(June 11, 2021). So SiriusXM’s “’70s on 7” pop oldies station commemorates Black Music Month this weekend by airing its countdown of the 70 greatest soul songs of the 1970s. The first airing of this special happened Friday (6/11) at 3 p.m. Eastern (12 noon Pacific) and will air again several times between now and Flag Day (June 14).

Djrobblog caught the first airing of this event and has the results right here – all 70 songs listed in order from No. 1 to No. 70!

But before we get to that, readers should know that this soul countdown came from a pop music satellite radio station…voted on by pop music fans.

Granted, the list was democratically created, generated by an online listeners’ poll the station recently conducted (although, oddly enough, I listen to this ‘70s station pretty often and don’t recall them announcing the poll’s availability).

(Spoiler alert: If you haven’t caught the countdown yet and want to be surprised when you do, don’t read much further than this.)

Anyway, as one might expect given the station’s normal playlist and likely audience demographic (older, mostly white), the list is pretty poppy.

All 70 of the soul songs listed below also reached the pop chart; in fact, all but two of them reached the pop top ten (using Billboard’s Hot 100 chart as the reference).

Ironically, the only two songs on this list that didn’t reach the top ten on the pop chart were both by Earth, Wind & Fire (“That’s The Way of the World” and “Fantasy,” which reached Nos. 12 and 32, respectively, on the Hot 100).

Interestingly, two of the seventy songs also missed the soul chart’s top 10 (Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles Chart): again one was “Fantasy” by EWF and the other Freda Payne’s “Band of Gold.” Those two songs petered out at Nos. 12 and 20 on the Soul chart during their original runs in 1978 and 1970, respectively.

Continuing with the soul vs. pop comparisons, 33 of the songs reached No. 1 on the pop chart, while 46 of them topped the soul list, which is respectable enough.

Twenty-seven of the songs topped both lists, while 35 – or half of the songs – reached No. 1 or No. 2 on both charts.

In addition to the 27 songs that reached No. 1 on both charts, only two other listed songs had matching pop and soul chart peaks: EWF’s “After The Love Has Gone,” which reached No. 2 on both lists, and Rufus ft. Chaka Khan’s “Tell Me Something Good,” which peaked at No. 3 pop and soul.

Fourteen songs peaked higher on the pop chart than they did on the soul list, while 27 did the opposite.

That’s not a bad showing for fans of pop and soul crossover hits, but this list (printed in its entirety below) leaves a lot to be desired for soul music purists.

For example, there is no Parliament/Funkadelic to be found. George Clinton was snubbed big time, which is just downright disgraceful for any greatest ‘70s soul hits list, especially one that’s seventy songs deep.

“One Nation Under A Groove,” for example, is an iconic soul music anthem plus it has the chart credentials – it reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Soul Singles list for six weeks (only two songs during the 1970s spent longer time in that position: “Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green and “Serpentine Fire” by EWF, at nine and seven weeks, respectively). “Serpentine Fire” is also non-existent on this SiriusXM countdown.

There is plenty of other EWF, however. The band from Chicago has five songs on this countdown (tied with the Spinners for the most), including the song that finished at the top – the No. 1 ranked “September” (no surprise there). Several days before this show aired, I predicted that outcome to a bunch of fellow music nostalgia fans in a Lost Pop Hits Facebook group to which I belong.

Earth, Wind & Fire will always get love from this blogger – they alternate with the disco band Chic (more on them in a minute) as my favorite group of all time. But even I will admit that “September” is a dubious choice as the No. 1 soul song of the entire 1970s decade. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great song – clearly EWF’s most enduring classic – but it just doesn’t feel like the No. 1, greatest song of the ‘70s, either by chart standards or by quality standards.

There are too many other songs – many on this list, some not – that represent the true essence of ’70s soul music better than “September.” That song gets by on its catchiness, the nostalgic factor and its more current popularity.

“September” and EWF have inspired annual celebrations across the nation every 21st night of September. It has become the “Don’t Stop Believin'” of Black music – the song that had respectable chart success when it was released but has grown tremendously in stature ever since. But even most Earth, Wind & Fire fans will tell you that the band had several songs that were superior to “September,” but those other jams just don’t get the love that this ubiquitous hit does. “Getaway” would have been a nice entry on this list, for example.

