# What's the "Seventies-est" song? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [March 25, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777 "2010-03-25T18:00:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/41 "2010-03-25T20:55:31Z")
You’ll hate me for this as you will have oohh oohh oohh stuck in your head. Love Rollercoaster ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/42 "2010-03-25T21:08:16Z")
How about Deep Purple’s _Smoke on the Water_? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/43 "2010-03-25T21:09:32Z")
[Back Stabbers](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVC2j_Kdw8c), by the O’Jays. Gamble and Huff at their Philly Soul finest. ---
**Author:** ![BDoors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BDoors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BDoors)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/44 "2010-03-25T21:43:26Z")
It is a bit difficult to name just one song, because there were so many styles. Representing (British style) punk: Pretty Vacant, Sex Pistols. It’s hard to overstate the impact that the Sex Pistols had in Britain. A lot of big names suddenly became dinosaurs, almost overnight. Synth/sequencer pop: I Feel Love, Donna Summer. Seminal. As the Wikipedia article says, Brian Eno came running into the studio with this record, declaring “'I have heard the sound of the future”, and he was right. West Coast soft rock: Don’t Stop, Fleetwood Mac Cheesy novelty records, a big thing in the 70s: Kung Fu Fighting, Carl Douglas AOR that your parents would like: the aforementioned We’ve Only Just Begun. Or maybe I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing, New Seekers ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/45 "2010-03-25T21:51:59Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > The problem is, there wasn’t just ONE “Seventies.” Depending on who you were or where you lived, “The Seventies” meant a lot of different things. > "? This is so true. The thing is most people think 70s = Disco. But Disco didn’t become mainstream till after “Saturday Night Fever.” In fact the movie was inspired by an article in a paper about the emerging disco scene. Of course Disco was around forever, just called by another name. If you look the beginning of the 70s was dominated by slow, soft rock. The biggest sellers included “the Carpenters.” If you look at female artists you see this very cleary. The biggest female artist for the first half was “Helen Reddy,” the biggest female artist for the second half was “Donna Summer” But you didn’t see much of Helen in the later 70s nor did you see much of Donna in the first half. Who was the biggest female of the 70s. Olivia Newton-John, who you can cleary see survived by _changing_ her style. From the slow laid back “Have You Never Been Mellow” of the first half to the “A Little More Love,” disco of the later 70s. Diana Ross also managed to be behind Helen for the first half and behind Donna for the second half of the decade and still come out ahead overall. The late 60s were a transition time in music and provide a lot of different styles this can be clearly seen in beginning of 1969 when the Number 1 songs were [ul] [li]Crimson & Clover[/li][li]Everyday People[/li][li]Dizzy[/li][/ul] These are three very different styles of music From my Top Pop Singles Chartbook (bassed on Billboard’s Hot 100) the top artists for the 70s are **Male** [ol] [li]Elton John[/li][li]Paul McCatney (Solo only)[/li][li]Stevie Wonder[/li][li]John Denver[/li][li]James Brown[/li][li]Neil Diamond[/li][li]Elvis Presley[/li][li]Marvin Gaye[/li][li]Rod Stewart[/li][li]Barry Manilow[/li][/ol] **Female** [ol] [li]Olivia Newton-John[/li][li]Diana Ross[/li][li]Donna Summer[/li][li]Helen Reddy[/li][li]Linda Ronstadt[/li][li]Aretha Franklin[/li][li]Barbra Streisand[/li][li]Carly Simon[/li][li]Anne Murray[/li][li]Roberta Flack[/li][/ol] **Group/Duo** [ol] [li]The Bee Gees[/li][li]The Carpenters[/li][li]Chicago[/li][li]The Jackson 5 / The Jacksons[/li][li]Three Dog Night[/li][li]Gladys Knight & The Pips[/li][li]Tony Orlando & Dawn[/li][li]Earth, Wind & Fire[/li][li]Eagles[/li][li]Spinners[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/46 "2010-03-25T22:06:30Z")
Another song that floods my childhood memories as being uniquely 70s. **Undercover Angel** [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do-JX9mqQ1A) Allll Righttttt… ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/47 "2010-03-25T22:16:20Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > Another song that floods my childhood memories as being uniquely 70s. > > **Undercover Angel** > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do-JX9mqQ1A](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do-JX9mqQ1A) I totally forgot about that song. My dim memory of it was with a female singer, but it was probably me misremembering it. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/48 "2010-03-25T22:22:54Z")
Bill Withers - Ain’t No Sunshine - R and B KC Sunshine Boys - That’s the Way I Like It -Disco Barry Manilow - Mandy - Easy listening Sugarloaf - Green Eyed Lady - Pop Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water - Rock Black Sabbath -Paranoid - Heavy Metal ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/49 "2010-03-25T22:30:04Z")
