I told you we’d get to this version of the Mixture’s earlier entry on this list eventually, here we have the debut single for Mungo Jerry who is a band named after a character from a book of cat poetry that would be the basis of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Cats. Honestly, I could go on all day about this track, however I’ll leave it at this being the quintessential track about doing nothing ala “The lazy song” or “Hakuna Matata.”
This was the song that Liv Maessen stole the success of here in Australia given how Mary Hopkin was also on a roll going into the 70’s given how she capped off the 60’s with two of its biggest hits. She was credited as one of the first clients on the Beatles Apple label, although there was some concern at the time given how she was barely in her twenties when she signed her contract with them.
It’s staggering to think that these guys would be considered yesterday’s news here in Australia once “Please Mr postman” fell off our charts during the midpoint of the decade given how inescapable they were here during the first half of the 70’s. Here they are with their big breakthrough hit which was far more popular than many other tracks that 70’s afficionados will likely name these days.
This was the final chart topper the fab four had here in Australia, it was guaranteed to be a success given how they were still on top of the world as far as their success was concerned even if there were tons of behind-the-scenes drama which made their breakup inevitable. For me, this feels like “Hey Jude” part II musically, suggesting that this felt more like a contractual obligation than anything (although I’m not a Beatles fan so take that with a grain of salt.)
This is the English version of the one and only hit that Miguel Rios had in his career as naturally this song was originally in Spanish due to that being the composer’s native tongue. It was a massive success here in Australia and no doubt led to the trend of combining classical music with more contemporary music of the twentieth century over the years.
This is another (in my opinion) inferior cover of a more popular track released internationally at this time, at least the original was a hit here in Australia (stay tuned for it later down this list) even if this was by far the more popular version among us Aussies back in the day. The comes from the pop diva Liv Maessen who scored another minor hit with her rendition of Anne Murray’s “Snowbird” (which won’t be appearing on this list.)
We have our first 60’s holdover to appear on this list, although this lasted for quite some time in 1970 which more than makes it eligible for this list even if most of its success came from 1969. It was also the final solo hit that Roy Orbison had in his lifetime given how he wouldn’t touch the charts anywhere in the world again until 1988 with the Traveling wilburys mere weeks prior to his death.
Given how the Monkees were one of the most successful bands of the 60’s, it only makes sense that their spiritual successor when it comes to bands created for TV would also find massive success worldwide. This song is nowadays better known for the Voice of the beehive cover from the early 90’s, however for twenty years, it was this version people thought of whenever the title came to mind.
While this wasn’t the biggest hit off of Simon and Garfunkel’s final album, it was the highest charting song on said album here as this went to number one as opposed to their earlier entry which only hit number two on our charts. I guess we Aussies were open to having the duo put lyrics to an instrumental that was made half a century prior to their version’s existence.
If you’re wondering why John Farnham managed to have a hit with his rendition of an Oscar winning ballad from BJ Thomas, that’s because this was among those songs that were released by an Australian artist that only exists to cash in off the success of the international release. Unfortunately, in this case, the original was a huge flop here in Australia, made worse by John already being a household name when this came out.
This was the third hit that Creedence clearwater revival (CCR for short) achieved from their magnum opus Cosmo’s factory, it was a chart topper here in Australia which was quite rare for a track from a highly successful album that wasn’t said album’s lead single. I guess when you’re selling two future staples on oldies stations for the price of one, that was something that was bound to happen.
Contrary to popular belief, this song wasn’t written for the Jesus Christ superstar soundtrack even though this was released around the time the show premiered on Broadway and west end which would likely explain its international success for Norman Greenbaum. This is also the best proof I have that the 60’s didn’t end at the turn of the decade given how this feels like something made pre-Woodstock.
Simon and Garfunkel were another band who broke up at the start of the decade despite starting the 70’s on a strong note, in this case it was with the title track from their final album which indeed was a massive hit for the folk duo worldwide. Curiously, Art would find more success in the 70’s despite Paul finding more success on his own in the long run.
This is the final chart topper that Elvis Presley had in his lifetime here in Australia, it’s the penultimate chart topper of his if you include the remix of “A little less conversation” from 2002. Despite this, it was far from his final hit as he exploded in popularity throughout the first half of the decade here in Australia, meaning there’s plenty of other entries to come on this list from the king of rock and roll.
We have another 60’s carryover on this list, this time it’s the double single from the fab four’s magnum opus Abbey Road which is often considered to be one of the best albums of all time. It was their penultimate chart topper here in Australia given how their final hit overall failed to top our charts.
