Top songs of 1970

What was the number one song of 1970?

The number one song of 1970 was “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon & Garfunkel, the top song on Billboard's year-end Hot 100 for 1970. It spent 6 weeks at number one on the weekly chart, starting with the chart dated February 28, 1970.

“Bridge over Troubled Water” by Simon & Garfunkel was number one for the most weeks of 1970: 6 of the year's 52 weekly charts, starting with the chart dated February 28, 1970.

Born in 1970? The birthday number one finder shows the song at number one in the exact week of your birthday, and the number one on every birthday since.

Chart data: Billboard Hot 100, as compiled on Wikipedia (number ones of 1970, year-end Hot 100 of 1970).

How many songs reached number one in 1970?

21 songs reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970, across the year's 52 weekly charts.

Of the songs that first reached number one in 1970, “Bridge over Troubled Water” by Simon & Garfunkel stayed there longest: 6 weeks in total, from the chart dated February 28, 1970.

Weeks at No. 1 counts every week the song spent at the top, including weeks in other years; the number in brackets is the weeks on charts dated 1970. Dates are chart issue dates.

Which artists had more than one number one in 1970?

2 acts had more than one number one in 1970, counting lead and featured credits. The Jackson 5 had the most, with 4: “I Want You Back”, “ABC”, “The Love You Save” and “I'll Be There”.

• The Jackson 5: “I Want You Back”, “ABC”, “The Love You Save” and “I'll Be There”
• The Beatles: “Let It Be” and “The Long and Winding Road / For You Blue”

What were the biggest songs of 1970?

The five biggest songs of 1970 on Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 were “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon & Garfunkel, “(They Long to Be) Close to You” by The Carpenters, “American Woman” by The Guess Who, “Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head” by B.J. Thomas and “War” by Edwin Starr.

The year-end chart ranks songs by how they performed on the weekly Hot 100 across Billboard’s chart year, so a song that peaked late in the year can rank lower than its weekly peak suggests, or count toward the next year’s list. The top 30 below show each song’s length where we could match the recording.

Numbers 31 to 100

31. “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours” Stevie Wonder
32. “Ride Captain Ride” Blues Image
33. “Venus” Shocking Blue
34. “Instant Karma!” John Lennon
35. “Patches” Clarence Carter
36. “Lookin' out My Back Door” Creedence Clearwater Revival
37. “Rainy Night in Georgia” Brook Benton
38. “Something's Burning” Kenny Rogers & The First Edition
39. “Give Me Just a Little More Time” Chairmen of the Board
40. “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” Edison Lighthouse
41. “The Long and Winding Road” The Beatles
42. “Snowbird” Anne Murray
43. “Reflections of My Life” Marmalade
44. “Hey There Lonely Girl” Eddie Holman
45. “The Rapper” The Jaggerz
46. “He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother” The Hollies
47. “Tighter, Tighter” Alive N Kickin'
48. “Come and Get It” Badfinger
49. “Cecilia” Simon & Garfunkel
50. “Love Land” Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
51. “Turn Back the Hands of Time” Tyrone Davis
52. “Lola” The Kinks
53. “In the Summertime” Mungo Jerry
54. “Indiana Wants Me” R. Dean Taylor
55. “(I Know) I'm Losing You” Rare Earth
56. “Easy Come, Easy Go” Bobby Sherman
57. “Express Yourself” Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
58. “Still Water (Love)” The Four Tops
59. “Make Me Smile” Chicago
60. “The House of the Rising Sun” Frijid Pink
61. “25 or 6 to 4” Chicago
62. “My Baby Loves Lovin'” White Plains
63. “Love or Let Me Be Lonely” The Friends of Distinction
64. “United We Stand” The Brotherhood of Man
65. “We've Only Just Begun” The Carpenters
66. “Arizona” Mark Lindsay
67. “Fire and Rain” James Taylor
68. “Groovy Situation” Gene Chandler
69. “Evil Ways” Santana
70. “No Time” The Guess Who
71. “Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)” The Delfonics
72. “The Wonder of You” Elvis Presley
73. “Up Around the Bend” Creedence Clearwater Revival
74. “(If You Let Me Make Love To You Then) Why Can't I Touch You?” Ronnie Dyson
75. “I Just Can't Help Believing” B.J. Thomas
76. “It's a Shame” The Spinners
77. “For the Love of Him” Bobbi Martin
78. “Mississippi Queen” Mountain
79. “I Want to Take You Higher” Ike & Tina Turner
80. “The Letter” Joe Cocker
81. “Ma Belle Amie” Tee-Set
82. “The Bells” The Originals
83. “Yellow River” Christie
84. “Somebody's Been Sleeping” 100 Proof (Aged in Soul)
85. “Vehicle” The Ides of March
86. “Gimme Dat Ding” The Pipkins
87. “Lay a Little Lovin' on Me” Robin McNamara
88. “Up the Ladder to the Roof” The Supremes
89. “Travelin' Band” Creedence Clearwater Revival
90. “Come Saturday Morning” The Sandpipers
91. “Psychedelic Shack” The Temptations
92. “Without Love (There Is Nothing)” Tom Jones
93. “Are You Ready?” Pacific Gas & Electric
94. “Woodstock” Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
95. “I'll Never Fall in Love Again” Dionne Warwick
96. “Look What They've Done to My Song Ma” The New Seekers
97. “Walk A Mile In My Shoes” Joe South
98. “The Thrill Is Gone” B.B. King
99. “It's Only Make Believe” Glen Campbell
100. “Call Me” Aretha Franklin

Chart data: Billboard Hot 100, as compiled on Wikipedia (number ones of 1970, year-end Hot 100 of 1970).

What songs should go on a 1970 mix CD?

A 1970 mix that fits one 80-minute CD holds 20 of the year's biggest songs, opening with “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” by Sly & the Family Stone and closing with “I'll Be There” by The Jackson 5, for 75:53 of music.

We built it from the year-end top 30 and every number one of 1970, taking songs in year-end order until the disc was full, then sequenced it to follow the year: the number ones in the order they reached the top, with the year’s other big hits placed between them. With a 2-second gap before each track it runs 76:33, under the 79 minutes we fill a CD to.

Lengths are the recordings matched in Deezer’s catalog. Single edits, album versions and remasters can run a little longer or shorter, so check your own playlist before you burn it.

Turn 1970 into a CD. Send us this list, or your own 1970 songs, and we burn it to a real audio CD, test-play it and post it. It makes a good gift for a birth year, a graduation year or a wedding year.

To change the songs, paste the list into the playlist length calculator to keep it under 80 minutes, then print an insert with the CD case template. Our guide to making a mixtape covers sequencing, and nostalgic gift ideas has more ways to give a year as a present.

What was popular music like in the 1970s?

Popular music in the 1970s ran from singer-songwriters and soft rock to soul, funk and, by the end of the decade, disco. The Bee Gees, Donna Summer and Chic all reached number one with disco records in 1978 and 1979, while ballads and soft rock filled the charts between them.

From 1970 to 1979, 253 songs reached number one on the Hot 100, and 1 song stayed there for 10 weeks or more. Of those 253, “You Light Up My Life” by Debby Boone spent the most weeks at number one: 10 in total. Bee Gees had the most number ones that reached the top in these years, with 9. The typical number one of these years ran 3:40 (the median of the 229 with a known length).