10 Best songs of the 70's

**pageclot**[$] · #1 01-14-2002, 05:12 PM

Here is MSN Music Today's opinion.

What's yours?

Personally, I find it hard to fathom that not one of the bands playing the top 10 songs of the 70's had a single woman in them.

I applaud them for including Anarchy in the U.K. (right next to Bridge over Troubled Water; how's that for an incongruous juxtaposition), but I think Maggie May could have been replaced with something by The Clash (London Calling, maybe).

And I'd like to replace Staying Alive with something, but I realize that disco, for better or worse, was a cultural phenom in the 70's.

What do you all think?

pageclot

#2 01-14-2002, 05:14 PM

*GASP* Where are The Eagles???!!!!

**pageclot**[$] · #3 01-14-2002, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kristinafh
*GASP* Where are The Eagles???!!!!

I agree. What's your favourite Eagles song? Personally, I like Life in the Fast Lane, but Hotel California is a more obvious choice.

P

**lynnzop**[$] · #4 01-14-2002, 05:41 PM

I agree with Kristina...where are the Eagles? Yes, Hotel California is the obvious choice, but personally, I like Wasted Time.

And what about Janis Joplin? Or the Doors? Light My Fire or Bobby Magee would have been a better choice than the BeeGees (who are on my personal un-hit list)

Lynn
(who also likes most of the songs on the link to the Worst Songs of 2001, so she's not putting much value in the MSN lists)

hypotenuse · #5 01-14-2002, 05:44 PM

Hrmmph.

The Bee Gees?

:gag:

My favorite Eagles song is - The Last Resort

And of course they included Led Zep, and Stairway was the obvious choice, but I prefer The Rain Song and Over the Hills and Far Away.

Lynne

#6 01-14-2002, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by lynnzop
Lynn
(who also likes most of the songs on the link to the Worst Songs of 2001, so she's not putting much value in the MSN lists)

Lynn, I looked up that link and with the exception of three songs (neener - not gonna say which), I'm not to fond of the others. The biggest problem is that radio gets ahold of them and plays them to their death. Creed is a good example of that. When their new material came out just 6 weeks ago, I just couldn't stomach listening to it.

#7 01-14-2002, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pageclot

I agree. What's your favourite Eagles song? Personally, I like Life in the Fast Lane, but Hotel California is a more obvious choice.

P

Desperado

quasar · #8 01-14-2002, 09:18 PM

I can't get the lists to load

I'm not a big fan of disco (to put it mildly) but if I had to include a disco song, I'd chose I Will Survive.

Bridge Over Troubled Water belongs on the list. Was American Pie there (although personally I would have included Vincent and not American Pie)?

Lesse, I'm not a huge Eagles fan. I like their music. I don't adore it the way many do. So lack of one of their songs doesn't bother me too much (but it surprises me).

What would be my 10 songs. Hmmm, okay, in no particular order:

Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon & Garfunkel
Vincent, Don McLain
Me and Bobby McGee, Janis Joplin
Tapestry, Carole King
Needle and the Damage Done, Neil Young
Seasons in the Sun, Terry Jacks
Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen
Everything is Beautiful, Ray Stevens
The Night Chicago Died, Paper Lace
Taxi, Harry Chapin

Well, so it's not the most well-rounded list on the planet. But such is life. Best I could do without massive thought.

Janice

**pluckyduck** · #9 01-14-2002, 09:56 PM

We're sorry,

but MSN Music currently requires a PC system running
Internet Explorer 4.1 or higher installed if you want to browse the site
or
a PC system running Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher
with Windows Media Player 7.0 or higher installed to listen to music

Hello! Music...MacIntosh?

Grumble.

Anyway, I graduated high school in 1979, so I'm an authority on this subject, right?

Guess Who.....American woman
Kinks...............Lola
Don McLean....American Pie
Lou Reed ........Walk on the wild side
Doors..............Riders on the storm
Led Zeppelin...Stairway to heaven
Elton John.......Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Bruce Springsteen...Thunder Road
Queen............. Bohemian Rhapsody
Eagles.............Hotel California
Billy Joel...........Captain Jack

Yes, there are eleven, but you can't make me cut one more. I already left Mercedes Benz, AquaLung and Nights in White Satin on the cutting room floor.

