For Starters - 1970s Song Lyrics Quiz

Answer: Badfinger

"Day After Day" was Badfinger's highest charting single, peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in February of 1972. Originally called The Iveys, they became the first band signed by The Beatles' Apple label in 1968. The group changed its name to Badfinger in 1969, a reference to "Bad Finger Boogie", which was the working title for The Beatle tune "With A Little Help from My Friends". Badfinger disbanded in May of 1975, one month after founding member and lead singer Pete Ham committed suicide.

Answer: The Bee Gees

"Lonely Days" was The Bee Gees first top five hit in the U.S., reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in January of 1971. The Bee Gees consisted of brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb, who began performing together in 1958. The group found success during the '60s and early '70s, placing nine singles on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, including "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", which was the bands first number one.

Although most of their previous hits had been ballads, when disco started becoming popular in the mid 1970s the brothers began writing and recording song with more of an upbeat tempo, which turned out to be a good move. Between 1975 and 1979, The Bee Gees had ten singles reach the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, with eight of those going to number one.

Answer: Paul Simon

"Kodachrome" was Paul Simon's highest charting solo effort to date, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in the Summer of 1973. Since Kodachrome is the brand name for a type of film sold by Eastman Kodak, the tune was banned by the BBC, due to their strict policy against product placement in songs. "Kodachrome" was included on Simon's third studio LP "There Goes Rhymin' Simon", which reached number two on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.

Answer: The Steve Miller Band

"The Joker" was the first number one for The Steve Miller Band, reaching the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in early January of 1974. The song reached number one again in 1990, but this time it was on the other side of the Atlantic. After being featured in an advertisement for Levis, the single was reissued and went to the top of the UK Singles Chart.

It also went to number one in Ireland, New Zealand and the Netherlands.

Answer: The Doobie Brothers

"Black Water" topped the Billboard Hot 100 in March of 1975, becoming The Doobie Brothers' first number one single. The band didn't feel like the song had hit potential, so it became the B-side to "Another Park, Another Sunday", which was the lead single from The Doobie's 1974 LP "What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits".

The single enjoyed moderate success, peaking at number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100. Meanwhile, the album cut of "Black Water" was beginning to receive airplay, and the listener response was so overwhelming, that the band decided to re-release it as an A-side, and it eventually climbed to the top of the charts.

Answer: Chicago

"Make Me Smile" was Chicago's first top ten single, peaking at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970. The band had 21 top ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100 charts between 1970 and 1989, with five of those reaching number one. The group has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and were finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. Original members Peter Cetera, Robert Lamm and James Pankow were also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017.

Answer: George Harrison

"What Is Life" was the second single issued from Harrison's 1970 multi-platinum LP "All Things Must Pass". The single was released in the U.S. in February of 1971, peaking at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 in March of that year. With his first single, "My Sweet Lord", topping the chart the previous year, Harrison became the first ex-Beatle to have two top ten hits in the U.S. Harrison originally wrote the song for his friend Billy Preston to record, but ultimately decided to keep it for himself.

Answer: Linda Ronstadt

"You're No Good" was Linda Ronstadt's first and only number one single, topping the Billboard Hot 100 in February of 1975. The song was first recorded in 1963 by Dee Dee Warwick, but it stalled at number 117. A version by Betty Everett in 1964 fared much better, but it couldn't crack the top 50. Up to this point in Ronstadt's career she had enjoyed just moderate success, but "You're No Good" turned out to be her breakthrough record.

She enjoyed a string of top ten hits for the remainder of the '70s and into the '80s, mostly with cover versions of other artists material.

Answer: Billy Joel

"Only the Good Die Young" was one of four singles from Joel's 1978 LP "The Stranger" to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 24. The inspiration for the song was a girl Joel had a crush on while in high school, in a 1998 interview with Uncut magazine he said: "I originally started in bands just to meet girls. My first gig was in a church, about 1964, and this girl I had a crush on, Virginia Callaghan, who normally wouldn't look twice at me, just stared at me through the whole gig. And I thought, this is so cool! Girls and money! Man, I was hooked." The single's sales were sluggish to begin with, but when Catholic church officials heard the song and condemned it, the negative publicity actually helped the song, and it ultimately became a hit.

Answer: Stevie Wonder

"Living for the City" peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 in January of 1974, it also topped the Billboard R&B chart. The song was from Wonder's 1973 album "Innervisions", which also included two other top 20 hits, "Higher Ground" and "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing". Wonder was responsible for all the instrumentation on the track including drums, electric piano, bass, vocals and hand claps.

The song was also ranked at number 105 on Rolling Stone magazine's 2004 list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".