This is the second single released from Cosmo’s factory, it was also the first of two chart toppers the band had here in Australia which goes to show how immensely popular the swamp rockers were during the height of their fame. Like many bands that began the decade on a high note, their time in the spotlight would quickly dwindle due to behind-the-scenes drama resulting in their breakup in 1972.
This was a massive hit for Elvis Presley at the start of the decade worldwide, it makes sense given how he began the decade with his earlier entry on this list which also remains one of his more iconic tracks in his catalogue. This not so much due to his 70’s output being widely ignored by most modern fans of the king of rock and roll.
We have another appearance from Jigsaw on this list, this time it’s with their rendition of Christie’s one and only hit from the start of the decade which resulted in that track failing to become a hit down under like it was internationally. In case you were wondering, these guys are the reason why the band behind “Sky high” were referred to as British jigsaw here in Australia back in the day.
This is the only other hit that Melanie had in her career, although this is a much better representation of her overall sound given how this came off her magnum opus that is Candles in the rain. Here she joins forces with the Edwin Hawkins singers for a song that feels like it could’ve been made on Motown by the likes of the Supremes or even the Jackson five if they collaborated with a female vocalist.
This was the final hit that the Beach boys were able to achieve here in Australia, it’s interesting that their final hit with us Aussies would be a country song given how they’re best known for their surf rock tracks throughout the 60’s. If I were to go back to the 60’s, they would have a few more entries on this site, but not nearly enough to make it worthwhile for their fanbase.
It was a new decade, meaning that Eric Burdon decided to change things up by abandoning his previous band the Animals and forming a new band known as War. He was off to a good start with his new band’s debut single, likely due to being far funkier than anything his previous band released throughout the 60’s. This proved to be his final hit as the rest of War’s catalogue flopped as the decade went on.
This was the last song that the fab four released as a unit before going their separate ways, it was also one of the few songs of theirs that failed to reach number one here in Australia likely because of the news they were breaking up. This wasn’t the case in America where it went to number one on Billboard.
One of several TV presenters to find success as a pop crooner here in Australia, we have Matt Flinders (no relation to the historical figure of the same name) who ended the 60’s and began the 70’s on a high note with this track becoming a huge success for him. He has another entry to come on this list, proving that there was still plenty of room for 60’s pop crooners during the first half of the decade.
This was the lead single to Cosmo’s factory, as such it was guaranteed to be a massive success for CCR even if it was the lowest charting single from the album here in Australia. What’s interesting is that the band never made it to number one in their native America, they came close several times to the point where they have the most songs to peak at number two on Billboard without ever reaching the top spot.
We have further evidence that the 60’s kept on rolling as far as the music was concerned as this feels like it belongs during the height of summer love, although I get the feeling it would’ve bombed had its target audience realised that Edison Lighthouse was actually just a group of session musicians looking to cash in off the Freelove vibes of the 60’s rather than genuinely be a part of it.
This is one of only two hits that Led zeppelin had here in Australia back in the day, it’s a song that’s long since been mired in controversy due to it being a rip-off musically of “You need love” from Muddy Waters which led to the latter suing the band’s estate fifteen years after the song’s release. As that wouldn’t happen for another decade and a half, the song was free of this controversy during its initial release.
This was the only hit from husband-and-wife duo Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan, it’s a novelty track about how birds can operate without the features that make them birds that apparently amused us Aussies back in the day and virtually no one else in the world due to how much of a failure it was internationally.
He may be best known for his work from the late 80’s, however John Williamson scored his one and only hit here in Australia with his debut single which true to form, is about a man and his emu farm. He was always the voice for the outback Australian, although it appears his fellow Aussies weren’t interested in what he had to say until “True blue” hit our airwaves sixteen years later.
We’ve looked at the Bananarama cover from 1986, time to look at the original version of this classic from the Dutch group Shocking blue who scored a massive worldwide hit with this dance rock track at the start of the decade. Even though most people will be more familiar with the 80’s version, this still remains a staple on oldies stations to this day, proving how well loved the song is after all these years.
Here’s the first hit that the Mixtures had here in Australia, as you’ve noticed, this is a cover of the Mungo Jerry track from around this time (don’t worry we’ll look at that version shortly.) This was part of a trend where Australian bands and artists would churn out their (in my opinion) inferior covers of a popular track of the moment which would steal the success of the international version of the song.