I'll give disco one mention (the only song that deserves it):

Gloria Gaynor.......I will survive

Honorable mention because it wouldn't have been the '70s without them:

Village People.........YMCA
Kenny Rogers..........Gambler
Randy Newman.......Short People
B52s........................Rock lobster
Knack ......................My Sharona
Freddy Fender..........Before the next teardrop falls
Ray Stevens ............Streak
Bob Marley...............I shot the sheriff
Loggins & Messina...Your mama don't dance
Melanie....................Brand new key
Cher.........................Gypsies tramps and thieves

Andrea
Child of the '70s

**Joubert**[$] · #10 01-14-2002, 10:03 PM

Sorry to be the dissenter, but I think the list was pretty good. Of course, with thousands of albums, hundreds of worthy artists and tens of thousands of songs, picking 10 is pretty tough.

On The Bee Gees, I would say that they changed music, not simply were a cultural fad. Jive Talkin' was ground breaking for a mainstream act in 1975, and its album, Main Course was a good as anything released in 1975 pop. And without SNF, there's no Michael Jackson smash two years later, no Diana Ross comeback, maybe not even house. The album was that important.

Interesting choice of Baba O'Riley, and I don't disagree that western rock would have been well represented by The Eagles.
I'm a little surprised that neither McCartney nor Harrison made the list, not to mention Fleetwood Mac, who had two of the largest selling albums of the decade.

Others who could've missed the list: Stevie (still can't believe he's not there), Frampton (for making live acceptable again), Blondie, The Police, me (oh yeah, I quit, never mind), heck, what about The Beatles?

Let It Be was released in May of 1970. I'm thinking that Get Back, or Let It Be could have easily made this list. One of them probably should have -- give it to Let It Be, and you acknowledge the McCartney influence.

Speaking of influences, Elton John was the best selling artist in the word from 1972-1974 and truly groundbreaking. He's not there either.

I could go on. That list needs to be based on something empirical or much longer.

quasar · #11 01-14-2002, 10:05 PM

Ah! That explains a lot Andrea, although odd that I didn't get the same error message you did (I'm on my G4 atm).

Janice

Flamepillar · #12 01-15-2002, 05:12 AM

Well, I'm all for the Bee Gees myself, but I'd take "More Than A Woman" over "Stayin' Alive".

Favorite Eagles song? Can't go wrong with "Take It Easy"

Crazy thing is, I've heard that song more than almost any other in this world, yet it took until just a few months back to completely appreciate how awesome it is. Sometimes if you listen to a song and pretend like it just came out last week and you've never heard it before, it makes the song sound almost completely different.

I really liked some of Dr. Hook's stuff, "Sharin' the Night Together" and all that, although I don't know if I'd put it on my top ten songs of the 70's altogether, after all it is 10 years worth of music.

"Love Is In The Air" by John Paul Young I think it is, that's another one of my faves. If Hall & Oates had anything in the 70's I'd probably pick it too because I love them. I think they weren't around until the 80's though.

**pluckyduck** · #13 01-15-2002, 06:37 AM

Quote:

Sorry to be the dissenter, but I think the list was pretty good.

Well, I'd give you my opinion of the list if I could get to it!

Would somebody be kind enough to reproduce the list here for the Mac folks?

Andrea
muttering to herself about Bill Gates....

**Joubert**[$] · #14 01-15-2002, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by pluckyduck

Would somebody be kind enough to reproduce the list here for the Mac folks?

Andrea
muttering to herself about Bill Gates....

For my favorite water fowl:
[list=1][*]Stayin' Alive - The Bee Gees[*]Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin[*]Baba O'Riley - The Who[*]Imagine - John Lennon[*]Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen[*]Anarchy in the U.K. - The Sex Pistols[*]Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel[*]American Pie - Don McLean[*]Maggie May - Rod Stewart[*]My Sharona - The Knack[/list=1]

kurt_messick · #15 01-15-2002, 10:02 AM

Quote:

pluckyduck wrote:
a PC system running Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher
with Windows Media Player 7.0 or higher installed to listen to music

Hello! Music...MacIntosh?

