# Best songs of the seventies: nomination thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 22, 2013, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-of-the-seventies-nomination-thread/647982 "2013-01-22T05:16:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-of-the-seventies-nomination-thread/647982/81 "2013-01-24T16:48:41Z")
> [@ThisSpaceForRent](#): > > and as seen on **Lawrence Welk** [One Toke Over The Line](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye3ecDYxOkg) > > tsfr That’s horrifying… ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-of-the-seventies-nomination-thread/647982/82 "2013-01-24T18:57:27Z")
> [@ThisSpaceForRent](#): > > and as seen on **Lawrence Welk** [One Toke Over The Line](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye3ecDYxOkg) > > tsfr I am laughing so hard tears are coming! Lawrence Welk probably didn’t know what the song was about, but the 2 singers were of the age where they\* had to \*know. How they sang that song without dissolving into laughter is remarkable. By the way, this thread has already drained my iTunes account. And I thank you for the memories. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-of-the-seventies-nomination-thread/647982/83 "2013-01-24T20:19:28Z")
Welk calls it “a modern spiritual.” Was he HIGH? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-of-the-seventies-nomination-thread/647982/84 "2013-01-24T21:01:29Z")
Chuck E’s in Love – Rickie Lee Jones Werewolves of London – Warren Zevon ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-of-the-seventies-nomination-thread/647982/85 "2013-01-24T23:15:10Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > **Little Nemo** , I just have to ask: how are you planning to narrow these choices down to a poll-sized set? > > The questions I’ve tackled that brought this many responses have made for some difficult decisions, including the one of just throwing up my hands and giving up. > > What scheme are you considering for selecting your poll? I was wondering about that too. Maybe narrow it down to songs that have been nominated by two or more posters? At any rate, this thread has brought back a whole lotta good memories… ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-of-the-seventies-nomination-thread/647982/86 "2013-01-24T23:42:54Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > **Little Nemo** , I just have to ask: how are you planning to narrow these choices down to a poll-sized set? > [@SeldomSeen](#): > > I was wondering about that too. Maybe narrow it down to songs that have been nominated by two or more posters? Which won’t be many - most people have just been adding to the list, not repeating… ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-of-the-seventies-nomination-thread/647982/87 "2013-01-24T23:50:25Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > Which won’t be many - most people have just been adding to the list, not repeating… I’d have to update it with what’s come since, but Post #29 was my effort to endorse the ones I could vote for (and add a few new ones). If others would do something like that it might help in the narrowing. Just a thought. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-of-the-seventies-nomination-thread/647982/88 "2013-01-25T01:40:44Z")
Could just break it into smaller polls with, say 10 songs per poll. The winners of those polls go into a final poll. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-of-the-seventies-nomination-thread/647982/89 "2013-01-25T02:37:35Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > **Little Nemo** , I just have to ask: how are you planning to narrow these choices down to a poll-sized set? > > The questions I’ve tackled that brought this many responses have made for some difficult decisions, including the one of just throwing up my hands and giving up. > > What scheme are you considering for selecting your poll? I’ll probably go with a “March Madness” type format. Divide the nominations up into pairs and let them compete head-to-head. This allows you to winnow down a large starting pool to a manageable number pretty quickly. In theory, I had planned to “seed” the nominations in chronological order for these match-ups. I figured this way, songs would initially be competing against other songs that were contemporary with them. But I’ll admit the number of nominations is making the work involved in that more than I had planned on. I may end up just seeding them in alphabetical order. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-of-the-seventies-nomination-thread/647982/90 "2013-01-25T02:58:34Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’ll probably go with a “March Madness” type format. Divide the nominations up into pairs and let them compete head-to-head. This allows you to winnow down a large starting pool to a manageable number pretty quickly. > > In theory, I had planned to “seed” the nominations in chronological order for these match-ups. I figured this way, songs would initially be competing against other songs that were contemporary with them. But I’ll admit the number of nominations is making the work involved in that more than I had planned on. I may end up just seeding them in alphabetical order. Can I suggest also dividing them into 2 groups - “songs everyone knows” on one side vs. “hidden gems” on the other? That way, the early rounds won’t just be the familiar beating up on the stuff that people might love, but has less name recognition. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-of-the-seventies-nomination-thread/647982/91 "2013-01-25T02:58:37Z")
