If we don’t remember the past, we’re doomed to forget it. And when it comes to music, forgetting is not a viable option! That’s why we wanted to dive into the past and remember some great songs from the 1970s. Not only that, but we wanted to remember a few great one-hit wonders.
In the 1970s, one-hit wonders were rising up the Billboard Hot 100 charts left and right. New acts with new ideas were making names for themselves, and it was a glorious musical thing. Indeed, it’s a thing worth remembering! These are three one-hit wonders from the 1970s to listen to forever.
Videos by American Songwriter
“Stuck In The Middle With You” by Stealers Wheel from ‘Stealers Wheel’ (1973)
The classic gangster movie Reservoir Dogs won’t let us ever forget this song, and for good reason, it’s a fun 1970s track that both honors the past and portends the future. The track has that 60s acoustic folk sense, but it also has a gritty snarl that exemplifies the 70s. That’s what movie director Quentin Tarantino heard in the song, and it’s why it worked so well in the movie (and your stereo today).
“Loving You” by Minnie Riperton from ‘Perfect Angel’ (1974)
There is no song in the history of humanity that sounds more like love than this one. If we could only save one song in the destruction of Earth that shows what humanity was like, this might just be the one to protect. Minnie Riperton simply freaking nailed it. What a voice, what a performance, what a depth of understanding!
“The Hustle” by Van McCoy from ‘Disco Baby’ (1975)
You can’t talk about—or remember—the 1970s without mentioning disco music, and “The Hustle” by Van McCoy is as good as any disco song to highlight here. The 1975 dance track will get you off your feet and onto that glossed floor where you can do your thing in your platform shoes. Let the disco ball lead you as you perform in unison with a dozen of your blissed-out best friends. Disco is back, baby!
Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
More The List
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Mick Jagger performing at a Rolling Stones concert. Photo shows: Head and shoulder shot of Mick Jagger in performance. (Photo by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images) -
The Monkees pop group Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Mike Nesmith pose in their directors chairs for the 1966-68 tv series. (Photo by Screen Archives/Getty Images) -
(L-R) English musicians Rick Allen, Phil Collen, Rick Savage, Steve Clark (1960 – 1991) and Joe Elliott, of the English rock band Def Leppard, pose for a group portrait during the 1987 Hysteria Tour at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, November 2, 1987. (Photo by Jeff Hochberg/Getty Images) -
Left to right: Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael Jackson of American pop group The Jackson 5, at ABC-TV studios, California, 9th July 1971. The Jacksons are fiming their ABC TV special 'Goin' Back to Indiana'. They will also meet cast members of the TV show, 'The Brady Bunch', for a promotional special entitled 'The Brady Bunch Visits ABC'. (Photo by Laufer/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) -
George Harrison performs onstage circa 1982. (Photo by Lester Cohen) (Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images) -
CLARKSTON – JULY 14: Guitarist Porl Thompson, bass player Simon Gallup, musician, songwriter and lead singer Robert Smith, drummer Boris Williams and keyboard player Laurence 'Lol' Tolhurst, all members of the English rock band The Cure, pose for a portrait backstage at the Pine Knob Music Theatre on July 14, 1986, in Clarkston, Michigan. (Photo by Ross Marino/Getty Images) -
Rick Ocasek – The Cars in concert in Philadelphia in 1979 (Photo by MpiRock/MediaPunch via Getty Images)
