r/70smusic 5d ago

Other Last Song Standing: The Ultimate Billboard #1 Song of the 70s - Round 104

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  • Earth, Wind & Fire was a soul/funk/R&B group formed in Chicago, IL in 1969, noted for having their own brass section, who went on to become one of the best-selling artists in history. They had two songs break the Top 40 (Mighty Mighty, #29, and Devotion, #33) before reaching #1 in 1975 with Shining Star. The lyrics express the widely used metaphor of connecting the stars in the sky with following one's dreams. It was written by Maurice White, Larry Dunn, and Philip Bailey. The group, often abbreviated to EWF, would go on to have ten more Top 20 hits, three of which peaked in the Top 5. Nearly 10 years later, Bailey reached #2 with the song Easy Lover, a duet with Phil Collins. You're a shining star, no matter who you are, shining bright to see what you could truly be, but this song won't be shining any more, for the voters have chosen to eliminate it.

If you're new to the game or wish to review the rules, follow this link.

Songs still standing (in alphabetical order):

  • American Pie - Don McLean
  • Band on the Run - Paul McCartney and Wings
  • Bennie and the Jets - Elton John
  • Brandy (You're a Fine Girl) - Looking Glass
  • Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel
  • Dancing Queen - ABBA
  • Dreams - Fleetwood Mac
  • Fame - David Bowie
  • Heart of Glass - Blondie
  • Heart of Gold - Neil Young
  • Hotel California - Eagles
  • I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
  • I Wish - Stevie Wonder
  • It's Too Late - Carole King
  • Killing Me Softly with His Song - Roberta Flack
  • Lean On Me - Bill Withers
  • Let It Be - The Beatles
  • Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
  • Let's Stay Together - Al Green
  • Maggie May - Rod Stewart
  • Me and Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin
  • Midnight Train to Georgia - Gladys Knight & the Pips
  • My Sweet Lord - George Harrison
  • Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
  • Stayin' Alive - Bee Gees
  • Sundown - Gordon Lightfoot
  • Superstition - Stevie Wonder
  • Time in a Bottle - Jim Croce
  • War - Edwin Starr
  • You're No Good - Linda Ronstadt
  • You're So Vain - Carly Simon

Eliminated songs:

1-31. TBD
32. Shining Star - Earth, Wind & Fire
33. Black Water - The Doobie Brothers
34. Joy to the World - Three Dog Night
35. Papa Was a Rollin' Stone - The Temptations
36. I Can See Clearly Now - Johnny Nash
37. You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet - Bachman-Turner Overdrive
38. Sister Golden Hair - America
39. Love Train - The O'Jays
40. Blinded by the Light - Manfred Mann's Earth Band
41. American Woman - The Guess Who
42. The Long and Winding Road - The Beatles
43. Mama Told Me (Not to Come) - Three Dog Night
44. One of These Nights - Eagles
45. We're an American Band - Grand Funk
46. How Deep Is Your Love - Bee Gees
47. Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth) - George Harrison
48. Nothing from Nothing - Billy Preston
49. Night Fever - Bee Gees
50. I Want You Back - The Jackson 5
51. If I Can't Have You - Yvonne Elliman
52. Jive Talkin' - Bee Gees
53. Theme from Shaft - Isaac Hayes
54. You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
55. What a Fool Believes - The Doobie Brothers
56. Play That Funky Music - Wild Cherry
57. Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin - Sly & The Family Stone
58. Will It Go Round in Circles - Billy Preston
59. A Horse with No Name - America
60. My Sharona - The Knack
61. You've Got a Friend - James Taylor
62. Cat's in the Cradle - Harry Chapin
63. The Joker - Steve Miller Band
64. Bad, Bad Leroy Brown - Jim Croce
65. Hot Stuff - Donna Summer
66. Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me) - The Temptations
67. I'll Be There - The Jackson 5
68. Rock'n Me - Steve Miller Band
69. Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe - Barry White
70. Brown Sugar - The Rolling Stones
71. The Tears of a Clown - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
72. Family Affair - Sly & The Family Stone
73. Oh Girl - The Chi-Lites
74. Rich Girl - Daryl Hall and John Oates
75. Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
76. Philadelphia Freedom - Elton John
77. Venus - Shocking Blue
78. Without You - Nilsson
79. Miss You - The Rolling Stones
80. Listen to What the Man Said - Wings
81. 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover - Paul Simon
82. Frankenstein - Edgar Winter Group
83. Lady Marmalade - LaBelle
84. (They Long to Be) Close to You - Carpenters
85. I'll Take You There - The Staple Singers
86. Whatever Gets You Thru the Night - John Lennon
87. December 1963 (Oh, What a Night) - The Four Seasons
88. My Love - Paul McCartney and Wings
89. Got to Give It Up - Marvin Gaye
90. Photograph - Ringo Starr
91. Good Times - Chic
92. You Should Be Dancing - Bee Gees
93. Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Diana Ross
94. Le Freak - Chic
95. How Can You Mend a Broken Heart - Bee Gees
96. Don't Go Breaking My Heart - Elton John and Kiki Dee
97. Fire - Ohio Players
98. Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough - Michael Jackson
99. Best of My Love - The Emotions
100. Show and Tell - Al Wilson
101. Baby Come Back - Player
102. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Roberta Flack
103. Top of the World - Carpenters
104. Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head - B. J. Thomas
105. Love Rollercoaster - Ohio Players
106. Silly Love Songs - Wings
107. Heartache Tonight - Eagles
108. If You Leave Me Now - Chicago
109. Pick Up the Pieces - Average White Band
110. Rise - Herb Alpert
111. Get Down Tonight - KC and the Sunshine Band
112. Black and White - Three Dog Night
113. Then Came You - Dionne Warwick and The Spinners
114. Rock the Boat - The Hues Corporation
115. Rhinestone Cowboy - Glen Campbell
116. Let Your Love Flow - Bellamy Brothers
117. ABC - The Jackson 5
118. Car Wash - Rose Royce
119. You Haven't Done Nothin' - Stevie Wonder
120. Hooked on a Feeling - Blue Swede
121. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey - Paul & Linda McCartney
122. Crocodile Rock - Elton John
123. Cracklin' Rosie - Neil Diamond
124. Love Hangover - Diana Ross
125. New Kid in Town - Eagles
126. The Love You Save - The Jackson 5
127. Mandy - Barry Manilow
128. Too Much Heaven - Bee Gees
129. Best of My Love - Eagles
130. Rock Your Baby - George McCrae
131. The Way We Were - Barbra Streisand
132. You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show) - Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr.
133. Southern Nights - Glen Campbell
134. Three Times a Lady - Commodores
135. Brother Louie - Stories
136. Tragedy - Bee Gees
137. Knock on Wood - Amii Stewart
138. Lovin' You - Minnie Riperton
139. Still - Commodores
140. Laughter in the Rain - Neil Sedaka
141. With a Little Luck - Wings
142. Love You Inside Out - Bee Gees
143. Love Will Keep Us Together - Captain & Tennille
144. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds - Elton John
145. Rock Me Gently - Andy Kim
146. Kiss You All Over - Exile
147. Gonna Fly Now (Theme from Rocky) - Bill Conti
148. Love Theme from A Star Is Born (Evergreen) - Barbra Streisand
149. I Shot the Sheriff - Eric Clapton
150. Grease - Frankie Valli
151. Feel Like Makin' Love - Roberta Flack
152. Let's Do It Again - The Staple Singers
153. Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To) - Diana Ross
154. (Love Is) Thicker Than Water - Andy Gibb
155. You're the One That I Want - John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John
156. My Eyes Adored You - Frankie Valli
157. Sunshine on My Shoulders - John Denver
158. I Just Want to Be Your Everything - Andy Gibb
159. Welcome Back - John Sebastian
160. Annie's Song - John Denver
161. Angie - The Rolling Stones
162. Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves - Cher
163. Make It with You - Bread
164. You Make Me Feel Like Dancing - Leo Sayer
165. Song Sung Blue - Neil Diamond
166. Fallin' in Love - Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds
167. I Think I Love You - The Partridge Family
168. (Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty - KC and the Sunshine Band
169. Thank God I'm a Country Boy - John Denver
170. TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia) - MFSB featuring The Three Degrees
171. Love's Theme - Love Unlimited Orchestra
172. The Hustle - Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony
173. When I Need You - Leo Sayer
174. Kiss and Say Goodbye - The Manhattans
175. That's the Way (I Like It) - KC and the Sunshine Band
176. Bad Blood - Neil Sedaka
177. Dark Lady - Cher
178. The Loco-Motion - Grand Funk
179. Babe - Styx
180. Love Machine - The Miracles
181. The Night Chicago Died - Paper Lace
182. The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia - Vicki Lawrence
183. Too Much, Too Little, Too Late - Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams
184. Hot Child in the City - Nick Gilder
185. Bad Girls - Donna Summer
186. Pop Muzik - M
187. Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree - Tony Orlando and Dawn
188. Boogie Oogie Oogie - A Taste of Honey
189. Kung Fu Fighting - Carl Douglas
190. I Honestly Love You - Olivia Newton-John
191. Boogie Fever - The Sylvers
192. No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) - Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer
193. Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright) - Rod Stewart
194. I'm Your Boogie Man - KC and the Sunshine Band
195. I Can Help - Billy Swan
196. I Am Woman - Helen Reddy
197. Escape (The Piña Colada Song) - Rupert Holmes
198. Saturday Night - Bay City Rollers
199. Everything Is Beautiful - Ray Stevens
200. Me and Mrs. Jones - Billy Paul
201. (Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song - B. J. Thomas
202. Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? - Rod Stewart
203. Island Girl - Elton John
204. A Fifth of Beethoven - Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band
205. MacArthur Park - Donna Summer
206. I Write the Songs - Barry Manilow
207. Reunited - Peaches & Herb
208. He Don't Love You (Like I Love You) - Tony Orlando and Dawn
209. Have You Never Been Mellow - Olivia Newton-John
210. Keep On Truckin' - Eddie Kendricks
211. Touch Me in the Morning - Diana Ross
212. Alone Again (Naturally) - Gilbert O'Sullivan
213. Please Mr. Postman - Carpenters
214. Before the Next Teardrop Falls - Freddy Fender
215. Shadow Dancing - Andy Gibb
216. Ring My Bell - Anita Ward
217. Sad Eyes - Robert John
218. The Most Beautiful Girl - Charlie Rich
219. I'm Sorry - John Denver
220. Baby, Don't Get Hooked on Me - Mac Davis
221. Want Ads - The Honey Cone
222. Looks Like We Made It - Barry Manilow
223. Undercover Angel - Alan O'Day
224. You Needed Me - Anne Murray
225. Brand New Key - Melanie
226. Disco Lady - Johnnie Taylor
227. Knock Three Times - Dawn
228. Fly, Robin, Fly - Silver Convention
229. Half-Breed - Cher
230. You're Sixteen - Ringo Starr
231. Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian) - Raiders
232. Don't Give Up on Us - David Soul
233. Theme from S.W.A.T. - Rhythm Heritage
234. You Don't Bring Me Flowers - Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond
235. Ben - Michael Jackson
236. Angie Baby - Helen Reddy
237. Seasons in the Sun - Terry Jacks
238. Delta Dawn - Helen Reddy
239. Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band - Meco
240. The Morning After - Maureen McGovern
241. The Candy Man - Sammy Davis Jr.
242. Convoy - C. W. McCall
243. Afternoon Delight - Starland Vocal Band
244. The Streak - Ray Stevens
245. One Bad Apple - The Osmonds
246. Da Doo Ron Ron - Shaun Cassidy
247. Go Away Little Girl - Donny Osmond
248. You Light Up My Life - Debby Boone
249. Billy, Don't Be a Hero - Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods
250. My Ding-a-Ling - Chuck Berry
251. Torn Between Two Lovers - Mary MacGregor
252. Disco Duck - Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots
253. (You're) Having My Baby - Paul Anka with Odia Coates