Actually, you can install a Macintosh version of the Windows Media Player. I went to a website just this past weekend that asked for that on a friend's iMac, and then prompted downloaded a Mac-version of Windows Media Player. I never knew such a thing existed, but it makes sense that one would.

ms_n · #16 01-15-2002, 10:10 AM

I liked the list. But, then, I grew up in the 70's and just like most songs just cause I like songs period.

kurt_messick · #17 01-16-2002, 05:18 PM

What? No Captain and Tennille?

GohanDZ · #18 01-20-2002, 10:49 PM

Where the hell is Pink Floyd or Black Sabbath? Those two bands are both very influential, not to mention very good. Either "Wish You Were Here" or "Comfortably Numb" would have been excellent for Floyd, and how could you not have Sabbath's "Iron Man"?!?!

GohanDZ · #19 02-04-2002, 12:47 AM

::rereads list::

At least "Stairway to Heaven" made it. Otherwise, that list would have had no credibility at all with me...

Redhead68 · #20 02-27-2002, 10:19 PM

I'd replace Rod Stewart with Heart's "Magic Man" or "Crazy on You." We have to get SOME female-led group on that list, don't we? Groups like Heart, Fleetwood Mac, etc., were inspirational to countless female musicians (GO GIRL GROUPS!) for the next two decades (myself included).

On a side note, being a HUGE Queen fanatic (thanks for the tinnitus and permanent hearing loss by age 10, Freddie boy), I'm thinking of starting a Queen covers band here in the Twin Cities! We have disco cover bands and an all-Led Zep cover band, so I think Freddie deserves an appropriate homage. That would be a blast! Applications for groupies will be available on my website.

Angela (newbie)

magenta321 · #21 02-27-2002, 10:38 PM

My Sharona? Ick.

Granted, I wasn't born until the late seventies. However, I am a lover of music. Here's my list, in no particular order

Iron Man -- Black Sabbath
Stairway -- Led Zep
Money -- Pink Floyd
Piece of My Heart -- Janice
Aqualung -- Tull
I Will Survive -- Donna Summer
American Pie -- Don Mclean
Life's Been Good -- Joe Walsh
Wonderful Tonight -- Clapton
Three Little Birds -- Marley

What the Hell song is Baba O'Reilly??? All I can think of is Ba, Ba Black Sheep.

Redhead68 · #22 02-27-2002, 11:26 PM

Actually, "I will Survive" is Gloria Gaynor, not Donna Summer (disco goddess that she was/is).

I'd be interested in seeing a similar top 10 list created by black djs/music lovers, as I think the results would be quite different than the all-white list MSN came up with.

The only thing good, in my humble opinion, that MSN did by creating such a list is that it sparked debate and discussion about music. To force true music lovers to classify what is good, better and best is too painful! And it's more emotional than just breaking it down into money made, weeks spent on the Billboard 100, number of records sold. Hell, Boston's Amanda was a huge hit, and it's about the biggest piece of crap that band ever produced (under the duress of contract requirements, admittedly).

This discussion makes me think of John Cusack's character in "High Fidelity," as he tries to create "top 5" or "top 10" music lists, but loves too many songs too much to limit himself to the number on the list.

AND WHERE WAS JOHN DENVER ON THAT LIST. HUH? HUH? Geeks everywhere should be outraged! I know I am!!! : )

Angela

**Joubert**[$] · #23 02-27-2002, 11:42 PM

You know that's one of the reasons that High Fidelity was such a good read (and yes, read the book instead).

I've always played this game with Kalynda. Top 10 covers. Worst 10 covers. Best person to sing a duet with whatever person. Best producer post 70s.

And you're right. That was one white bread list.

And although I hate to dis Gloria Gaynor (actually, I don't mind), Donna Summer was a much more influential artist throughout the 1970s. Love to Love You Baby may have been the most controversial record released that year, and Bad Girls was an incredibly brilliant album.