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1970 Music Hits: Soul, Bubblegum Pop, Early Hard Rock, Singer-Songwriters, AM Radio Favorites, and the Start of the 1970s Sound

1970 music sounded like a decade changing its clothes in public. The Beatles were ending, The Jackson 5 were exploding, The Carpenters were bringing soft-pop polish to radio, hard rock was getting louder, soul and funk were getting deeper, and singer-songwriters were starting to define a more personal kind of pop music.

The biggest 1970 music hits included ABC, I’ll Be There, (They Long to Be) Close to You, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Spirit in the Sky, American Woman, 25 or 6 to 4, Let It Be, War, and O-o-h Child. It was a year of sunshine pop, heavy riffs, Motown breakthroughs, protest records, bubblegum hooks, and a few songs that sounded like the 1960s still had one suitcase left in the hallway.

These 1970 music hits are not meant to be a Billboard reprint. The focus is on cultural memory, recognizability, oldies radio durability, party usefulness, pop culture staying power, and how strongly these songs still represent the start of the 1970s.

How People Heard 1970 Music

In 1970, AM radio still ruled the singles world, but FM radio had become increasingly important for rock, album cuts, longer songs, and more adventurous listening. Teenagers still bought 45s, but albums were gaining cultural power. A song could be a three-minute pop single, a seven-minute FM favorite, or both if the radio gods were feeling generous.

Television variety shows, jukeboxes, record stores, live concerts, and local radio still shaped music discovery. The split between AM pop and FM rock helped define the year’s feel: bright singles on one side, heavier album culture on the other.

1970’s Biggest Artists and Songs

1970 had one foot in late-1960s culture and the other in the new decade’s sound. Grammy winners from the 1969 eligibility year were presented in 1970, while many new artists began shaping the 1970s almost immediately.

  • Crosby, Stills & Nash won Best New Artist for the 1969 Grammy year, with the award presented in 1970. Their first gig was on August 17, 1969, at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, and their second major public performance was at Woodstock.
  • Blood, Sweat & Tears won Album of the Year for their self-titled album, helping confirm horn-driven jazz-rock as one of the era’s major crossover sounds.
  • The 5th Dimension won Record of the Year for Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In, one of the defining pop-soul records of the late 1960s.
  • The Jackson 5 became one of the 1970s ’ biggest stories with I Want You Back, ABC, and I’ll Be There.
  • The Carpenters arrived with soft-pop precision and became one of the defining adult-pop acts of the new decade.
  • Chicago helped carry brass-rock into the 1970s with 25 or 6 to 4.
  • Black Sabbath helped push heavy rock toward what would become heavy metal.

New Artists and Breakthrough Acts in the 1970 Pop Charts

Several artists broke through or reached much wider recognition in 1970. This group helped define where music was going: softer singer-songwriter pop, heavier rock, funkier soul, country-pop, reggae influence, and a new generation of family-friendly pop stars.

  • Fleetwood Mac had already existed as a British blues band, but their early-1970s presence helped pave the way for their later mainstream superstardom.
  • The Carpenters became one of the year’s major soft-pop arrivals with (They Long to Be) Close to You.
  • Elton John began his major U.S. breakthrough, setting up one of the biggest pop-rock careers of the 1970s.
  • James Taylor helped establish the singer-songwriter sound with Fire and Rain.
  • The Jackson 5 brought youthful Motown energy to the center of pop radio.
  • Anne Murray crossed country, pop, and adult contemporary lines with Snowbird.
  • Jimmy Cliff helped bring reggae and Jamaican music into wider international awareness.
  • Black Sabbath helped introduce a darker, heavier rock sound that shaped metal and hard rock.
  • Joni Mitchell became one of the era’s key singer-songwriters, with Big Yellow Taxi becoming one of her signature songs.
  • Quincy Jones expanded his already deep jazz, arranging, and production career into broader pop and soul visibility.

1970’s Retro Top 10 Hits

These 1970 retro hits capture the year’s mix of AM radio pop, soul comfort songs, rock urgency, folk-pop, Elvis balladry, and songs that still feel tied to the very beginning of the 1970s.

  1. Ma Belle Amie – Tee Set
  2. 25 or 6 to 4 – Chicago
  3. O-o-h Child – The Five Stairsteps
  4. Big Yellow Taxi – The Neighborhood
  5. El Condor Pasa (If I Could) – Simon & Garfunkel
  6. What Is Truth – Johnny Cash
  7. Spirit in the Sky – Norman Greenbaum
  8. The Wonder of You – Elvis Presley
  9. Spill the Wine – Eric Burdon & War
  10. Candida – Dawn

Big Yellow Taxi is most strongly associated with Joni Mitchell, who wrote and recorded it. The Neighborhood’s version became the U.S. charting pop cover in 1970, which gives it a place in this year’s radio story.

1970’s One-Hit Wonders

1970 had one-hit wonders and near-one-hit wonders from bubblegum pop, soul, rock, novelty records, and early progressive rock. Some were short-lived chart moments, while others became classic-radio survivors.

