This essay was originally written in 2020 and shared with a limited audience on Facebook during the early days of the pandemic. I’m reposting it here so that more people can read it, and because I want to revisit the music and memories myself. It’s part of a four-part look back at the music of 1974, a year that sounded a lot different than I remembered.

1974 Part IV – Winners & Losers

I added six songs from 1974 to my favorites list. That may not sound like much, but after working through the full Billboard Hot 100, it felt like a win. Not everything aged well.

Some songs I once loved now sound dated. “Band on the Run” is one I never need to hear again. I liked it in ’74, but not anymore. The same goes for McCartney’s other hits, “Jet” and “Helen Wheels.”

Here are the songs from 1974 that made my favorites list:

“Nothing From Nothing” – Billy Preston
“Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” – Steely Dan
“Oh Very Young” – Yusuf (Cat Stevens)
“Don’t You Worry ’Bout a Thing” – Stevie Wonder
“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” – Elton John

There were plenty of forgettable songs too, like “Radar Love,” “The Streak,” and “Rock On.” I can’t believe how much I loved “Rock On” at the time. I used to sing along like it was the coolest thing ever. I was thirteen. What did I know?

A few songs trigger an almost physical reaction now. Top of the list: “Midnight at the Oasis.” I can’t get through a single verse before skipping it. It’s musical fingernails on a chalkboard. “Seasons in the Sun” is another stinker. It was massive in 1974, but it’s hard to stomach now.

And then there’s “Billy Don’t Be a Hero.” What were we thinking? This one actually made a list of the 10 Worst Songs of the 1970s. It came in at No. 8. “Seasons in the Sun” was No. 7.

The more I worked through the list, the clearer it became: much of 1974’s Top 100 was questionable—or worse, unmemorable. Part of the blame falls on my generation. We bought into disco. We consumed an ocean of bland easy-listening ballads. We embraced the suck.

I listened to a lot of music that is now either forgotten or only dimly remembered. I was trying to emulate the people who influenced me. That’s what teenagers do. Looking back, a lot of what I listened to was never meant to last.

Still, there are some bright spots. I have a soft spot for John Denver. Two of his songs charted in 1974, like “Annie’s Song” and “Sunshine On My Shoulders.” These were inescapable hits, and they still get airplay. I’ll put on a John Denver album when I want to relax. “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” is still a feel-good singalong.

Denver’s music always struck me as what church music should have felt like, but never did. His songs feel spiritual in a way sermons never did.

Meanwhile, the former Beatles were cranking out some truly bad music. Paul McCartney & Wings charted with three songs, and Ringo Starr with two. It’s shocking how far their quality dropped. I didn’t know much about the Beatles at the time, so I didn’t have the context. Ringo’s stuff was the worst. Did people really like “Oh My My”? Did he actually try to make a disco rock song?

Some songs hurt to hear today.

One final note: the quintessential rock song of 1974 was “The Joker” by Steve Miller Band. It’s dated, but still kind of fun. We used to imitate it endlessly. I don’t listen to it much now, but when I do, it brings 1974 rushing back. It sounds like the ’70s. Not the good parts, but it still belongs.

Peanuts In My Pocket