50 years ago, these were the No. 1 albums and…
50 years ago, these were the No. 1 albums and singles of 1970
This 1969 file photo shows musicans Art Garfunkel, left, and Paul Simon of Simon & Garfunkel shortly before they would record and release their 1970 hit album, "Bridge Over Troubled Water," which also provided a hit single of the same name. (AP Photo)
PUBLISHED: January 7, 2020 at 9:00 am | UPDATED: January 10, 2020 at 10:40 am
The calendar said the 1960s were over, but you wouldn't have known it from the 11 albums that reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts in 1970. There, the sounds of the decade in which rock and roll stormed the mainstream and pushed aside the remnants of Fifties pop music, still ruled supreme.
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel were the kings of the scene as the '70s began. Simon & Garfunkel's farewell album, "Bridge Over Troubled Water" was the top-selling album of the year. Its title track was the top-selling single. The Jackson 5 also deserve a shout-out for the success they achieved in 1970 with four separate singles reaching No. 1.
The year began with the continuation of a back-and-forth battle between two British bands who'd both spent time at the top at the end of 1969. (To see which albums and singles hit No. 1 in 1969 click here.)
So drop the needle in the groove, and let the music play.
"Abbey Road," the Beatles' 1969 release, continued its success into 1970 with three more weeks at No. 1. (File photo)
Album: "Abbey Road," the Beatles
Total weeks at No. 1: 3
This Beatles' album had already spent eight weeks at No. 1 after its release in the fall of 1969 and it reclaimed the top spot for the first two weeks of the new year before dropping back out and back in for a final week at the end of January. Thanks to classic songs such as "Something" and "Here Comes The Sun" today it ranks as the third best-selling Beatles' album ever after "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band" and the compilation album "1."
"Led Zeppelin II" by Led Zeppelin reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for the last week of 1969 and stayed there for another six weeks in early 1970. (File photo)
Album: "Led Zeppelin II," Led Zeppelin
This classic hard rock album had finished '69 at No. 1 and bounced back in mid-January and February 1970 to spend another six weeks in the top spot. Where the Beatles were on their way out — though they'd have more to sing and sell in 1970 — Led Zeppelin was only going to get bigger, thanks in part to songs on this album such as "What Is and What Should Never Be" and "Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)."
Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" was the best-selling album of 1970, spending 10 weeks at No. 1 on the charts. (File photo)
"Bridge Over Troubled Water," Simon & Garfunkel
Total weeks at No. 1: 10
Finally in March, an album actually released in 1970 reached No. 1 and when it got there it didn't budge until May. And with good reason: "Bridge Over Troubled Water" is a classic among classics, with the title track a healing balm for a new decade, and songs such as "The Boxer" and "The Only Living Boy In New York City" among standouts on the album.
"Deja Vu," the debut from the super-group Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, spent just one week at No. 1 in 1970 though many of its songs remain classics. (File photo)
"Déjà Vu," Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
It's kind of shocking to think this album only spent a week atop the charts. You've got David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young making their debut album. It has beloved songs such as "Teach Your Children," "Woodstock," and "Our House." Cool factoid: It has reportedly sold more copies than any of the individual members' solo albums.
"McCartney," the self-titled solo debut from Beatle Paul McCartney, spent three weeks at No. 1 as it beat the Beatles final release to record stores in 1970. (File photo)
"McCartney," Paul McCartney
John Lennon told his Beatles-mates he was out in September 1969, but the news was kept under wraps until April 1970 when Paul McCartney made it public a week before the release of his self-titled solo debut. The album, which was recorded mostly at home during the months when the band was privately coming apart, took a bit of a bashing from critics at the time, though later reassessments give it higher marks. And "Maybe I'm Amazed" is a truly great track.
"Let It Be" was the final release from the Beatles, coming out as news of their break-up reached fans. It spent four weeks atop the U.S. charts in 1970. (File photo)
"Let It Be," the Beatles
The Beatles' swan song appropriately followed McCartney's release to No. 1, fueled by songs such as the title track, "Across The Universe," and "The Long and Winding Road." Some didn't care for the glossy Phil Spector production — that included some of the Beatles — but fans gobbled up this final release regardless. If you add the weeks it spent at the top to "McCartney" and "Abbey Road," the Beatles matched Simon & Garfunkel with 10 weeks total at No. 1 in 1970.