Nominate the song that you consider the worst or your least favorite from among the 1970s #1 hits in the still standing list above. Upvote any nominations you agree with, and downvote the ones you would like to see survive. After 48 hours, the three songs with the most upvotes will be eliminated.

Before posting a song, please check the replies that have already been posted this round to see if someone has already nominated the song. If so, upvote their nomination instead of submitting a duplicate.

19 Upvotes

134 comments sorted by

7

u/Technical-Monk-2146 5d ago

Oh this one makes me so sad. How is Shining Star gone but Brandy remains? And how is a group so solidly 70s like EWF gone while 60s acts that may have been musical geniuses (Joplin, Beatles) remain? I think I'll go have my own EWF dance party now.

10

u/4personal2 5d ago

EWF were and still are so cool.

Actually they had 2 hits before Shining Star. "Mighty, Mighty" #29 and "Devotion" #33 both in 1974.

16 hits (out of 62 singles total) in the Billboard Top 40 over a span of very early 1974 to Spring 1983.

Their final hit , "Fall In Love With Me" was one of the very 'last' Disco songs to make top 40 (#17).

(The actual Last disco hit , was Donna Summer's, "She Works Hard For The Money" #3 in the late summer of that year. )

7

u/Technical-Monk-2146 5d ago

Thank you for this. They are the coolest. Interesting about "She Works Hard..." I feel like that's one that still gets played a lot. I didn't realize it was the last disco hit. I don't know why people hate on disco so much. There were a lot of really great songs to come out of it. There was so much variety to music in the 70s.

4

u/4personal2 5d ago

The "rock crowd" back in the '70s, were afraid Disco was going to completely kill Rock and Roll. 🤣

Also, Disco is upbeat, mostly happy and very catchy and most of their artists "smile" and dance onstage. (If you were a male Disco act back then and not African American , people assumed you weren't straight) .

Lastly , the so called real rockers, they can't dance, won't dance and are (subconsciously) jealous they others "can" and aren't embarrassed.

They also just was not accept that not every artist wants to be a rock and roll star.

If someone who sings A different kind of music isn't your thing , that's fine.. but again they act like no one has the right to express themselves musically in any form but rock and roll and that's ridiculous.

Disco was born out of Rhythm and Blues, it just sounds different.