  1. O-o-h Child – The Five Stairsteps
  2. Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) – Edison Lighthouse
  3. Hey There Lonely Girl – Eddie Holman
  4. Rubber Duckie – Ernie
  5. Ride Captain Ride – Blues Image
  6. House of the Rising Sun – Frijid Pink
  7. United We Stand – Brotherhood of Man
  8. The Court of the Crimson King – King Crimson
  9. Vehicle – The Ides of March
  10. Yellow River – Christie

1970 R&B and Soul Top 10 Hit List

R&B and soul music in 1970 was strong, emotional, funky, and deeply connected to where the decade was heading. Motown still had power, James Brown was pushing funk forward, and soul groups were delivering some of the year’s most durable records.

  1. Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine – James Brown
  2. Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) – Sly & The Family Stone
  3. Get Ready – Rare Earth
  4. I Want You Back – The Jackson 5
  5. I Want to Take You Higher – Sly & The Family Stone
  6. The Tears of a Clown – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
  7. Do the Funky Chicken – Rufus Thomas
  8. Love on a Two-Way Street – The Moments
  9. Stoned Love – The Supremes
  10. Still Water (Love) – The Four Tops

1970 Pop Dance Top 10 Hit List

Pop dance music in 1970 was bright, rhythmic, and radio-friendly. It was not disco yet, but the ingredients were forming: soul grooves, Motown hooks, party choruses, island-flavored pop, and horn-driven records that made standing still seem rude.

  1. ABC – The Jackson 5
  2. Venus – Shocking Blue
  3. Band of Gold – Freda Payne
  4. Give Me Just a Little More Time – Chairmen of the Board
  5. In the Summertime – Mungo Jerry
  6. Montego Bay – Bobby Bloom
  7. Tighter, Tighter – Alive N Kickin’
  8. Groove Me – King Floyd
  9. Hitchin’ a Ride – Vanity Fare
  10. War – Edwin Starr

The Pop Psychedelic Dance Song Hit

By 1970, psychedelic soul was still sending colorful echoes through pop and R&B. One of the year’s most direct examples was The Temptations’ funky, socially aware, and very groovy Psychedelic Shack.

  • Psychedelic Shack – The Temptations

1970 Rock and Roll Top 10 Hit List

Rock in 1970 was getting heavier, looser, and more album-oriented. The Beatles were closing their chapter, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath were making things louder, and bands like Free, Mountain, The Doors, Chicago, and The Guess Who helped define the rock sound of the new decade.

  1. Let It Be – The Beatles
  2. Summertime Blues – The Who
  3. American Woman – The Guess Who
  4. Whole Lotta Love – Led Zeppelin
  5. Lola – The Kinks
  6. After Midnight – Eric Clapton
  7. Mississippi Queen – Mountain
  8. All Right Now – Free
  9. Ride Captain Ride – Blues Image
  10. Roadhouse Blues – The Doors

More 1970 Rock Music Hits

These additional 1970 rock songs show how quickly the category was expanding. Blues-rock, country-rock, hard rock, progressive rock, brass-rock, and FM favorites were all finding audiences.

  • Funk #49 – James Gang
  • Uncle John’s Band – Grateful Dead
  • Paranoid – Black Sabbath
  • Come and Get It – Badfinger
  • Green-Eyed Lady – Sugarloaf
  • Vehicle – The Ides of March
  • She Came In Through the Bathroom Window – Joe Cocker
  • Question – The Moody Blues
  • Fresh Air – Quicksilver Messenger Service

1970 Bubblegum Pop Top 10 Hit List

Bubblegum pop in 1970 still had plenty of life. The category mixed cartoon records, TV-connected pop, teen idols, light AM-radio hooks, and cheerful songs that sounded like they came pre-packaged with a lunchbox.

  1. Rubber Duckie – Ernie
  2. ABC – The Jackson 5
  3. I Think I Love You – The Partridge Family
  4. Julie, Do Ya Love Me – Bobby Sherman
  5. Jingle Jangle – The Archies
  6. Easy Come, Easy Go – Bobby Sherman
  7. Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head – B.J. Thomas
  8. Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) – Edison Lighthouse
  9. Hey There Lonely Girl – Eddie Holman
  10. Yellow River – Christie

Singer-Songwriters and Softer 1970 Radio

One of the biggest shifts in 1970 was the rise of the singer-songwriter sound. Pop was becoming more personal, reflective, and album-friendly. The Carpenters, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Elton John, Anne Murray, and others helped make softer, more intimate songs central to the decade.

  • Fire and Rain – James Taylor
  • Your Song – Elton John
  • (They Long to Be) Close to You – The Carpenters
  • We’ve Only Just Begun – The Carpenters
  • Big Yellow Taxi – Joni Mitchell
  • Snowbird – Anne Murray
  • El Condor Pasa (If I Could) – Simon & Garfunkel
  • What Is Truth – Johnny Cash

Early Hard Rock and Heavy Sounds

1970 was a major year for heavier rock. Led Zeppelin was already established, Black Sabbath released music that helped define heavy metal, and bands like Mountain, Free, Deep Purple, and The Who gave rock radio more volume and muscle.

