Elton John became the decade 's biggest solo pop star , releasing diverse styles of music that ranged from ballads to arena rock ; some his most popular songs included " Crocodile Rock " , " Goodbye Yellow Brick Road " , " Bennie and the Jets " , " Philadelphia Freedom " and " Do n't Go Breaking My Heart " ( the latter a duet with Kiki Dee ) . Other European soft rock major artists of the decade included Cat Stevens , Fleetwood Mac and Joan Armatrading . ( See the country music section of this article for more about country music that crossed over onto the pop charts . ) One of the most successful European groups of the decade , and one of the best-selling acts of all time with 380 million records sold , was the quartet ABBA . The most successful Swedish group of all time , ABBA first found fame when they won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest . They became one of the most widely known European groups ever , as well as one of the few groups from a non-English speaking country to gain international success with several back-to-back No. 1 albums and singles in most of the major music markets . " Waterloo " , " Mamma Mia " , " Take a Chance on Me " , " Knowing Me , Knowing You " , " Dancing Queen " and " The Winner Takes It All " are just some of ABBA 's most popular and most successful songs
1974 Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 1974
1970s in music