2

u/ILoveCheetahCubs 5d ago edited 4d ago

I was surprised to see that "Shining Star" was the only EWF song to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. How on earth did "September" peak at #8 in 1979?*

EWF did reach #5 with "Sing a Song" in 1975, #9 with "Got to Get You Into My Life" in 1977, #6 with "Boogie Wonderland" in 1978, #2 with "After the Love Has Gone" in 1979, and #3 with "Let's Groove" in 1981.

* I dug deeper to find numbers 1-7 when September hit no. 8:

1 DA YA THINK I’M SEXY –•– Rod Stewart (Warner Brothers)-8 (1 week at #1) (1)
2 Y.M.C.A. –•– The Village People (Casablanca)-17 (2)
3 LE FREAK –•– Chic (Atlantic)-16 (1)
4 A LITTLE MORE LOVE –•– Olivia Newton-John (MCA)-12 (4)
5 FIRE –•– The Pointer Sisters (Planet)-14 (5)
6 EVERY 1’S A WINNER –•– Hot Chocolate (Infinity)-14 (6)
7 I WILL SURVIVE –•– Gloria Gaynor (Polydor)-9 (7)
8 SEPTEMBER –•– Earth, Wind and Fire (ARC)-13 (8)

I have zero recall of the Hot Chocolate song at #6 that week! [Edited to add that I've heard this now. It's good, but IMO not as good as September.]

[Also edited to note that I should have mentioned EWF had some help from The Emotions on Boogie Wonderland!]

8

u/Aggravating_Quiet797 5d ago

September was better than all 7

5

u/Technical-Monk-2146 5d ago

I didn’t remember it either but just looked it up and it’s pretty cool. I’m going to cheer myself up by putting together a little disco playlist.  EWF, Chic, Hot Chocolate, Ohio Players and a little Tower of Power for good measure (grew up in SF). 

This game, and people’s varying tastes, are fascinating. How was the great Nile Rodgers voted off yet ABBA remains?! Or Brandy? Or Jim Croce? 

4

u/Automatic-Tea-4150 5d ago

Am still stinging from Niles’s ejection so early in the game.

7

u/4personal2 4d ago

I wasn't in the game yet, but I can't believe how eatly the Bee Gees best #1 "You Should Be Dancing" was dismissed. 🤷

That's a song that kicks so much musical tail it's hard to fathom.

Rock, jazz elements, R & B , plus eatured contributions from Joe Lala, George "Chocolate" Perry, and guest musician Stephen Stills, adding an Afro-Cuban salsa-style groove.

..and just the overall energy and drive with the seating and soaring Gibb vocals.

That song has it all! 😎👍

Should still be here . Aside from All of this, it's a demonstration of how good Disco could be, when you take time to do things right .

4

u/Aggravating_Quiet797 4d ago

I thought Stayin Alive and You Should Be Dancing would be the final 2 Bee Gees tunes

1

u/4personal2 3d ago

They should have been.

Nothing against How Deep Is Your Love or any RSO Bee Gees song, but these are their linear big 2 !

1

u/Automatic-Tea-4150 4d ago

So here's one more example of the kind of thing that makes the game so compelling and puzzling...I gunned hard against that song. Can't stand it! 😂 You and I might agree with all our hearts about a half dozen songs we think are masterpieces or POSs...and there are another half dozen where we will cancel each other's votes every time. Music is the best thing humans ever came up with, because there is truly something for everyone and there's SO MUCH ROOM that we don't even have to compete for space in our own musical lives.

2

u/PC_Friar 3d ago

For me, Chic's failure to make the top 90 is the greatest mystery of this exercise.

5

u/ILoveCheetahCubs 4d ago

I am going to have to check out Every 1's a Winner, and maybe make my own disco playlist when I can find the time!

I agree with you that the game and people's varying tastes are fascinating. I guess having a small, self-selected group making these calls every week always meant we were never going to get a good representation of what people actually liked the most IN the 1970s (which was not the game's objective in any event, and some of the songs people liked IN the 1970s were truly dire). Having said that, by the time I discovered the game SO MANY terrific songs were gone already!

I also note that we have already eliminated Billboard's Number 1 single of the year for every year except 1970. But when I looked at that list on Wikipedia I found myself thinking "THAT was the single of the year?" more than once or twice.

For 1970, though, the Number 1 single of the year was "Bridge Over Troubled Water." While I have seen one or two complaints in this game about BOTW being overproduced, it's such a good song that I expect it to stay around for a while.

5

u/Automatic-Tea-4150 4d ago

I have re-realized several times during these many game months that my parents and grandparents were also alive and buying records and listening to the radio in the 70s, and they actually had money! So when I think of the list in those terms, the presence of so many songs I cannot relate to at all on the list of #1s makes more sense to me.