_Play That Funky Music_ by Wild Cherry ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/50 "2010-03-25T22:32:00Z")
Almost forgot Rare Earth - Hey Big Brother and I Just Want to Celebrate they came out of the 70’s ecology/save the earth movement that continues today. That performed in chem suits and gas masks one of their albums [![](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rare_Earth_Back_to_Earth.JPG) ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rare_Earth_Back_to_Earth.JPG) ---
**Author:** ![Pray\_for\_peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pray\_for\_peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pray_for_peace)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/51 "2010-03-25T22:42:15Z")
[Oo-ooh, child, things are gonna get easier](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV58HFG6aOg) So I’d like to know where you got the notion… [Rock the Boat!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dndAXxqJbc0) ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/52 "2010-03-26T01:54:39Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > And then there was “You Light Up My Life” (shudder) by Debbie Boone. Wasn’t it number one for, like, three and half years? [Here’s an antidote.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Agl4IvNnQPo) ---
**Author:** ![Chicagojeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/53 "2010-03-26T02:11:54Z")
it can’t be a hit… like floyd or zepp cause that gets played throughout. I think it has to be something you rarely hear that just says bell-bottoms… i gotta nominate “Sunshine” by Jonathan Edwards… it has that f the man thing… that sunny day… i’ma free man… etc etc white dude with a acoustic… i’m gonna conquer the world…just me and my martin… ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/54 "2010-03-26T02:27:47Z")
> [@postcards](#): > > [Here’s an antidote.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Agl4IvNnQPo) That was pretty damn good. Leaves a nice aftertaste too. Thanks. ---
**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:** [March 26, 2010, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/55 "2010-03-26T02:30:54Z")
Good Girls Don’t by The Knack is the ultimate 70s song after Stairway and Freebird. ---
**Author:** ![kjckjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e36b37/32.png) [@kjckjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kjckjc)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/56 "2010-03-26T02:31:46Z")
Probably [Interstate '76 Theme](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEoJntecA9c) Even though it was written in the 90’s by the founder of Third Eye Blind. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/57 "2010-03-26T02:38:58Z")
The correct answer is [Baker Street](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgbGaYTkkPU). ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/58 "2010-03-26T02:47:41Z")
Stephen Stills “Love the One You’re With” Millionaire rock guitar player/singer gives himself permission to cheat on his SO when he’s on the road because he is a millionaire rock guitar player/singer. > **[Love the One You're With](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_the_One_You%27re_With)** > > "Love the One You're With" is a song by American folk rock musician Stephen Stills. It was released as the lead single from his debut self-titled studio album in November 1970. The song, inspired by a remark Stills heard from musician Billy Preston, became his biggest hit single, peaking at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1971. David Crosby and Graham Nash, Stills' fellow members of Crosby, Stills & Nash, provide background vocals on the song. Also providing the backups are Rita Coole ---
**Author:** ![MerryGreenleaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc79bd/32.png) [@MerryGreenleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MerryGreenleaf)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/59 "2010-03-26T02:53:30Z")
“One Toke Over the Line”…Brewer and Shipley “Sweet City Woman”…The Stampeders “Moonlight Feels Right”…Starbuck “Kung Fu Fighting”…Carl Douglas (the absolute grooviest cheese! LoL) “The Night Chicago Died”…Paper Lace I was trying to think of the cheesy 70s songs, not necessarily rockers that still sound good today…or possibly the ones which caught the “pop” essence of the 70s, not the fabulous songs by bands like Cream, Zep, Stones, Doors, Quicksilver Mess. Service, Grateful Dead, Doobie Bros, The Who, etc…etc…etc…after all, I’m an old dawg rock n roller…LoL Good topic, however! ---
**Author:** ![Quercus\_alba](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quercus_alba/32/4061_2.png) [@Quercus\_alba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus_alba)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777/60 "2010-03-26T02:56:16Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > My nominee is\*[Afternoon Delight](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYwEHLRmILY)\* by Starland Vocal Band. > > Don’t hate me. Wouldn’t think of it. It was the first one that popped into my mind. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-seventies-est-song/533777.md?page=4)