Are you a big fan of 1970s pop music? The early years of that decade were prime real estate for pop music, particularly when it came to hit tracks in 1971. In fact, a ton of excellent R&B and pop tunes topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart that very year. And in order to get there, those songs had to knock a few other hit songs down a peg. Let’s take a look at just a few amazing hit tracks from 1971 that are more than worth enjoying today!
“Want Ads” by Honey Cone
It takes some serious luck and talent to replace a megahit like “Brown Sugar” by The Rolling Stones at No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart. That’s precisely what the R&B outfit Honey Cone did with their hit song, “Want Ads”, in 1971. This fun tune spent a week at No. 1 and also topped the R&B Singles chart for three whole weeks. “Want Ads” would be Honey Cone’s sole No. 1 hit on the pop charts. “Brown Sugar”, likewise, spent two weeks at No. 1 and 12 weeks total on the Hot 100 chart.
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“It’s Too Late/I Feel The Earth Move” by Carole King
Carole King was a powerhouse in the early 1970s, and she hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart with the pop track “It’s Too Late/I Feel The Earth Move” in 1971. This was one of the biggest songs of the year, and it was the one to usurp “Want Ads” by Honey Cone in mid-1971. This King classic spent a whopping five weeks at No. 1, and 17 weeks total on the Hot 100 chart. King would go on to enjoy several No. 1 hits in the years that followed, from “Sweet Seasons” in 1972 to “Nightingale” in 1975.
“Go Away Little Girl” by Donny Osmond
Remember this pop standard from Donny Osmond? “Go Away Little Girl” is actually a cover of a 1962 pop tune from Steve Lawrence. Carole King gets another mention here, as she co-wrote this song with Gerry Goffin back in the day. However, Donny Osmond’s version from 1971 made it to this list, as it was the one to make it to No. 1 on the Hot 100. And in doing so, it knocked one of the most memorable hit tracks from 1971 down a peg: Paul and Linda McCartney’s “Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey”.
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