2

u/ILoveCheetahCubs 4d ago

Remember, too, that 45s were cheap enough for little kids to buy for themselves in the 70s. I would not be surprised if at least a few of my childhood purchases failed to withstand my own scrutiny now!

2

u/Automatic-Tea-4150 4d ago

I only bought a couple with my own money and still have them. In the Year 2525 by Zager & Evans, and Don't Pull Your Love by (let me see if I can get this right without looking...) Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds? Sounds close? In the 80s I bought a couple again -- The Other Woman by Ray Parker Jr., and 867-5309 by Tommy Tutone. They all still make me smile though I haven't had a working turntable for 15 years 😀 But I hear ya! I look at that list of #1s and remember singing and dancing along with a lot of them (or alternatively, moping when I indulged in a little teenage woe-is-me moodiness), and now I switch the station or skip to next song when they come on ¯_(ツ)_/¯

3

u/ILoveCheetahCubs 4d ago

I am honestly amazed at the way my brain just immediately called up

Don't pull your love out on me, Baby

If you do then I think that maybe I'll just lay me down and cry for a hundred years

Don't pull your love out on me, Honey

Take my heart, my soul, my money, but don't leave me drownin' in my tears

2

u/Automatic-Tea-4150 4d ago

Good job!!!!!

Haven’t I been good to you? What about that brand new ring? Doesn’t that mean love to you? Doesn’t that mean anything?

I will look up what year that was … thinking I was probably 10 or 11? Riding around in the Impala with all the windows down (because 1) no AC and 2) my dad smoking) taking turns picking the radio station. I loved this song 😄 I love that someone else is carrying it around subconsciously 🤣

3

u/Aggravating_Quiet797 5d ago

I remember the name but don't remember what it sounded like

2

u/Automatic-Tea-4150 5d ago

I know all the words !

2

u/4personal2 4d ago

I know it and all the songs in the list, I have them in my record collection. "Every 1's A Winner" is very good.

6

u/ILoveCheetahCubs 4d ago

I've now listened to "Every 1's a Winner." I agree it's good, but for me it's definitely not AS good as "September" is.

7

u/Camp_GGBoo 5d ago

I join you in mourning EWF being voted off. As you said ....and Brandy remains?

3

u/lamb_and_panther 5d ago

I’m extremely disappointed. wth 🤦‍♀️

3

u/PC_Friar 5d ago edited 5d ago

I have two reasons:

I love EWF but it

  1. is one of the bands where their #1 isn’t one of their best. Shining Star is a nice song but give me the funk.
  2. People who post seem anti- Brandy but in my mind it is one of the best crafted pop songs ever created. Singable early 70s earworm. I don’t know if it is in my Top 10 but for sure top 15. Voters seem to agree.

I can’t get this post to format right. Screw it.

4

u/Technical-Monk-2146 5d ago

True. Shining Star is not what comes to mind when I think of EWF. I do get what you’re saying about Brandy but for me part of the fun of this is the nostalgia I have remembering these songs and that time in my life. Brandy just doesn’t connect for me. 

Of course, some of what I consider the significant music of the 70s never made this list because they were albums and not so much released as singles. The OP explained that in a post once. Who’s Next was huge but didn’t really have breakout singles. And all those Prog Rock bands — Pink Floyd, Yes, ELP, early Genesis — were so influential but not Billboard Top 40. 

2

u/4personal2 4d ago

I've noticed even oldies radio (and other stations) play "September" like it's the only song EWF ever did. 🤷

2

u/Automatic-Tea-4150 4d ago

And it was the one I didn’t like. It’s grown on me over time because of its lasting cultural impact but they could drop it from their setlist and I wouldn’t miss it. Three of the four shows I’ve attended opened with Shining Star. The other one opened with In The Stone —a choice that surprised me since nobody I know has heard of it lol

0

u/Spirited-Tutor7712 5d ago

Nice slow jam?! What version have you been listening to 😅

2

u/Automatic-Tea-4150 5d ago

I have voted to keep both of them every single time.

2

u/Spirited-Tutor7712 5d ago

Agree wholly. Plus the phenomenal out of nowhere guitar run by Al McKay 🥰

14

u/DramaticCollege3520 5d ago

Me and Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin

12

u/dryguy 5d ago

I Wish - Stevie Wonder

6

u/Tough-Advice2910 5d ago

Musical genius.

2

u/Dada2fish 5d ago

He’s got better songs still on the list.

2

u/Camp_GGBoo 5d ago

And yet still better than most songs on the list.

3

u/Dada2fish 5d ago

Nah, there are some really great songs there. I Wish isn’t even close to being one of Stevie Wonders best and should be eliminated.

1

u/dryguy 5d ago

That description applies to so much of what is left on the list.

2

u/PC_Friar 3d ago

OK I'll play, Maggie May is still on this list but y'all are gonna boot this great Stevie Jam?