Oh boy do I do not want to talk about this song, mainly for the artist who made it but also, I promised myself I wouldn’t be mean to songs that were clearly meant for children. Thankfully this will be Rolf Harris’s only entry on my site given how his only other hit was as such a decade prior.
Both Bobbie Gentry and Glen Campbell were on a roll when they began the decade with this collaboration they made together worldwide, as such it was inevitable that they would find massive success with this ballad even if the former wouldn’t have another hit after this collaboration moving forward.
In a bizarre turn of events, this was released as a single here in Australia rather than the international chart topper “Ain’t no mountain high enough” which was the B-side to this release albeit the version that has Diana Ross as part of the Supremes and is a duet with the Temptations. I guess you can consider this a spot Diana’s solo rendition as I feel its success is about the same as that would’ve received here.
Well, this feels like something that should’ve come out during the height of the hippy movement, instead it was a little late to the party as it was released at the start of this decade for Australian singer Hans Poulsen. I guess the spirit of the 60’s was prevalent enough for this to become a success for him, however it also firmly put him in the novelty camp as a result of its sound.
This was the love theme for the horror flick Airport, a film I haven’t seen and likely never will given how I’m very familiar with its parody film Flying high (or Airplane if you’re from America) from 1980 which makes a complete mockery of this film and its subsequent sequels. It was the only hit that composer Vincent Bell had here in Australia despite working on a number of other scores over the years.
While none of his singles managed to rise to the ranks of even his weaker selling albums here in Australia, that didn’t mean that Neil Diamond didn’t achieve massive success during the first half of the decade here like he did throughout the rest of the world. This was the third hit he scored on our charts as well as the biggest in his entire catalogue due to it being his first Billboard chart topper.
So, if you know the name Lionel Rose, you’re probably wondering how a heavyweight boxing champion managed to make it onto my site given how most professional athletes to try out a music career are usually laughed out of the industry. It turns out the aboriginal (or first nations if you prefer) managed to impress his fellow Aussies with his musical abilities to the point where he scored a massive hit at the start of the decade.
It took me a while to get to these guys, but I finally get to feature the spiritual successor of the Seekers on this list of mine starting with their debut single. I guess the rest of the world was a bit sceptical of this new direction that the brand name was going in given how it was only a hit in the southern hemisphere, although that would quickly change with their subsequent releases.
It’s interesting that this almost made it to number one on our charts given how it wasn’t a big hit in Glen’s native America, then again, Glen Campbell in general seemed to have more success down under than he did on the Billboard charts until he sold out with “Rhinestone cowboy” in 1975 where his fortunes were reversed in both countries.
This is the earliest entry from CCR I’ll be featuring on this site, it was the lead single from their fourth album Willy and the poorboys which serves as yet another two for one deal on this list given how both tracks on this release remain staples on oldies stations to this day. For what it’s worth, the band had massive success in 1969 with material from their first three albums.
This was the biggest hit from Blood sweat and tears here in Australia, mainly because it peaked here during the transition from the 60’s to the 70’s but also likely because it was the most pop friendly of the three singles to spawn from the band’s self-titled Grammy award winning album. The album has received backlash over the years for winning album of the year over Abbey Road by rock purists.
This was the second and final hit that Ronnie Burns had throughout his career, the first was with “Coalman” from 1967 which initially put the Australian singer/songwriter on the map during the height of the Freelove era of music. I guess he was pipped for good things this decade given how well he began it with this track, however his fate turned for the worst as he failed to score any other hits.
There have been so many different versions of this ballad over the years that it almost seems anticlimactic that the most famous version comes from the woman who gave us “Ode to Billie Joe” from two years prior. Bobbie Gentry of course is well known for her personal folk ballads, so seeing her score her biggest hit with this Burt Bacharach number is a bit confusing to say the least.
This was sandwiched between the duo’s two earlier entries on this list, meaning that it’s possible that “El condor pasa” would’ve been even bigger here in Australia had that been pushed as the second single over this ballad about a woman named Cecilia. I guess this goes to show that we Aussies preferred experimentation over conventionality back in the day.
We have another musician of colour to feature on this list, this time it’s the debut single from RB Greaves who managed to score a massive hit from the 60’s going into the 70’s with this gem about a couple’s infidelity. This was a bit ahead of the curve when it came to sad RNB ballads about troubled couples given how this type of song would dominate the decade going forward.