  • Whole Lotta Love – Led Zeppelin
  • Paranoid – Black Sabbath
  • Mississippi Queen – Mountain
  • All Right Now – Free
  • Black Night – Deep Purple
  • Summertime Blues – The Who
  • Roadhouse Blues – The Doors
  • American Woman – The Guess Who

Artist Spotlight: The Jackson 5

The Jackson 5 were one of 1970’s defining acts. I Want You Back, ABC, and I’ll Be There made the group a Motown phenomenon and turned Michael Jackson into one of pop’s most recognizable young voices.

Their records were bright, energetic, soulful, and extremely polished. In 1970, The Jackson 5 sounded like youth, rhythm, and Motown precision all arriving at once.

Artist Spotlight: The Carpenters

The Carpenters helped define early-1970s soft pop with (They Long to Be) Close to You and We’ve Only Just Begun. Karen Carpenter’s voice gave the songs warmth, while Richard Carpenter’s arrangements made them clean, melodic, and radio-ready.

Their music stood apart from the heavier rock and funk of the year. It was gentle, but not weak. Sometimes soft pop is a velvet hammer.

Artist Spotlight: Crosby, Stills & Nash

Crosby, Stills & Nash represented the harmony-rich singer-songwriter and folk-rock side of the era. Their early live history became almost mythic: a first gig in Chicago, then Woodstock as their next major public performance.

The group’s sound helped shape the more reflective, acoustic, harmony-driven side of early-1970s rock. They were not just a band; they were a mood with very good vocal blend.

Artist Spotlight: Chicago

Chicago’s 25 or 6 to 4 helped prove that brass-rock could be both musically ambitious and radio-friendly. The band combined horns, rock guitar, jazz influence, and big arrangements in a way that made them stand apart from most rock acts of the time.

1970 Chicago still had edge, complexity, and energy before later soft-rock ballads became a bigger part of the group’s identity.

Artist Spotlight: Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath’s 1970 breakthrough helped define the darker, heavier side of rock. Paranoid became one of the essential early heavy-metal songs, with a sound that felt far removed from sunshine pop and bubblegum radio.

They were not trying to brighten the room. They were more likely to turn off the lights, plug in the amp, and make the furniture nervous.

PCM’s 1970 Top 10 Hit List

These 1970 songs best represent the year’s lasting pop-culture memory, oldies-radio power, soul strength, soft-pop impact, and early-1970s identity.

  1. I’ll Be There – The Jackson 5
  2. (They Long to Be) Close to You – The Carpenters
  3. ABC – The Jackson 5
  4. Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Diana Ross
  5. The Wonder of You – Elvis Presley
  6. The Tears of a Clown – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
  7. I Want You Back – The Jackson 5
  8. Evil Ways – Santana
  9. 25 or 6 to 4 – Chicago
  10. Give Me Just a Little More Time – Chairmen of the Board

More Must-Have 1970 Songs

These additional 1970 songs help round out the year’s pop, rock, soul, country, bubblegum, and singer-songwriter identity. Some were massive hits, some became FM or oldies staples, and some simply sound like the 1970s opening the door and asking where everyone kept the bell-bottoms.

  • Let It Be – The Beatles
  • The Long and Winding Road – The Beatles
  • Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) – John Lennon
  • My Sweet Lord – George Harrison
  • American Woman – The Guess Who
  • No Time – The Guess Who
  • Lola – The Kinks
  • All Right Now – Free
  • Mississippi Queen – Mountain
  • Ride Captain Ride – Blues Image
  • War – Edwin Starr
  • Band of Gold – Freda Payne
  • Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours – Stevie Wonder
  • He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother – The Hollies
  • Cracklin’ Rosie – Neil Diamond
  • Make It with You – Bread
  • Domino – Van Morrison
  • Our House – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
  • Travelin’ Band – Creedence Clearwater Revival
  • Up Around the Bend – Creedence Clearwater Revival

Why 1970 Music Still Matters

1970 music still matters because it marked the true handoff from the 1960s into the 1970s. The Beatles were closing their story, but The Jackson 5, The Carpenters, Elton John, James Taylor, Black Sabbath, Chicago, and a wave of soul, funk, and singer-songwriter acts were helping define the new decade.

The year had enormous variety. ABC, Let It Be, Spirit in the Sky, War, Rubber Duckie, Paranoid, (They Long to Be) Close to You, and 25 or 6 to 4 all belonged to the same musical year. That is not a playlist; that is a personality test.

1970 was hopeful, heavy, playful, soulful, soft, loud, and restless. It set up the 1970s as a decade where pop music would split into more lanes than ever, from singer-songwriters and soft rock to funk, metal, soul, country-pop, and arena rock.