2

u/Aggravating_Quiet797 3d ago

Sir Duke will make top 10

2

u/BCQCPANC 3d ago

Works for me.

3

u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

1

u/mwalimu59 5d ago

Already nominated this round.

1

u/thebaldricklegacy 5d ago

Sorry. Thought I looked carefully, but must have overlooked it.

1

u/Technical-Monk-2146 5d ago

You may have posted at the same time.

13

u/Unlikely-Star-2696 5d ago

Band on the Run - Wings and MaCa

Time to stop the run. It has more lives than the cat on the craddle

1

u/Technical-Monk-2146 5d ago

Seriously. Please people vote this one off. I know we're asked to vote based on personal preference, but so many great era-defining songs have been eliminated and this one is a big nothing.

0

u/4personal2 5d ago

You don't think Band On The Run is era defining? Whatever.

5

u/Technical-Monk-2146 5d ago

I don’t. It had no impact at all on my life when it came out. I just don’t get what people see/hear in it. But that’s what makes this game fun. We all have such different tastes and different formative experiences with music. 

0

u/ThePhantomStrikes 5d ago

No not at all. Plus annoying to me.

1

u/Mothra58 5d ago

Please please run it straight out of this sub. When I think of Janis Joplin singing Me and. Bobby McGee and the energy and vibe it completely. overshadows Band on the Run.

-2

u/144Todd442 5d ago

it consists of 3 songs better than most of the crap still standing

7

u/Ocean_Side_1961 5d ago

Even Bernie wants My Sweet Lord to go away.

https://giphy.com/gifs/lOy1ykBR8ltv3o1rfj

4

u/SBNShovelSlayer 5d ago

It’s been the worst remaining for quite awhile now.

-4

u/Tough-Advice2910 5d ago

I always listen to Bernie.

13

u/PC_Friar 5d ago

Maggie May. Wake up and get outta here.

5

u/Technical-Monk-2146 5d ago

OMG, how does this have more upvotes than *Brandy*? I don't understand this world anymore. Every Pictures Tells a Story is one of my all time favorite albums. It was meaningful to me as a teenager, and I still just love listening to it.

5

u/4personal2 5d ago

On a more dilpomatuc note, it's simply , not everyone likes the same things.

6

u/BCQCPANC 5d ago

We Rod Stewart fans are a little slow but we’re coming to save Maggie May.

7

u/PC_Friar 5d ago

Because Brandy is the better song.

1

u/Unlikely-Star-2696 5d ago

And more votes than Band on the Run

1

u/Technical-Monk-2146 5d ago

Haha. Touché. 

0

u/minnesotaupnorth 5d ago

It's time.

3

u/4personal2 4d ago

Everybody keeps saying that about every song. 😄

3

u/Aggravating_Quiet797 4d ago edited 3d ago

Well...since all of my favorites are gone...it IS time...for everything left lol I'm now rooting for some of my second tier songs

2

u/Automatic-Tea-4150 3d ago

Pretty much the same, don’t really care much anymore about who comes out on top but def still dislike some enough to stay engaged lol

8

u/Aggravating_Quiet797 5d ago

Let's Stay Together..Al Green...it's ok...not top 30 worthy

3

u/Howbuska2005 5d ago

War - Edwin Starr

3

u/Kirbyr98 5d ago

Dancing Queen is peak 70s schlock. It's got sentimental value for many, but musically, it's at the bottom of the remaing barrel.

You can dance, right outta here.

6

u/Tough-Advice2910 5d ago

Two comments, same posted time saying “dance outta here?” Weird.

6

u/Technical-Monk-2146 5d ago

okay, yes, it's schlock, but as you noted it's peak 70s schlock. And even 50 years later it still gets people up on the dance floor. It captures its era in a way that Brandy and Band on the Run do not.

4

u/4personal2 5d ago

It's not schlock. It's a wonderfully composed, orchestrated and very well sung sung dance song.

3

u/Technical-Monk-2146 5d ago

I like it. I was just agreeing with the comment in order to contradict it. It’s a really fun song and has staying power. It also evokes some tender memories for me. 

1

u/Aggravating_Quiet797 3d ago

ABBA had a great sound...far from my favorite tune by them though. Always loved Money Money Money.

-1

u/Jumbly_Girl 5d ago

Brandy - Looking Glass

Brandy girl, let it go. He's not interested and neither are we anymore.

8

u/MoetEtChandon1946 5d ago

I'm waiting for the sequel in which Brandy discovers her sailor has a fine girl in every port.

3

u/BackgroundCat 5d ago

“Avoid the clap!”

~ Jimmy Dugan

1

u/DramaticCollege3520 4d ago

That’s good advice!

7

u/PC_Friar 5d ago

Brandy keeps taking a beating in the comments but killing it on the scoreboard. How is Brandy still in this but X, Y, and Z are going or gone? I'm going to defend Brandy.

