Bee Gees are some of the most successful 70s bands with a loyal following that continues to request their 70s hit songs today.

Interestingly, the top 10 seventies musical groups have 43% fewer songs among Pop Culture Madness’ 50 most requested hits during the 1970s than the 93 scored by the 10 most popular groups from the sixties.

In contrast, the top 10 solo artists from the 70s have about 9% more most-requested songs on the top 50 charts for each year during the 1970s than scored by the top singers during the previous decade.

Consolidating Pop Culture Madness data for the 50 most requested songs from 1970 to 1979, the lists below show the most requested bands and solo artists from an era most fans remember for unique dancing songs like Elton John’s Crocodile Rock and stirring anthems like Queens’ We Will Rock You.

Top Ten Pop Music Groups from the 70s

The bands listed below generated 65 of the top 50 requested songs for all years in the 1970s, as well as 17 of the top 10 in-demand songs.

  1. Chicago … 11 hits with 1 in top 10 (average song in top 26)
  2. Jackson Five … 7 hits with 2 in top 10 (average in top 18)
  3. Earth, Wind and Fire … 7 hits with 1 in top 10 (average in top 23)
  4. Bee Gees … 6 hits with 2 in top 10 (average in top 13)
  5. Queen … 6 hits with 3 in top 10 (average in top 19)
  6. Led Zeppelin … 6 hits with 2 in top 10 (average in top 26)
  7. Steve Miller Band … 6 hits with 1 in top 10 (average in top 26)
  8. Abba … 6 hits with 1 in top 10 (average in top 28)
  9. KC and the Sunshine Band … 5 hits with 3 in top 10 (average in top 14)
  10. Lynyrd Skynrd … 5 hits with 1 in top 10 (average in top 18).

Highest-Placing 70s Song For Each Top Ten Music Group

Four of the top ten bands below had a number one song during the seventies, while Queen had a song that placed second.

  1. 25 or 6 to 4 (Chicago) – number 9 from 1970
  2. I'll Be There (Jackson Five) – number 1 from 1970
  3. Shining Star (Earth, Wind and Fire) – number 8 from 1975
  4. Jive Talkin' (Bee Gees) – number 6 from 1975
  5. We Will Rock You (Queen) – number 2 from 1977
  6. Stairway To Heaven (Led Zeppelin) – number 4 from 1971
  7. Take The Money and Run (Steve Miller Band) – number 9 from 1976
  8. Dancing Queen (Abba) – number 1 from 1977
  9. Get Down Tonight (KC and the Sunshine Band) – number 1 from 1975
  10. Light My Fire (Lynyrd Skynrd) – number 1 from 1974.

Top Ten Solo Singers from the 1970s

The following individual singers accounted for 59 of the top 50 requested songs for all years in the 1970s. In addition, these solo performers recorded 13 of the top 10 in-demand songs.

  1. Elton John … 11 hits with 2 in top 10 (average song in top 29)
  2. Stevie Wonder … 7 hits with 1 in top 10 (average in top 15)
  3. James Taylor … 7 hits with 1 in top 10 (average in top 20)
  4. Rod Stewart … 7 hits with 1 in top 10 (average in top 30)
  5. Billy Joel … 6 hits with 2 in top 10 (average in top 22)
  6. James Brown … 5 hits with 1 in top 10 (average in top 19)
  7. Diana Ross … 4 hits with 2 in top 10 (average in top 18)
  8. Jim Croce … 4 hits with 1 in top 10 (average in top 19)
  9. Elvis Presley … 4 hits with 1 in top 10 (average in top 21)
  10. Jimmy Buffet … 4 hits with 1 in top 10 (average in top 24).

Highest-Placing 70s Song For Each Top Ten Solo Singer

Only mellow-singing James Taylor scores a number one hit for the 1970s with You’ve Got A Friend. Second-place goes to Miss Diana Ross with a number 4 song Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.

  1. Friends plus Crocodile Rock (Elton John) – number 9 from 1971 and 1973 respectively
  2. Sunshine Of My Life (Stevie Wonder) – number 10 from 1973
  3. You've Got A Friend (James Taylor) – number 1 from 1971
  4. Maggie May (Rod Stewart) – number 10 from 1971
  5. Piano Man plus Just The Way You Are (Billy Joel) – number 5 from 1974 and 1978, respectively
  6. Get Up Offa That Thing (James Brown) – number 6 from 1976
  7. Ain't No Mountain High Enough (Diana Ross) – number 4 from 1970
  8. Time In A Bottle (Jim Croce) – number 7 from 1973
  9. The Wonder Of You (Elvis Presley) – number 5 from 1970
  10. Margaritaville (Jimmy Buffet) – number 8 from 1977.

Sources for this Article

This article presents independent calculations and insights based on Pop Music Charts song data presented by Pop Culture Madness.


The copyright of the article Top 70s Pop Music Groups, Singers and Hit Songs in 70s Pop Music is owned by Daniel Workman. Permission to republish Top 70s Pop Music Groups, Singers and Hit Songs in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.


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