Want to do something totally useless? Then try the blog meme I found at Oblique House. Go here and click on the year you graduated from high school to find a list of the top 100 songs of that year.
Bold the songs you like, strike through the ones you hate and underline your favorite. Do nothing to the ones you don't remember or don't care about. Commentary is optional, as is good taste.
(when I was young and stupid, I was young and stupid. Besides which, most of my favorite songs never even made the top 100)
Top 100 Hits of 1972 / Top 100 Songs of 1972
1. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Roberta Flack
2. Alone Again (Naturally), Gilbert O'Sullivan
3. American Pie, Don McLean
4. Without You, Nilsson
5. Candy Man, Sammy Davis Jr.
6. I Gotcha, Joe Tex
7. Lean On Me, Bill Withers
8. Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me, Mac Davis
9. Brand New Key, Melanie
10. Daddy Dont You Walk So Fast, Wayne Newton
11. Let's Stay Together, Al Green
12. Brandy (You're A Fine Girl), Looking Glass
13. Oh Girl, Chi-Lites
14. Nice To Be With You, Gallery
15. My Ding-A-Ling, Chuck Berry
16. If Loving You Is Wrong I Don't Want To Be Right, Luther Ingram
17. Heart Of Gold, Neil Young
18. Betcha By Golly, Wow, Stylistics
19. I'll Take You There, Staple Singers
20. Ben, Michael Jackson
21. The Lion Sleeps Tonight, Robert John
22. Outa-space, Billy Preston
23. Slippin' Into Darkness, War
24. Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress), Hollies
25. How Do You Do, Mouth and MacNeal
27. Song Sung Blue, Neil Diamond
28. A Horse With No Name, America
28. Popcorn, Hot Butter
29. Everybody Plays The Fool, Main Ingredient
30. Precious And Few, Climax
31. Last Night I Didn't Get To Sleep At All, 5th Dimension
32. Nights In White Satin, Moody Blues
33. Go All The Way, Raspberries
34. Too Late To Turn Back Now, Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose
35. Back Stabbers, O'Jays
36. Down By The Lazy River, Osmonds
37. Sunshine, Jonathan Edwards
38. Starting All Over Again, Mel and Tim
39. Day Atter Day, Badfinger
40. Rocket Man, Elton John
41. Rockin' Robin, Michael Jackson
42. Beautiful Sunday, Daniel Boone
43. Scorpio, Dennis Coffey and The Detroit Guitar Band
44. Morning Has Broken, Cat Stevens
45. The City Of New Orleans, Arlo Guthrie
46. Garden Party, Rick Nelson
47. I Can See Clearly Now, Johnny Nash
48. Burning Love, Elvis Presley
49. Clean Up Woman, Betty Wright
50. Hold Your Head Up, Argent
51. Jungle Fever, Chakachas
52. Everything I Own, Bread
53. In The Rain, Dramatics
54. Look What You Done For Me, Al Green
55. The Happiest Girl In The Whole U.S.A., Donna Fargo
56. Bang A Gong (Get It On), T. Rex
57. Mother And Child Reunion, Paul Simon
58. Where Is The Love, Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
59. I'm Still In Love With You, Al Green
60. Layla, Derek and The Dominos
61. Day Dreaming, Aretha Franklin
62. The Way Of Love, Cher
63. Black And White, Three Dog Night
64. Sylvia's Mother, Dr. Hook and The Medicine Show
65. Hurting Each Other, Carpenters
66. Coconut, Nilsson
68. Puppy Love, Donny Osmond
69. You Don't Mess Around With Jim, Jim Croce
70. Hot Rod Lincoln, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen
71. A Cowboy's Work Is Never Done, Sonny and Cher
72. Joy, Apollo 100
73. Anticipation, Carly Simon
74. Never Been To Spain, Three Dog Night
75. Kiss An Angel Good Morning, Charlie Pride
76. School's Out, Alice Cooper
77. Saturday In The Park, Chicago
78. Drowning In The Sea Of Love, Joe Simon
79. Use Me, Bill Withers
80. Family Affair, Sly and The Family Stone
81. Troglodyte, Jimmy Castor Bunch
82. The Witch Queen Of New Orleans, Redbone
83. Freddie's Dead, Curtis Mayfield
84. Power Of Love, Joe Simon
85. Ain't Understanding Mellow, Jerry Butler and Brenda Lee Eager
86. Taxi, Harry Chapin
87. Don't Say You Don't Remember, Beverly Bremers
87. Sealed With A Kiss, Bobby Vinton
88. I Saw The Light, Todd Rundgren
89. Motorcycle Mama, Sailcat
90. Day By Day, Godspell Soundtrack
91. Roundabout, Yes
92. Doctor My Eyes, Jackson Browne
93. I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing, New Seekers
94. Vincent / Castles In The Air, Don Mclean
95. Baby Let Me Take You (In My Arms), Detroit Emeralds
96. Speak To The Sky, Rick Springfield
97. I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing, Hillside Singers
98. Walking In The Rain With The One I Love, Love Unlimited
99. Good Foot, Pt. 1, James Brown
100. Pop That Thang, Isley Bros.
Alicia, how do you do the 'strike through' thing ?
God Bless.
Wow,
1967
Boy am I going to skew this thing!
There is only one song I don't know out of the top 100!
Then again I lived for listening to KRLA and KHJ. No strikethroughs. Not a one! I'll still listen to any song on the top 100. Even the monkees, even the Sinatras.
However what jumps out at me are:
(AKA listened over & over - still would)
top of my list is:
6. Light My Fire, The Doors
followed very closely by:
8. The Letter, Box Tops
46. Silence Is Golden, Tremeloes
49. The Rain, The Park And Other Things, Cowsills
50. There's A Kind Of Hush, Herman's Hermits
and finally
94. Daydream Believer, The Monkees
Hopelessly romantic and still that way!