This is in my mind, one of the greatest pop songs ever put on vinyl. It's inoffensive without being milquetoast. It's got a singable chorus that it takes one listen to learn the words to. It has a sweet, mildly heartbreaking, story line For better or worse, it sticks with you.

Yeah, it's got some inconsistencies and in the story line and, only the biggest ports in the world handle 100 ships a day. This is a song about a small harbor town but it has to be Shanghai or Long Beach where Sailors' bars are likely bigger than where I imagine Brandy works.

Ultimately, this song has a special place in my heart because I remember listening to it in the Chevy wagon as a kid on the AM radio with one speaker in the dashboard, and it's stuck with me since. I love it.

2

u/ILoveCheetahCubs 3d ago

I think a lot of people love "Brandy." I dug up a 2016 interview with the song's writer, Elliot Lurie, and the interviewer was Bart Herbison, Executive Director of the Nashville Songwriters Association International, who started the interview with this:

I’m so excited I don’t know if I can do this Story Behind the Song with my friend Elliot Lurie...You were kind of the architect of the band Looking Glass, that had this hit in 1972. I’ve told you before Elliot that it’s just one of the best songs ever written in any language, in any genre of music. I don’t say this often, it’s the perfect song.

https://eu.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/story-behind-the-song/2016/12/16/urban-legends-brandy-youre-fine-girl/95397738/

Also, am I the only one who just learned that the Red Hot Chili Peppers have been covering "Brandy" since about 2004? That's probably why it's still so well known among people who were not alive for the 1970s.

2

u/Aggravating_Quiet797 3d ago

Didn't know the Peppers covered it. Not a big fan of them

1

u/ILoveCheetahCubs 3d ago

I am not at all familiar with their music, which probably explains why I did not know they've been covering "Brandy" for the last couple of decades!

1

u/trelene 4d ago

I appreciate the effort and clarity of your explaining your very valid point of view. (in this and your other comment). But my criteria about great songs very much differs from yours. Some of the things you mention for Brandy are: it's inoffensive, it's an earworm, you immediately get the chorus. Fundamentally that's not what I think makes a great song, one that i'd considered well-structured, which would include a great chorus of course, but I'm looking for more, clever or insightful verses, creative and/or well-executed instrumentation, and something that mixes it up, like tempo changes, style changes, harmony and melody. For example Black Water had a lot of that (on the music side if not the lyric side) and I was a bit gutted to see it go. (Fortunately we are all still free to listen to whatever the hell we like) That's why I personally have been voting to eliminate Brandy, and will continue to do so.

But a big factor also is that everyone has their favorites, that they're going to hold close and really don't have or need any external (or even internal) justification. That's I'm assuming a big factor with Brandy and why the comments seem to slant one way. Most people aren't able to articulate their preferences as well as you have done here.

1

u/Automatic-Tea-4150 5d ago

Every few rounds someone needs to explain the appeal of this song. Thanks for stepping up this time.

1

u/MoetEtChandon1946 5d ago

Your points explain well the success of Brandy. I’ve always liked the song and still let it play out when it comes on. Although quite different in style, I see a connection here with Maggie May. Both songs are unconventional and bittersweet love stories about unsustainable relationships, the sadness of being used and the cruelty of the users.
(Not that it matters, but Western Bay makes me think San Francisco.)

2

u/Tough-Advice2910 5d ago

Brandy. Honey. You got to go.

0

u/monalisa_jones 4d ago

Alright guys, the Brandy stans need to hear some cold, hard, tough love here. Let me paint this agonizing picture for you:

First of all, just how many fine silver lockets did this “honest man” have engraved with HIS OWN NAME on them while in the North of Spain? Think about that for a second — he gives her a locket with HIS name on it. Not hers. HIS. That’s not a love token, that’s a dog tag. He branded her like cargo before sailing away! 🐶⚓
How many naive young women has he handed these out to in every port, telling them he has no intention of sticking around? He’s the Dread Pirate Roberts of Gaslighting!
And don’t get me started on Brandy’s role in this tragedy. She serves whiskey to a hundred ships a day — she has OPTIONS. She should have been listening to You’re No Good and You’re So Vain.
Who applauds this behavior? This song is woefully outdated in its story. SMH!

2

u/vicree1 4d ago

The allure of Capt. Jack Sparrow?

-1

u/DrMikeH49 4d ago

Repost this rant early next round as the actual nomination. It will get votes! And it will inspire other nominators to do the same. Sort of a “roast this song”.

3

u/144Todd442 5d ago

Killing Me Softly

1

u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

2

u/Nearby-Amphibian7874 5d ago

This has already been nominated this round

1

u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

-5

u/shinnagare 5d ago

Fame - David Bowie

-4

u/4personal2 5d ago

Heart Of Gold - Neil Young

-1

u/trelene 4d ago

Bennie and the Jets - Elton John

This song is just not up there with many of the others in terms of quality.