"Woodstock," the soundtrack album to the film and festival of the same name, came out just under a year after the festival was held, and earned the top spot on the charts for four weeks in 1970. (File photo)
"Woodstock," original soundtrack
Less than a year after the Woodstock music festival occurred, the soundtrack to the film of the festival spent a month as the best-selling album of the land. The triple album is a bit of a mixed bag today, with stars such as Jimi Hendrix and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young alongside less-remembered performers and acts that sound definitely of that time and place. Still, it's a record of a time and place that meant a lot to the world then and now.
"Blood, Sweat & Tears 3" by the band of the same name reached the top spot on the Billboard album charts for two weeks in the summer of 1970. (File photo)
"Blood, Sweat & Tears 3,' Blood, Sweat & Tears
Most of the bands so far are still widely listened to today. Less so with the jazz-and-blues-rock of this horn-heavy band. Still, they were huge at the time, though the reliance here on covers of better-known performers' work — including the Band, James Taylor, and the Rolling Stones — was perhaps a sign of troubles to come.
"Cosmo's Factory," the fourth album by Creedence Clearwater Revival in less than two years, hit No. 1 on the album charts for nine weeks running in the summer and fall of 1970. (File photo)
"Cosmo's Factory," Creedence Clearwater Revival
This might have been the second-most popular release of 1970, spending nine weeks at the top, just one less than Simon & Garfunkel. Songs such as "Who'll Stop The Rain," "Run Through The Jungle," and "Lookin' Out My Back Door" are classic Creedence. The fact that they had this many good songs left for 1970 — after releasing three — three! — albums in 1969 is jaw-dropping.
"Abraxas," the second album from Santana, arrived in the fall of 1970 and spent six weeks that year at No. 1 on the album charts. (File photo)
"Abraxas," Santana
The second release by Santana popped to the top in the last week of October and then returned there for the five final weeks of the year. It featured a pair of the band's future classics in "Black Magic Woman" and "Oye Como Va," and "Samba Pa Ti" is an underrated tune, too. This is also in the sweet early years of Santana where keyboardist Gregg Rolie (later to found the band Journey) was the band's lead singer, though many tracks are instrumentals to let guitarist Carlos Santana's guitar work shine.
"Led Zeppelin III" saw the band of the same name soften some of its sound though its strength with fans stayed true. The album spent four weeks at No. 1 in the fall of 1970. (File photo)
"Led Zeppelin III," Led Zeppelin
With its third album, Led Zeppelin started broadening its sound from the heavy blues-rock of its first two records, adding elements of folk and acoustic blues to the mix on tracks such as "Gallows Pole" and "Since I've Been Loving You." Still, "Immigrant Song," which opens the album, is every bit as hard-charging as you'd want a rock song about a Viking invasion to be.
And in chronological order, the No. 1 singles of 1969: "Rain Drops Keep Fallin' On My Head," B.J. Thomas, "I Want You Back," the Jackson 5, "Venus," Shocking Blue, "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" / "Everybody Is a Star," Sly & the Family Stone, "Bridge Over Troubled Water," Simon & Garfunkel, "Let It Be," the Beatles, "ABC," the Jackson 5, "American Woman/No Sugar Tonight," the Guess Who, "Everything Is Beautiful," Ray Stevens, "The Long and Winding Road/For You Blue," the Beatles, "The Love You Save," the Jackson 5, "Mama Told Me (Not To Come)," Three Dog Night, "They Long To Be (Close To You)," the Carpenters, "Make It With You," Bread, "War," Edwin Starr, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," Diana Ross, "Cracklin' Rosie," Neil Diamond, "I'll Be There," the Jackson 5, "I Think I Love You," the Partridge Family, "The Tears of a Clown," Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, "My Sweet Lord/Isn't It A Pity," George Harrison.
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