That two-at-a-time format sounds fun! Reminds me of “Ask Men” and the way they come up with some winning hot female. Only trouble with that here is the number of contestants. I haven’t counted but it has to be in the hundreds. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-of-the-seventies-nomination-thread/647982/92 "2013-01-25T06:04:06Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Bruce Springsteen or Manfred Mann? Most definitely. I would never have heard Sprinsteen’s version if not for Manfred Mann’s. I like Manfred Mann’s version a whole lot. It speaks of the times. Springsteen’s lyrics on this are just brilliant and not truncated like Mann’s version. Also look for Mann’s cover of Springsteen’s For You many years later. Also very nice. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-of-the-seventies-nomination-thread/647982/93 "2013-01-25T06:49:00Z")
[I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun](http://vimeo.com/46956613)- Rotary Connection ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-of-the-seventies-nomination-thread/647982/94 "2013-01-25T07:02:23Z")
[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhgC7hajoKw) ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-of-the-seventies-nomination-thread/647982/95 "2013-01-29T06:17:31Z")
I’ll add some of my favorites: Mull of Kintyre - Wings Don’t Stop Me Now - Queen Find Me Somebody to Love - Queen (another nomination for this) The Boxer - Simon and Garfunkel Summer Nights - John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John Come Sail Away - Styx Babe - Styx Goodbye to Love - Carpenters Always and Forever - Heatwave (a sentimental choice, it was me & my H.S. girlfriend’s song) Sister Golden Hair - America Escape (The Piña Colada Song) - Rupert Holmes Afternoon Delight - Starland Vocal Band S.O.S. - ABBA Hitch A Ride - Boston (to me, the best from that great first album) Turn the Page - Bob Seger Teach Your Children - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Diary - Bread ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-of-the-seventies-nomination-thread/647982/96 "2013-01-30T18:15:45Z")
**Little Nemo** , have you processed all the input from the four threads yet? Any idea when Round 2 may go up? I did some detail looking at the “Who Posted?” data on all four and not everybody has posted in all four threads, so there will be some reasons behind these differing counts that I took a snapshot of just a moment ago: > [@](#): > > Seventies Song Madness: Division A Round 1 ( 1 2) > Little Nemo 01-28-2013 06:33 PM > by kevja 61 1,077 Cafe Society > > Seventies Song Madness: Division B Round 1 ( 1 2) > Little Nemo Yesterday 01:29 AM > by WillFarnaby 58 934 Cafe Society > > Seventies Song Madness: Division C Round 1 ( 1 2) > Little Nemo 01-28-2013 06:58 PM > by kevja 59 866 Cafe Society > > Seventies Song Madness: Division D Round 1 ( 1 2) > Little Nemo 01-28-2013 07:45 PM > by Johnny Q 57 1,012 Cafe Society ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-of-the-seventies-nomination-thread/647982/97 "2013-01-31T08:16:30Z")
The Thrill Is Gone ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-of-the-seventies-nomination-thread/647982/98 "2013-02-03T20:03:31Z")
My compliments on a well-managed series of threads! Having shared the management responsibilities of those _The Wire_ characters polls, and having seen how the reaction caused some hard feelings by some, I can appreciate the work **Little Nemo** has been doing to try to get at the **Best Song of the 70’s**. Will the E-H threads manage to compete (participation wise) with the A-D group? With 60 or more posts, they could. ---
**Author:** ![Mann\_Slaughter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@Mann\_Slaughter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mann_Slaughter)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-of-the-seventies-nomination-thread/647982/99 "2013-02-03T21:56:50Z")
[Funkadelic - (Not Just) Knee Deep (1979)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-20v1b5jKY) The greatest funk anthem ever! “Not just knee deep, she was totally deep, would you do the freak with me!?” But you gotta have the full-length 15 minute version with the kick-ass lead guitar solo starting at about 07mins 00secs! My all-time favorite jam! -Slaughter ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-of-the-seventies-nomination-thread/647982/100 "2013-02-03T22:39:37Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > My compliments on a well-managed series of threads! Having shared the management responsibilities of those _The Wire_ characters polls, and having seen how the reaction caused some hard feelings by some, I can appreciate the work **Little Nemo** has been doing to try to get at the **Best Song of the 70’s**. Thank you. The response has been bigger than I expected but I think it’s manageable (although doing this right before I started out on a long trip was poor planning). I figure with open nominations, nobody can argue their song didn’t have its fair chance. The only nominations I didn’t include were those that weren’t released in the seventies. I then filled out open spots with some online lists of greatest seventies songs. > [@Zeldar](#): > > Will the E-H threads manage to compete (participation wise) with the A-D group? With 60 or more posts, they could. Yes, I plan on consolidating the lists as songs are voted out. Eventually, it’ll be a list of eight songs, which will be narrowed down to one winner. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-of-the-seventies-nomination-thread/647982.md?page=4)