Musical Dice -- Top Songs Of 1975
Welcome to the music section of my Musical Dice website! For you music trivia enthusiasts, and those who love to learn about the stories behind the music, you've come to the right place! I love sharing my knowledge of music trivia, so that's why I created this section.
One of the main things that got me interested in music trivia was when I listened to American Top 40 with Casey Kasem (rest in peace, my good man), where he'd often tell interesting stories and facts about the songs and the artists behind the songs.
My favorite feature of American Top 40 was when it was a special countdown of the top (usually 100) songs of the year. Today's article is about the top songs of 1975, according to Billboard Magazine. Plus, I will feature a few honorable mentions, indicated by the HM notation. And I will provide what facts I know about the songs under the comments. Enjoy! ☺
Top Songs Of 1975 | ||||
POS | TITLE | ARTIST | PEAK | COMMENTS |
HM | #9 Dream | John Lennon | 9 | |
HM | Old Days | Chicago | 5 | |
HM | Heat Wave | Linda Ronstadt | 5 | Originally a #4 hit for Martha & the Vandellas in 1963. |
HM | Lyin' Eyes | The Eagles | 2(2) | The title is a reference to an observation lead singer Glenn Frey made of a young woman in a bar with a much older man. |
HM | Low Rider | War | 7 | Later used in commercials. |
HM | Nights On Broadway | The Bee-Gees | 7 | The first song the Bee-Gees recorded with their trademark high falsetto. |
HM | Who Loves You | The 4 Seasons | 3 | |
HM | Sky High | Jigsaw | 3 | |
100 | Get Dancin' | Disco Tex & the Sex-O-Lettes | 10 | Written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan who had each written hits for Frankie Valli and/or the 4 Seasons. |
99 | Swearin' To God | Frankie Valli | 6 | |
98 | You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet | Bachman-Turner Overdrive | 1(1) | Used in a car commercial. |
97 | Third Rate Romance | The Amazing Rhythm Aces | 14 | |
96 | Only You | Ringo Starr | 6 | Originally a #5 hit for the Platters in 1957. |
95 | I'm On Fire | The Dwight Twilley Band | 16 | |
94 | Only Yesterday | The Carpenters | 4 | The Carpenters' last top 10 hit. |
93 | Bad Blood | Neil Sedaka | 1(3) | Backup vocals by Elton John. |
92 | Misty | Ray Stevens | 14 | Originally a #12 hit for Johnny Mathis in 1959. |
91 | Someone Saved My Life Tonight | Elton John | 4 | Referring to a time when Elton John first attempted suicide. It was then-Bluesology bandmate Long John Baldry who saved his life. |
90 | Long Tall Glasses (I Can Dance) | Leo Sayer | 9 | Leo Sayer's first hit as a singer. |
89 | Bungle In The Jungle | Jethro Tull | 12 | |
88 | Junior's Farm | Paul McCartney & Wings | 3 | |
87 | No No Song | Ringo Starr | 3 | Backup vocal by John Lennon. Ringo's last top ten hit. |
86 | It Only Takes A Minute | Tavares | 10 | |
85 | The Rockford Files | Mike Post | 10 | Theme from the TV series of the same name. |
84 | You Got The Love | Rufus feat. Chaka Khan | 11 | |
83 | Lonely People | America | 5 | |
82 | Sha-La-La (Make Me Happy) | Al Green | 7 | |
81 | Can't Get It Out Of My Head | E.L.O. | 9 | E.L.O.'s first top 40 hit in the U.S. |
80 | Do It ('Til You're Satisfied) | B.T. Express | 2(2) | |
79 | Shoeshine Boy | Eddie Kendricks | 18 | |
78 | Killer Queen | Queen | 12 | Queen's first top 40 hit in the U.S. |
77 | I'm Sorry | John Denver | 1(1) | |
76 | Get Down, Get Down (Get On The Floor) | Joe Simon | 8 | |
75 | When Will I See You Again | The Three Degrees | 2(1) | |
74 | Some Kind Of Wonderful | Grand Funk | 3 | Originally recorded by the Drifters. |
