3 Nostalgic Pop Bangers From 1973 That Made It to Every Record Player That Year

The early 1970s were so packed with top-notch pop music. I’m honestly jealous of people who were around that year with enough pocket money to collect records. Plenty of listeners at the time were being fed excellent chart-topping tunes, and if you had a record player that year, the following nostalgic pop bangers from 1973, specifically, probably made it to your regular rotation. Let’s take a walk through time, shall we?

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“Sorrow” by David Bowie

A bit of a deep cut nowadays, this glam rock song from David Bowie was quite the pop hit in 1973. A standout track from the album Pin Ups, “Sorrow” doesn’t get much love nowadays. However, it certainly got a lot of love back in 1973 when it was first released. This song was the only single released in the UK from Bowie’s controversial covers album. And I think it’s a fine reimagining of a mid-60s folk rock tune from The McCoys. Bowie’s version made it all the way to No. 3 on the UK Singles chart.

“Half-Breed” by Cher

Well, this song hasn’t exactly aged well. Cher’s song about a mixed-race Indigenous woman who is not accepted by her own native people because of her European father (which is, notably, not accurate in the matrilineal Cherokee Nation’s culture) wouldn’t exactly fly well nowadays. But back in 1973, this song was a massive pop hit for Cher. I don’t think it was written or produced with malice. We’ll call it exceptionally tone-deaf. “Half-Breed” peaked at No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart in 1973 and did similarly well in Canada.

“Live And Let Die” by Wings

This is one of my favorite songs from 1973, and this nostalgic pop-rock hit from Wings remains one of Paul McCartney’s finest works. “Live And Let Die” was the theme song of the James Bond film of the same title, and it’s a standout piece from that soundtrack that has, more or less, outlived the popularity of the film in question. This jam was written by McCartney and his wife Linda, and it remains a staple at McCartney’s live performances. And after it dropped, this song peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 and was a go-to staple among vinyl collectors at the time.

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