# Best #1 single of the decade: the 1970s **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 13, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-decade-the-1970s/707117 "2014-12-13T14:06:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-decade-the-1970s/707117/1 "2014-12-13T14:06:59Z")
The time has come for the third round of our semi-finals - the '70s. These are your picks for the best songs of their respective years from this decade. Pick your favorite and then make sure you’ve voted in any '80s polls you missed along the way. Previous polls: [1955-56](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=731649) [1957](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=731871) [1958](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732021) [1959](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732199)[1960](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732526) [1961](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732691) [1962](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732872) [1963](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733112) [1964](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733297) [1965](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733526) [1966](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733750) [1967](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=733958) [1968](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=734168) [1969](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=734331) [1970](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=734535) [1971](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=734741) [1972](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735107) [1973](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735304) [1974](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735502) [1975](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735659) [1976](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=735871) [1977](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736076) [1978](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736316) [1979](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736501) [1980](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736705) [1981](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=736957) [1982](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737099) [1983](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737315) [1984](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737488) [1985](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737732) [1986](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=737957) [1987](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=738178) [1988](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=738403) [1989](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=738639) [1990](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=738829) [1991](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=739067) [1992](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=739360) [1993](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=739525) [1994](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=739880) [1995](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=740122) [1996](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=740302) [1997](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=740497) [1998](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=740709) [1999](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=740859) [2000](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741047) [2001](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741267) [2002](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741450) [2003](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741604) [2004](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741730) [2005](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741915) [2006](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=742069) [2007](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=742147) [2008](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=742282) [2009](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=742467) [2010](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=742676) [2011](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=742846) [2012](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=675664) [2013](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=710843) [1950s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=743046) [1960s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=743240) ---
**Author:** ![Art\_Rock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/art_rock/32/525_2.png) [@Art\_Rock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Art_Rock)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-decade-the-1970s/707117/2 "2014-12-13T14:14:32Z")
No matter what others say, this is still a brilliant decade for me. All 10 are on the MP3 stick for the car. Don McLean gets the vote, ahead of the Eagles. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-decade-the-1970s/707117/3 "2014-12-13T14:47:40Z")
This list is not as good as the material available. But - I am having to choose between Fame and Superstition… ---
**Author:** ![Abracadebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f04885/32.png) [@Abracadebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abracadebra)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-decade-the-1970s/707117/4 "2014-12-13T14:57:02Z")
> [@Art\_Rock](#): > > No matter what others say, this is still a brilliant decade for me. All 10 are on the MP3 stick for the car. Don McLean gets the vote, ahead of the Eagles. It is for me, too. There’s a lot to like here, but I had to go with the funk masterpiece that is “Superstition”. That’s the definition of the sound of the decade I grew up in. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-decade-the-1970s/707117/5 "2014-12-13T15:33:57Z")
It cannot be anything but “Superstition.” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-decade-the-1970s/707117/6 "2014-12-13T15:36:06Z")
Yep, Stevie FTW. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-decade-the-1970s/707117/7 "2014-12-13T15:40:34Z")
I like all these tracks . . . none of them are on my ‘A’ list, however. I’m going for the Eagles. The track is overplayed, but the guitar solo (duo?) at the end is one of my favorites. ---
**Author:** ![dba\_Fred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c37758/32.png) [@dba\_Fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dba_Fred)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-decade-the-1970s/707117/8 "2014-12-13T16:01:32Z")
I’ll have Pie, American Pie with this poll (not shaken, not stirred but à la mode). ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-decade-the-1970s/707117/9 "2014-12-13T16:23:00Z")
Once again, only one song I vote for won. So, while it’s NOT my favorite song f the 70s, “Superstition” is my pick from the songs available. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-decade-the-1970s/707117/10 "2014-12-13T16:35:11Z")
“Superstition” is the only one of these ten songs that I voted for in the best-of-the-year polls, and it’s the only one I’ll vote for in this best-of-the-decade poll. It finishes a fairly comfortable margin over 2nd-place “Hotel California” in the world-famous\*\* Ponch8 Music Rating System.\*\* "Fame"is dead-ass last. I’ve never liked that song. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-decade-the-1970s/707117/11 "2014-12-13T17:18:29Z")
_Hotel California_. **The Eagles** are the quintessential 70s band to my ears. _Heart of Glass_ is a very close second. Instinctively, I’d have voted for **Bowie** but _Fame_ happens to be one of weakest songs IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-decade-the-1970s/707117/12 "2014-12-13T17:19:49Z")
I voted for **American Pie** , which is only my fifth personal favorite of the choices listed. I do think that it’s had the biggest, most lasting influence on popular music however. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-decade-the-1970s/707117/13 "2014-12-13T18:09:13Z")
Stevie Wonder, my friends. Rhythmically complex, great horns, great song. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-decade-the-1970s/707117/14 "2014-12-13T18:10:27Z")
_Stayin’ Alive_, because disco was the definitive sound of the 70s (God help us). _Hotel California_ is second, and _Bridge Over Troubled Water_ third. I would have gone with Janis, but she is 60s. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-decade-the-1970s/707117/15 "2014-12-13T18:10:48Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Stevie Wonder, my friends. Rhythmically complex, great horns, great song. That makes 2 of the 13 (so far) ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-decade-the-1970s/707117/16 "2014-12-13T18:16:04Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > I voted for **American Pie** , which is only my fifth personal favorite of the choices listed. I do think that it’s had the biggest, most lasting influence on popular music however. Really? I can’t see its influence on popular music at all. Stevie Wonder, OTOH, definitely influenced popular music for decades, from Prince and Michael Jackson to hip hop to Jamiroquai. “Superstition” it is, easily. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-decade-the-1970s/707117/17 "2014-12-13T20:44:52Z")
I voted for “Heart of Glass” by Blondie, sure it is not the most influential song of the 1970’s, and maybe not the best. But I decided to go for it, and I voted for that song in the 1979 poll. The Bee Gees would have gotten my vote if I had opted outside Blondie. My least favorite is the Simon and Garfunkel song. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-decade-the-1970s/707117/18 "2014-12-13T20:46:06Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > _Stayin’ Alive_, because disco was the definitive sound of the 70s (God help us). > > _Hotel California_ is second, and _Bridge Over Troubled Water_ third. I would have gone with Janis, but she is 60s. > > Regards, > Shodan Many of the disco songs have aged better and are less tiresome than many the worn out classic rock songs of the 1970’s. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-decade-the-1970s/707117/19 "2014-12-13T20:56:32Z")
Wow, I guess I’m really out of step. None of these songs would even be in my top ten for the 70’s. But I don’t want to threadshit, so of the choices, I guess the Bee Gees, barely beating Simon and Garfunkel. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-decade-the-1970s/707117/20 "2014-12-13T21:07:34Z")
I remember a big TV show several years ago, probably for New Year’s 2000, where they rated the top songs of all time. And after announcing the top ten, they interviewed various celebrities, and asked them if they would disagree with any of the choices, and Kelsey Grammer said he wouldn’t have put _Hotel California_ in the top ten, and I thought, “Absolutely right, how could they have that in the top 10 when _House of the Rising Sun_ (which I always thought _Hotel California_ was a pale imitation of) wasn’t even in the top 25.” And he was practically booed off the stage. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-decade-the-1970s/707117.md?page=2)