3 Top 40 Hits From 1972 That Every 70s Kid Still Knows by Heart Today

Music in the early part of the 1970s will always be timeless, regardless of how many years, or even decades, pass. So many great songs came out in the first half of the 1970s, including these three songs. All out in 1972, it’s almost certain that every 70s kid still knows them by heart today.

“Puppy Love” by Donny Osmond

Donny Osmond included “Puppy Love” on his Portrait Of Donny record. The song was written by Paul Anka, whose version came out in 1960. 

“Puppy Love” starts with, “And they called it puppy love / Oh I guess they’ll never know / How a young heart really feels / And why I love her so.”

Osmond was just 14 years old when this song was released. Years later, Osmond revealed that he went through a season where he loathed performing this song.

“I am fine with ‘Puppy Love’. I hated it for a while. But I still sing it,” Osmond admits. He adds that he has three different versions: country, sexy, and cheesy nightclub.

“I will never escape that song; I will always be Mr. ‘Puppy Love’,” he says.

“I Saw The Light” by Todd Rundgren

Todd Rundgren’s “I Saw The Light” is on Something/Anything?, his third studio album. Rundgren wrote “I Saw The Light” by himself, reportedly in 20 minutes, thanks to being on Ritalin.

“It caused me to crank out songs at an incredible pace. ‘I Saw the Light’ took me all of 20 minutes,” Rundgren recalls. “You can see why, too. The rhymes are just moon/June/spoon kind of stuff.” 

“I Saw The Light” says in part, “Cause my feelings for you / Were just something I never knew / Till I saw the light / In your eyes, in your eyes.“

This song became Rundgren’s first Top 15 single.

“Talkin’ Loud And Sayin’ Nothing” by James Brown

“Talkin’ Loud And Sayin’ Nothing”  is the first song James Brown released in 1972. The first single from his There It Is record, Brown wrote “Talkin’ Loud And Sayin’ Nothing” with Bobby Byrd. This is actually a two-part song, with the second part as the B-side of this single. The entire song put together is more than 14 minutes long.

The chorus says, “You’re like a dull knife / Just ain’t cutting / You’re just talking loud / And saying nothing.”

“Talkin’ Loud And Sayin’ Nothing” hit No.1 on Billboard’s R&B chart and the Top 20 on the Hot 100 chart. This is one of seven songs that Brown released in 1972.

Photo by David Redfern/Redferns