This is the only notable success that pop star Bobby Sherman had back in the day, it was a massive hit for him here in Australia as well as his native America likely due to it being an innocent bubble-gum pop track about finding out how much the love of his life Julie loves him.
Now I’m not opposed to having a song that calls for racial peace and harmony (particularly in this day and age where racial tensions seem to be at their all-time worst due to idiots on the internet) the problem I have here is that we’re having a call to action from someone who’s infamous for their racially insensitive comedy tracks and that it’s displayed as a ballad similar to that of “We are the world.”
We have yet another carryover from the 60’s on this list, this time it’s the second hit that Neil Diamond had in Australia which came right after his first which was “Sweet Carolina.” This was a case of each of his hits being bigger than the last as it would culminate with his top entry on this list becoming a massive Billboard chart topper for him.
This is the first of three entries from Axiom, a folk-rock band who only lasted two short years together before going their separate ways despite being one of the more successful Australian bands at the start of the decade. The band is best known for having Glenn Shorrock on lead vocals as well as Brian Cadd on keyboards, the former known for fronting the Little river band and the latter of his own solo material.
From what I can gather, this song was released internationally purely thanks to the success of Shocking blue’s earlier entry on this list given how Tee set was another band from the Netherlands to find success at the start of the decade worldwide. It’s even in the same genre which further links these guys to the geniuses behind “Venus,” although sadly there’s no 80’s cover of this song like that track has.
This was the final hit for Tommy Roe anywhere in the world, although this was another 60’s carryover so it’s tough to say if this was a last hurrah for the previous decade that just took too long to take off or if there was genuine interest for keeping this guy around in the 70’s that was quickly discarded. Either way, it’s a good representation of his bubble-gum pop sound as well as a bad representation of his early rockabilly sound.
Shortly before she had most of her success stolen by Liv Maessen with her earlier entry on this list, Mary Hopkin managed to begin the decade with this track that does a great job in showcasing her abilities as a vocalist as well as bringing to life songs that were discarded by the members of the Beatles for whatever reason. It’s a shame that her popularity died out after the first year of the decade came to an end.
This was the second big hit that Axiom had during their brief time together, I forgot to mention earlier that “Arkansas grass” was a carryover from the 60’s, meaning that they were another band that began the 70’s in the top ten that fell off fairly early into the decade.
This was the first of three hits that Michael Nesmith scored here in Australia throughout the 70’s, it’s worth noting that although he was popular as a member of the Monkees, he never found much success in his native America likely due to his solo outing being considering “real” music compared to the prepackaged music he made for the TV show.
This was the first song that Elvis Presley released this decade, naturally it was a hit here in Australia given that it followed up “Suspicious minds” which remains one of his most iconic hit singles in his catalogue.
If you’re wondering how Murray Head could score a hit single in the mid 80’s when he was pushing forty, that might be due to there being enough fondness for his first big hit from fifteen years prior which he recorded for the Jesus Christ superstar soundtrack (despite this version not making it onto the album.) It was a massive success in the southern hemisphere and even a minor success on Billboard.
This was the only hit that Blue mink had in Australia, likely due to it being a plea for world peace given how the titled the track after the phrase “melting pot of friendship.” They were far more successful in their native UK as well as NZ likely due to them having a woman of colour as their main vocalist in a band otherwise consisting of white men, a lineup that helped them stand out from the crowd back in the day.
I bet you were beginning to think I forgot all about these guys given how long it’s been since we looked at one of their many knockoffs throughout this list, it’s almost a cruel joke that the Jackson 5 only has one entry on this list given how inescapable they were throughout the first half of the decade worldwide. At least MJ scored a massive chart topper here in Australia with his earlier entry on this list.
This was the second hit that John Lennon had with the Plastic Ono band, the first being “Give peace a chance” from the end of the previous decade which helped put Yoko Ono and her band on the map due to its success. There’s speculation that Yoko was responsible for breaking up the Beatles due to her music receiving backlash over the years, the real reason for their breakup was due to John mistreating everyone in his life at the time.
This was the big breakthrough hit that Bread had in their career, it’s easy to see this as their debut single but it wasn’t as they had a few failed releases in their native America in the 60’s before making it big with this ballad. It was a huge chart topper for them on Billboard, which ensured its success throughout the rest of the world.
I’m not sure what to feel about this signature track from Joni Mitchell having most of its success come from Australia back in the day, I guess it was a modest hit in the UK and her native Canada which would explain how we Aussies came across it in the first place. For a song that’s quintessentially a hippy track, it’s amazing how well it holds up all these years after DDT has been outlawed.