73 | Morning Side Of The Mountain | Donny & Marie Osmond | 8 | Originally a #27 hit for Tommy Edwards in 1959. |
72 | I Don't Like To Sleep Alone | Paul Anka | 8 | |
71 | Never Can Say Goodbye | Gloria Gaynor | 9 | Originally a #2 hit for the Jackson 5 in 1971. |
70 | Cut The Cake | The Average White Band | 10 | |
69 | Dance With Me | Orleans | 6 | |
68 | How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) | James Taylor | 5 | Originally a #6 hit for Marvin Gaye in 1965. |
67 | Feel Like Makin' Love | Bad Company | 10 | |
66 | One Woman Man/One Man Woman | Paul Anka feat. Odia Coates | 7 | |
65 | You Are So Beauutiful | Joe Cocker | 5 | Written by Billy Preston. |
64 | Get Down Tonight | KC & the Sunshine Band | 1(1) | |
63 | Doctor's Orders | Carol Douglas | 11 | |
62 | Only Women Bleed | Alice Cooper | 12 | |
61 | Bad Time | Grand Funk | 4 | |
60 | Lady | Styx | 6 | Styx's first hit. First released in 1972 without success. |
59 | That's The Way Of The World | Earth, Wind & Fire | 12 | |
58 | Express | B.T. Express | 4 | |
57 | How Long | Ace | 3 | Featuring lead vocals by Paul Carrack (later of Squeeze). He had a top ten solo hit, "Don't Shed A Tear" in 1988. |
56 | Poetry Man | Phoebe Snow | 5 | |
55 | Don't Call Us, We'll Call You | Sugarloaf | 9 | Guitar rift resembles "I Feel Fine" by the Beatles, at one point. |
54 | Midnight Blue | Melissa Manchester | 6 | Melissa Manchester's first hit. Written by Carole Bayer Sager. |
53 | Try To Remember/The Way We Were | Gladys Knight & the Pips | 11 | In large part, this is a remake of the Barbra Streisand song that was #1 for 3 weeks in 1974, and was the top song of that year. |
52 | Walking In Rhythm | The Blackbyrds | 6 | |
51 | Dynomite | Bazuka | 10 | Of course, the title is the much-used phrase on the TV sitcom "Good Times." |
50 | You're No Good | Linda Ronstadt | 1(1) | Previously recorded by Cilia Black in the '60's. |
49 | Please Mr. Please | Olivia Newton-John | 3 | |
48 | You're The First, The Last, My Everything | Barry White | 2(2) | |
47 | When Will I Be Loved | Linda Ronstadt | 2(2) | Originally a #8 hit for the Everly Brothers in 1958 (you'd hear the original version in the movies "Bull Durham" and "Cocktail"). |
46 | Chevy Van | Sammy Johns | 5 | |
45 | Feelings | Morris Albert | 6 | Featured in a Bell Telephone commercial. |
44 | Fallin' In Love | Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds | 1(1) | |
43 | I Can Help | Billy Swan | 1(2) | Billy's big pet puppy was playfully gnawing on his shoes while Billy was recording the song. The applause was from Billy's band, for Billy even making it through the session! |
42 | I'm Not In Love | 10cc | 2(3) | Later a hit for Will To Power (#7 in 1991). |
41 | Listen To What The Man Said | Paul McCartney & Wings | 1(1) | |
40 | I'm Not Lisa | Jessi Colter | 4 | |
39 | Wildfire | Michael Murphey | 3 | The title is the name of a horse. |
38 | Cat's In The Cradle | Harry Chapin | 1(1) | A tale about a father who was too busy to spend time with his son, only to have the son do the same to him later in life. The song was inspired by a friend of Harry Chapin's. Ugly Kid Joe had a hit with a version of this song in 1993 (#6). |
37 | Could It Be Magic | Barry Manilow | 6 | Samples part of a classical piece by 19th Century composer Chopin. |
36 | Have You Never Been Mellow | Olivia Newton-John | 1(1) | |
35 | Mandy | Barry Manilow | 1(1) | Barry Manilow's first hit. Written and originally recorded by Scott English as "Brandy" in 1972. |
34 | Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds | Elton John | 1(2) | The only Beatles remake to reach #1. Written by John Lennon (who played reggae guitar on this version), who said that the song was inspired by a painting made by his 4-year-old son Julian, but others claim that the song is a drug reference to LSD. |
