7 of the 70s: 10/15/14 (1970)

It's hump-day 70s madness time, with seven more nuggets from 1970, the year Janis Joplin died from a heroin overdose in a hotel room.

Simon & Garfunkel - "Bridge Over Troubled Water"
from the album Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1
Songwriter: Paul Simon

The third verse, beginning with "sail on silvergirl" was an homage to Paul's wife Peggy Harper.

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Tom Jones - "Without Love (There Is Nothing)"
from the album Tom (1969)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #5
Songwriter: Danny Small

The Welsh vocal powerhouse revived a soul hit from the late 50s from Clyde McPhatter and drew his ravenous female fanbase to put in in the pop top-5.

Stevie Wonder - "Heaven Help Us All"
from the album Signed, Sealed, Delivered (1970)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #9
Songwriter: Ron Miller

Motown's little genius got some major religion in this gospel-style number that frequent writing partner Ron Miller penned.

Elvis Presley - "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me"
from the album That's The Way It Is (1970)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #11
Songwriters: Pino Donaggio, Simon Napier-Bell, Vito Pallavicini, Vicki Wickham

Napier-Bell (the manager of rock band the Yardbirds) and Wickham wrote new lyrics off-the-cuff for this reappropriated Italian song without having a clue on the original words.

Aretha Franklin with the Dixie Flyers - "Spirit In The Dark"
from the album  Spirit In The Dark (1970)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #23
Songwriter: Aretha Franklin


The Queen of Soul's emotional possession on this self-written gospel throwdown was sampled on Kanye West's College Dropout album.

The Fifth Dimension - "Save The Country"
from the album Portrait (1970)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #27
Songwriter: Laura Nyro

The vocal quintet went down to the Glory River, to sing a Nyro song inspired by the Kennedy Assasination.

Kenny Rogers & The First Edition - "Heed The Call"
from the album Tell It All Brother (1970)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #33
Songwriter: Kin Vassy

Pre-country/pop icon, Kenny was quite the trippy bloke with this obvious send-up of the Crosby, Still, Nash sound...

I'll return tomorrow with 8 more from 1980...