Looking back now I can understand undercurrents in some lyrics but I did not then.
Even more of a head spin for me is to look several years on either side and recognize all the songs - and miss them. Sigh "Oldies" are now "the songs of the eighties". No wonder my oldest is a pop culture maven!
I had forgotten The Rain, The Park And Other Things by the Cowsills. I still like that song. Maybe I can find it on iTunes...
I contend that 1973 is the absolute bottom of the pop music barrel. If I go to a high school reunion, it sure won't be for the tunes!
I don't know how to do the strikethough or the underline ...
"Sylvia's Mother". Boy was that a terrible song.
Remarkably, I agree with nearly every selection and de-selection you made. Only 12 & 17 stand out as differences. 1972 was a good year for music, in my humble opinion.
I was born in 1972 and have long thought it was a terrible year for music, American Pie notwithstanding. Now, I know for sure that I'm right about that.
1988....
1. Faith, George Michael
2. Need You Tonight, INXS
3. Got My Mind Set On You, George Harrison
4. Never Gonna Give You Up, Rick Astley
5. Sweet Child O' Mine, Guns N' Roses
6. So Emotional, Whitney Houston
7. Heaven Is A Place On Earth, Belinda Carlisle
8. Could've Been, Tiffany
9. Hands To Heaven, Breathe
10. Roll With It, Steve Winwood
11. One More Try, George Michael
12. Wishing Well, Terence Trent d'Arby
13. Anything For You, Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine
14. The Flame, Cheap Trick
15. Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car, Billy Ocean
16. Seasons Change, Expose
17. Is This Love, Whitesnake
18. Wild, Wild West, Escape Club
19. Pour Some Sugar On Me, Def Leppard
20. I'll Always Love You, Taylor Dayne
21. Man In The Mirror, Michael Jackson
22. Shake Your Love, Debbie Gibson
23. Simply Irresistible, Robert Palmer
24. Hold On To The Nights, Richard Marx
25. Hungry Eyes, Eric Carnen
26. Shattered Dreams, Johnny Hates Jazz
27. Father Figure, George Michael
28. Naught Girls (Need Love Too), Samantha Fox
29. A Groovy Kind Of Love, Phil Collins
30. Love Bites, Def Leppard
31. Endless Summer Nights, Richard Marx
32. Foolish Beat, Debbie Gibson
33. Where Do Broken Hearts Go, Whitney Houston
34. Angel, Aerosmith
35. Hazy Shade Of Winter, Bangles
36. The Way You Make Me Feel, Michael Jackson
37. Don't Worry, Be Happy, Bobby McFerrin
38. Make Me Lose Control, Eric Carnen
39. Red Red Wine, UB40
40. She's Like The Wind, Patric Swayze
41. Bad Medicine, Bon Jovi
42. Kokomo, Beach Boys
43. I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That, Elton John
44. Together Forever, Rick Astley
45. Monkey, George Michael
46. Devil Inside, INXS
47. Should've Known Better, Richard Marx
48. I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love, Chicago
49. The Loco-Motion, Kylie Minogue (although the Little Eva version is better...)
50. What Have I Done To Deserve This?, Pet Shop Boys and Dusty Springfield
51. Make It Real, Jets
52. What's On Your Mind, Information Society
53. Tell It To My Heart, Taylor Dayne
54. Out Of The Blue, Debbie Gibson
55. Don't You Want Me, Jody Watley
56. Desire, U2
57. I Get Weak, Belinda Carlisle
58. Sign Your Name, Terence Trent d'Arby
59. I Want To Be Your Man, Roger
60. Girlfriend, Pebbles
61. Dirty Diana, Michael Jackson
62. 1-2-3, Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine
63. Mercedes Boy, Pebbles
64. Perfect World, Huey Lewis and the News
65. New Sensation, INXS
66. Catch Me (I'm Falling), Pretty Poison
67. If It Isn't Love, New Edition
68. Rocket 2 U, Jets
69. One Good Woman, Peter Cetera
70. Don't Be Cruel, Cheap Trick
71. Candle In The Wind, Elton John
72. Everything Your Heart Desires, Daryl Hall and John Oates
73. Say You Will , Foreigner
74. I Want Her, Keith Sweat
75. Pink Cadillac, Natalie Cole
76. Fast Car, Tracy Chapman ( I hate her politics but this is a cool song...)
77. Electric Blue, Icehouse
78. The Valley Road, Bruce Hornsby and The Range
79. Don't Be Cruel, Bobby Brown
80. Always On My Mind, Pet Shop Boys
81. Piano In The Dark, Brenda Russell Featuring Joe Esposito
82. When It's Love, Van Halen
83. Don't Shed A Tear, Paul Carrack
84. We'll Be Together, Sting
85. I Hate Myself For Loving You, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts
86. I Don't Want To Live Without You, Foreigner
87. Nite And Day, Al B. Sure
88. Don't You Know What The Night Can Do, Steve Winwood
89. One Moment In Time, Whitney Houston
90. Can't Stay Away From You, Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine
91. Kissing A Fool, George Michael
92. Cherry Bomb, John Cougar Mellancamp
93. I Still Believe, Brenda K. Starr
94. I Found Someone, Cher
95. Never Tear Us Apart, INXS
96. Valerie, Steve Windwood
97. Just Like Paradise, David Lee Roth
98. Nothin' But A Good Time, Poison
99. Wait, White Lion
100. Prove Your Love, Taylor Dayne
The Steve Winwood one was by mistake...It should be normal, not bold.
Donna Lewis likes a Joan Jett song. Who knew!? I wonder what the Venerable would say.
Part of the reason I like is because of sentimental associations....