Top Ten Tuesday: 1974, the Next 10

1974 was a big year for me, because that was the year I graduated high school. For some reason, that seems like a huge deal in my life. Anyway, here are #11-20.

20 – Blue Swede, "Hooked On A Feeling": Blue Swede was popular in the 1973-1975 time period, and it would figure that their greatest chart success would come right in the middle. #1 in the US, #2 in Canada, #4 in Australia, and #7 in New Zealand.

19 – Blue Magic, "Sideshow": I saw this and remembered neither the group nor the record, which is a shame, because it’s a real beauty. They were a soul/R&B singing group out of Philadelphia, and they reached #1 on that chart with this, as well as #8 on the Hot 100 and #5 in Canada.

18 – John Denver, "Sunshine On My Shoulders": Seems like every time you turned around in the ’70’s, John Denver had a record on the charts. John wrote this with two members of his band, Dick Kniss and Mike Taylor, and reached #1 in the US and Canada. This is a live version from the Wildlife concert.

17 – David Essex, "Rock On": Singer and actor David Essex had ten Top 10 records in the UK, but only the one in the US (#8) and Canada (#1).

16 – Jim Stafford, "Spiders And Snakes": Musical funnyman Jim Stafford was practically a one man band who played guitar, harmonica, and a bass pedalboard in concert. He now owns a theater in Branson, Missouri, which no doubt he bought in part with royalties from this record, which reached #3 in the US, #1 in Canada, and was certified Gold.

15 – Al Wilson, "Show And Tell": Al had some minor success in 1968 with "The Snake," which reached #27, but he had his greatest success with this, which he took to #1 in the US as well as #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart and #10 on the R&B chart.

14 – The Stylistics, "You Make Me Feel Brand New": Another group out of Philadelphia, The Stylistics had considerable chart success in the ’70’s, this maybe being the most popular, #2 in the US and UK and #3 in Canada and Australia.

13 – Maria Muldaur, "Midnight At The Oasis": One of those songs that stirs the imagination. Maria added it to her eponymous first solo album as an afterthought and says that people still come up to her and say they had lost their virginity to this one. The guitar solo by Amos Garrett is one of the greatest solos of all time. The song reached #6 in the US and #2 in Canada, and was nominated for Song of the Year and Record of the Year at the 1974 Grammys.

12 – Kool & The Gang, "Jungle Boogie": Came out at the end of 1973 and peaked at #4 in the US in 1974. Billboard figures out their year-end Hot 100 from November 1 of the previous year to October 31 of the current year, so this is entirely plausible.

11 – Aretha Franklin, "Until You Come Back To Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)": Another song that came out in late 1973 that reached #3 in the US, #8 in Canada, and #1 on the R&B chart, and was certified Gold.

And that’s Top Ten Tuesday for August 3, 2021.