Glen Campbell was on a roll during the first half of the decade given how this was another easy hit he had throughout the world, although curiously it wasn’t a huge hit in his native America which was also the case for his other entries on this list.
We have another appearance from the king of rock and roll for this list, I wish I could say something more interesting about these tracks of his, but they’re honestly in one ear and out the other for me, proving that he could release anything at this point in his career and it would be a hit with us Aussies.
This is one of several hits that Elvis Presley had during the first half of the decade that time hasn’t been particularly kind to, I feel this is due to hindsight following his death from later in the decade as he would often perform many of these songs at Vegas which was obviously not good for his wellbeing.
This is the only other hit that the Kinks had this decade in most parts of the world, it’s also (to my knowledge) the earliest hit single about a trans woman given that the titular woman is described as such. This has led to a polarising reception of the song in recent years as it’s both praised for being ahead of its time for humanising these individuals and criticised for not going far enough (the latter usually by “woke” individuals.)
This was the debut single for Tony Orlando and Dawn, a song that wants you to believe came from a real band judging by its cover art (much like “Knock three times” and its cover art from earlier) but instead was from the crooner and his two backup singers of colour like all the other tracks in their catalogue.
Although these guys had success in their native America prior to this hit, this was the first of several Billboard chart toppers that Three dog night had likely due to them taking an Eric Burdon track and running through the funk sound with their interpretation. The rest of the world liked what they did with the track which allowed it to crossover internationally.
I wasn’t expecting to add another entry from an artist who would go on to become a politician apart from Peter Garrett on this site, however that seems to be the case for Mike Curb as the future politician for California would score a hit with the theme to the Clint Eastwood flick Kelley’s heroes a decade prior to taking office in the west coast state.
This was the only hit to come from American singer Bobby Bloom, mainly because he would tragically pass away four years after its release due to a self-inflicted gun wound (there’s actually speculation on if it was a suicide or his gun misfiring on him.) The song would be covered by Australian band Allniters a decade after his death where it became a modest success for them (albeit a sleeper hit.)
This was the last major hit that the Masters apprentices had in their career, although their next single “Because I love you” would receive plenty of airplay due to a 1988 release of the track that flopped but was regardless what made them a favourite on oldies stations. Their success was more prevalent in the 60’s due to their sound fitting in perfectly with the hippy revolution.
Mark Lindsay was the lead single of Paul Revere and the Raiders, an American band who curiously failed to score any hits here in Australia despite how popular they were in their homeland. He did win us Aussies over with this ballad about a girl named Arizona (not the state) which sadly did no favours for his band at the time.
This was the first song that John Farnham released in the decade; it was a guaranteed success for him given how this was coming off the heels of his top entry on this list which coincidentally was when the original version from BJ Thomas took home the academy award for best original song.
Well, this is something different from Chicago, here we have a jazz rock track in the vein of early Santana or Blood sweat and tears which became a moderate success at the start of the decade worldwide for the band. I guess the genre became more niche as the decade went along, hence why they transitioned to a soft rock sound with their hit “If you leave me now.”
This is the only hit to come from the Australian band the Strangers, it’s a pop track about how someone named Melanie makes the narrator smile which was in keeping with the feel-good hippy nature of songs that made it big at the start of the decade.
This is the only other entry to come from Stevie Wonder, it’s another slow jam of his that wasn’t even among his biggest hits on Billboard. It was a carryover from the 60’s, so perhaps it got lost in the shuffle in his homeland where that wasn’t the case here in Australia.
If you’re wondering how Hollywood legend Lee Marvin managed to score a hit with what appears to be a spoken word track about wishing on a star, that’s because this is from his film Paint your wagon which co-stars Clint Eastwood who also has spoken word songs which led to the films critical backlash upon its initial release for the two leads lack of singing talent.
We looked at his final hit “Strokin” from the late 80’s on the NZ side of this site, time now to look at the only hit that Clarence Carter had here in Australia which is also his biggest hit worldwide due to how huge it was in the UK of all places. Clarence did find success in his native America throughout the 60’s, although none of those songs managed to crossover internationally like this did.
This was the first song that Cuff links released in the decade, suffice to say that their biggest hit “Tracy” was a huge hit here in Australia albeit in the 60’s hence why it won’t be appearing on this list. That said, this is more or less the same track as that only it appears to be dedicated to a Julie instead of a Tracy.
