The List

4 Iconic 1970s Songs That Made It to the Top 10 but Should Have Hit No. 1

Do you have a favorite song (or songs) from the 1970s that made it all the way to the Top 10, but you think definitely should have gone all the way to the top? I can think of plenty of now-legendary songs that were shockingly never No. 1 hits. Letโ€™s look at just a few examples, shall we?

โ€œGo Your Own Wayโ€ by Fleetwood Mac (1976)

This single off of the legendary folk rock album Rumours is by far one of Fleetwood Macโ€™s best songs. And yet, surprisingly, โ€œGo Your Own Wayโ€ only made it to No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It did peak at No. 1 in Belgium and the Netherlands, but this hit didnโ€™t even make it to the Top 30 in the UK, peaking at No. 38. โ€œDreamsโ€ hit No. 1 in the US, so Iโ€™m honestly surprised that โ€œGo Your Own Wayโ€ didnโ€™t do even better.

Videos by American Songwriter

โ€œMore Than A Feelingโ€ by Boston (1976)

Few songs define the mid-1970s quite like this hard rock staple. Boston had a big hit on their hands with โ€œMore Than A Feelingโ€, but shockingly, it wasnโ€™t a No. 1 hit. You could have fooled me, because this song has been on the radio for decades non-stop. In reality, โ€œMore Than A Feelingโ€ peaked at No. 5 on the Hot 100 chart. It wasnโ€™t even a Top 20 hit in the UK, where it only made it to No. 22. Crazy stuff!

โ€œHold The Lineโ€ by Toto (1978)

โ€œAfricaโ€ tends to steal all the love for Toto, but thereโ€™s something about this arena rock song that has also stood the test of time. โ€œHold The Lineโ€ from Totoโ€™s debut 1978 album isnโ€™t exactly underrated, considering it made it all the way to No. 5 on the Hot 100 and No. 14 on the UK Singles chart. However, I really expected this gem to be a No. 1 smash, at least in the US.

โ€œLong Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)โ€ by The Hollies (1972)

This swamp rock classic was all over the radio when it first dropped in the year 1972. And yet, shockingly, this entry on our list of 1970s songs narrowly missed the No. 1 spot, instead peaking in the Top 10 at No. 2 on the Hot 100 chart. Though, we should probably mention that this song did top the Canadian and South African charts. But the fact that it didnโ€™t top the US charts is mind-boggling.

Photo by Richard McCaffrey/ Michael Ochs Archive/ Getty Images