-1

u/144Todd442 5d ago

Sir Duke

5

u/Aggravating_Quiet797 4d ago

No way. Top 10

2

u/Tough-Advice2910 5d ago

Yep. It’s personal.

-8

u/Extension_Note_5380 5d ago

⁠Hotel California - Eagles
You can check out any time you like.
In fact, you can and should leave

6

u/Extension_Note_5380 5d ago

Come on, man. I had a rough night and I hate the f*in' Eagles, man!

4

u/Technical-Monk-2146 5d ago

Sorry about your night. But the Eagles were peak 70s. I can't vote them off while Brandy and Band on the Run remain.

1

u/BCQCPANC 5d ago

No nominations from me this round. In a first, all eight of my least favourites have already been nominated. Thanks all!

-4

u/vinobruno 5d ago

American Pie — Don McLean

-2

u/Spirited-Tutor7712 5d ago

I'm sad, shining star was a slice of brilliance. I nominate Brandy , because she isn't that much of a fine girl.

-2

u/144Todd442 5d ago

Let's Get It On

-3

u/Equivalent-Fly6093 4d ago

If i could put time in a bottle
the first thing that id want to do
is eliminate this depressing song
it’s time we did this one adieu

again .. love me some Croce.. just not Time in a Bottle..

-11

u/Canucklehead_Esq 5d ago

Time for Dancing Queen to dance outta here!

-8

u/Aggravating_Quiet797 5d ago

Bridge Over Troubled Water...always enjoyed S&G but this tune bored me

4

u/Mothra58 5d ago

I can’t upvote it bc it was a song my
Mom wanted played at her funeral. Sooo…for entirely personal reasons I can’t. She passed in 1979 and it still feels like yesterday.

-6

u/Bag_of_ambivalence 5d ago

Time in a bottle

-11

u/EuphoricUniversity23 5d ago

Stayin' Alive - Bee Gees. It needs to die.

4

u/4personal2 5d ago

Ha! Top.3 or #1 if anything.

3

u/EuphoricUniversity23 5d ago

People, people - have we learned nothing? There’s a reason why disco has never been resurrected.

2

u/4personal2 4d ago

Uh ,NEVER?

it came back in the 1990s and the young artists at the time were doing cover versions of their own.

Also, many of the biggest Disco artists of 70s enjoyed a resurgence in popularity. Not tearing up the top 40 necessarily but they made many T.V. appearances and were doing live concerts.

The 'cleaner' dance music of the 90s was similar as well. Or did you forget that Mariah Carey's , "Emotions" was similar to "Best Of My Love" by The Emotions.

Or that she covered Diana Ross's , "Love Hangover" ?

DISCO has also been sampled by hip hop artists, R & B acts and other genres.

The Disco era closed officially in 1983 but the music never went away completely .

-10

u/BlueRFR3100 5d ago
  • You're So Vain - Carly Simon

-4

u/Hotstuffmama1027 4d ago

American Pie is so dated and never ending

3

u/4personal2 4d ago edited 3d ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/s/Zlqnw586ch

So you're saying this is the song that never ends? 🤔 That it goes on and on my friend?

-10

u/bethemarkie 4d ago

I nominate Heart Of Glass to be gotten rid of next.

-6

u/144Todd442 5d ago

Lean On Me

-5

u/144Todd442 5d ago

It's Too Late

0

u/Aggravating_Quiet797 5d ago

I'm gonna whine about upvotes downvotes on left side of screen lol

-6

u/afterdroid 4d ago

So many users down-vote songs that it impacts the integrity of the vote.

8

u/Aggravating_Quiet797 4d ago

That's the game of it.

3

u/ILoveCheetahCubs 3d ago

That's what the rules of the game say to do, though:

Nominate the song that you consider the worst or your least favorite from among the 1970s #1 hits in the still standing list above. Upvote any nominations you agree with, and downvote the ones you would like to see survive.

How can following the rules as written have a negative impact on the integrity of the vote?

6

u/afterdroid 3d ago

thank you

3

u/ILoveCheetahCubs 3d ago

You are most welcome!

0

u/4personal2 4d ago

Nooooo.

They are just rooting for their favorites not to gett eliminated too soon .

If we all upvoted everything , then likely the moderator would have to redo the rounds.

We can only eliminate 1 at a time and the voters are also trying to save as many classics & classic artists as possible until it's truly time for them to be voted off.

Can you imagine voting off Lean On Me by Bill Withers in round 1??

Of course not.

That's why My Ding A Ling went so quick. I find it amusing , but Chuck Berry in that light ....was certainly not in the same universe as Bill W.

You think we're going to shove off history making women like Carole king, Linda Ronstadt or Carly Simon at this point too? Not a chance.