33 | Sister Golden Hair | America | 1(1) | The acoustic guitar intro is said to have been inspired by "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison. Produced by George Martin, who produced the Beatles (of which, George Harrison was one). |
32 | Please Mr. Postman | The Carpenters | 1(1) | Originally a hit for the Marvelettes (#1 for 2 weeks in 1961). |
31 | Magic | Pilot | 5 | Later used on a diabetes medicine commercial. |
30 | Fire | The Ohio Players | 1(1) | |
29 | Jackie Blue | The Ozark Mountain Daredevils | 3 | |
28 | Angie Baby | Helen Reddy | 1(1) | |
27 | Fight The power | The Isley Brothers | 4 | Not the same as the rap song by Public Enemy. |
26 | Wasted Days And Wasted Nights | Freddy Fender | 8 | Written in 1959, but not recorded until 1975 because Freddy did time in prison. |
25 | Boogie On Reggae Woman | Stevie Wonder | 3 | Won Stevie a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance. |
24 | Love Won't Let Me Wait | Major Harris | 5 | |
23 | Why Can't We Be Friends? | War | 6 | Used as a bipartisan update theme on Rush Limbaugh's radio show. |
22 | Lady Marmalade | LaBelle | 1(1) | Featuring Patti LaBelle on lead vocals. Later remade by Christina Aguilera/Pink/Mya/Li'l Kim (#1 for 5 weeks in 2001). |
21 | The Hustle | Van McCoy | 1(1) | Voted one of the ten best dance songs of all-time by VH-1 listeners. |
20 | Pick Up The Pieces | The Average White Band | 1(1) | |
19 | At Seventeen | Janis Ian | 3 | |
18 | He Don't Love You (Like I Love You) | Tony Orlando & Dawn | 1(3) | Originally recorded by Jerry Butler under the title "He Will Break Your Heart" (#7 in 1960). |
17 | (Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song | B.J. Thomas | 1(1) | The longest song title to reach #1. |
16 | Ballroom Blitz | The Sweet | 5 | Describing an incident where a bunch of fans stormed the stage when The Sweet was performing. |
15 | Black Water | The Doobie Brothers | 1(1) | |
14 | Kung Fu Fighting | Carl Douglas | 1(2) | Later featured in an episode of "Ally McBeal." |
13 | Lovin' You | Minnie Riperton | 1(1) | |
12 | Best Of My Love | The Eagles | 1(1) | |
11 | Jive Talkin' | The Bee-Gees | 1(2) | The first of the Bee-Gees' disco hits. |
10 | Thank God I'm A Country Boy | John Denver | 1(1) | Recorded live at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California. |
9 | One Of These Nights | The Eagles | 1(1) | |
8 | Laughter In The Rain | Neil Sedaka | 1(1) | |
7 | Fame | David Bowie | 1(2) | Co-written by David Bowie and John Lennon. |
6 | Shining Star | Earth, Wind & Fire | 1(1) | |
5 | My Eyes Adored You | Frankie Valli | 1(1) | Written by Kenny Nolan under the original title of "My Eyes Of Georgia," until Frankie Valli kept singing "My Eyes Adored You" instead. Kenny Nolan then had to change the lyrics. |
4 | Before The Next Teardrop Falls | Freddy Fender | 1(1) | Including a verse in Spanish. |
3 | Philadelphia Freedom | Elton John | 1(2) | Dedicated to tennis great Billie Jean King and her tennis team, the Philadelphia Freedoms. |
2 | Rhinestone Cowboy | Glen Campbell | 1(2) | |
1 | Love Will Keep Us Together | The Captain & Tennille | 1(4) | Written and originally recorded by Neil Sedaka in 1973. On a personal note, this was the new #1 song when my parents' divorce proceedings began! Think that's ironic? How about the song that was #1 when my parents got married in 1964? Want to know what song that was? Email me at musicaldice323@gmail.com, and I'll be glad to tell you! ☺ |