3 One-Hit Wonders From 1971 That 70s Kids Will Never Forget

We always remember the era we grew up in. There is something special about the sights and sounds of your formative years—the time period imprints itself on you, almost like a tattoo. And that’s just what we wanted to explore here below.

We wanted to dive into three songs from back in the day that many still find unforgettable. These are three songs that simply sound like a certain period in time. Indeed, these are three one-hit wonders from 1971 that 70s kids will never forget.

“Mr. Big Stuff” by Jean Knight from ‘Mr. Big Stuff’ (1971)

Jean Knight scored a classic with this song. She summed up an entire slice of humanity with her derisive nicknaming. Indeed, Mr. Big Stuff just sounds like a bad thing. It does not sound like a title anyone should want. At first, you may think you want to be the focus of everyone’s attention. But then you realize—you’re just a pompous, bloated jerk. That’s what Knight shows here. It’s the ultimate burn put to music.

“Here Comes The Sun” by Richie Havens from ‘Alarm Clock’ (1971)

While Beatles fans know this song from the band’s 1969 LP, Abbey Road, it was covered two years later by Richie Havens and turned into something new. Havens brought an urgency to the track that it didn’t have before. He took his acoustic guitar and strummed it fast, like he’d been jolted with electricity. The result is something new, something music fans loved. Whenever you can turn a classic on its head like that, people pay attention.

“I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony)” by The Hillside Singers from ‘I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing’ (1971)

Fans of folk may enjoy this song. But fans of Coke may also. Indeed, this jingly tune was famously used for a Coca-Cola commercial in the early 1970s, displaying the soda’s softer side. (Indeed, fans of the TV show Mad Men—spoiler alert!—may also remember the track’s inclusion at the very end of the final episode.) It was impossible to be alive in the early 1970s and not hear this song on a weekly or even daily basis. While it hit No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, “I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony)” was hitting TV screens much more often.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

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