The year 1974 was the year of the biggest ballads, bops, and barroom hits, creating a vast and varied Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. These mid-70s songs were the kind that stick with you for years, which is why every baby boomer alive can still sing them by heart, decades later.
“Sundown” by Gordon Lightfoot
No one ever wants to experience the paranoia and infidelity that inspired Gordon Lightfoot’s 1974 hit “Sundown”. But everyone wants to sing it. The striding chorus and simple melody make this an exceptionally pervasive earworm. The rest of the world seemed to agree, pushing the track to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Sundown, you’d better take care / if I find you’ve been creeping ‘round my backstairs.”
“The Joker” by Steve Miller Band
Steve Miller Band released “The Joker” in 1973. But it didn’t hit its stride until the following year. Maybe that’s just how long it took folks to memorize where the whistle comes in after Miller sings “Sooome people call me Maurice.” Even if one doesn’t relate to every word in the chorus, it’s hard not to sing along as Miller sings, “I’m a picker, I’m a grinner, I’m a lover, and I’m a sinner / I play my music in the sun.”
“The Loco-Motion” by Grand Funk Railroad
When “The Loco-Motion” was first released by Little Eva in 1962, there wasn’t actually a “loco-motion” dance. Eva Boyd created one while she was touring her smash hit. That means that by 1974, folks had plenty of time to practice the loco-motion when Grand Funk Railroad released their own hit version of the song. “Everybody’s doing a brand-new dance now / come on, baby, do the loco-motion.”
“Takin’ Care Of Business” by Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Bachman-Turner Overdrive released Bachman-Turner Overdrive II in December 1973 and released its follow-up single, “Takin’ Care Of Business”, the following year. A working person’s anthem with an infectious rock ‘n’ roll groove, it’s no wonder that this is among the 1973 hits that baby boomers can still sing every word to. “And if your train’s on time, you can get to work by nine / and start your slavin’ jobs and get your pay / If you ever get annoyed, look at me, I’m self-employed / I love to work at nothing all day.”
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Author: Melanie Davis
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