Speaking of getting no love, also omitted from this list was that other favorite group of mine, Chic. Now, I know that they’re considered more disco than soul. Still, there’s no denying the soul/funk credentials of their biggest R&B hit, “Good Times,” which sparked an entire hip-hop movement and, like “One Nation,” topped Billboard’s Soul list for six weeks – making it one of the five longest-running No. 1 songs of the decade.

Even “Le Freak” or “I Want Your Love” arguably deserved at least an entry on the list (okay, admittedly, my bias influenced that last statement, but hey).

As far as multi-format songs go, perhaps the most glaring omission was the Emotions’ “Best of My Love,” which is ironic because it was produced by EWF’s Maurice White and was heavily contributed to by his band.

“Best” spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Soul list but – even more importantly – logged FIVE weeks at No. 1 on the pop chart during the summer and fall of 1977. If any ‘70s jam was the epitome of chart crossover success during that decade and belongs on this list, it was that one.

Now, before I reveal the list, I thought readers might be interested in another countdown subplot: which one of the two most important music capitals of the era – Philadelphia and Detroit – won the battle for representation on this list?

Philly soul (songs written and/or produced by Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff and/or Thom Bell) accounted for twelve of the 70 songs, with Philadelphia International Records accounting for five of those (the others were on the Atlantic or Avco labels by the Spinners and Stylistics, respectively).

Philly soul fans will be disappointed to learn, however, that classics by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, Teddy Pendergrass, and the label’s house band, MFSB (Mother, Father, Sister, Brother) did not even make the list (nope, there’s no “TSOP” here…sheer blasphemy!). Apparently, pop fans don’t have as much love for Soul Train’s most popular theme music, even though it also topped both the pop and soul charts – a seemingly winning formula for getting on this list.

Motown Records (the main blue label plus the Tamla and Gordy imprints) had 19 songs listed, the highest of which was Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” at No. 3. Motown was easily the most represented label here (and you thought just the 1960s were their decade!).

And speaking of Hitsville, USA, three former Motown acts did make the list with songs from their ‘70s labels, but sadly with only one hit each. Gladys Knight & the Pips took their “Midnight Train” to the runner-up position (a little higher than I expected, but I’m not knocking it…although she’s the only woman in the top ten), the Four Tops’ “Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I’ve Got)” ranked at No. 35, and the Isley Brothers’ “That Lady” placed at No. 59. If you’re looking for the latter group’s top-5 pop and soul social anthem “Fight the Power,” you won’t find it here.

All-n-all (pun intended for those who get it) it’s not a horrible list; all of the songs here are truly soul hits – big ones even. But, there’s clearly a demographic influence on the outcome, as some might have expected.

As for the list itself, brace yourself, here it is – the 70 songs voted by SiriusXM’s pop listeners as the greatest soul songs of the 1970s.

Still shot from EWF’s “September” video.


SiriusXMTitleArtistSoulPop
1.“September”Earth, Wind & Fire18
2.“Midnight Train To Georgia”Gladys Knight & the Pips11
3.“What’s Going On”Marvin Gaye12
4.“Let’s Stay Together”Al Green11
5.“Lean On Me”Bill Withers11
6.“Could It Be I’m Falling In Love”Spinners14
7.“You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine”Lou Rawls12
8.“Love Train”O’Jays 11
9.“Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe”Barry White11
10.“Me And Mrs. Jones”Billy Paul11
11.“Too Late To Turn Back Now”Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose52
12.“Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)”Temptations 11
13.“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”Diana Ross11
14.“Strawberry Letter 23”Brothers Johnson15
15.“Superstition” Stevie Wonder11
16.“Have You Seen Her”Chi-Lites13
17.“I’ll Be Around”Spinners13
18.“Mercy, Mercy Me”Marvin Gaye14
19.“I Want You Back”Jackson 511
20.“Brick House”Commodores45
21.“That’s The Way Of The World”Earth, Wind & Fire512
22.“Ain’t No Sunshine”Bill Withers63
23.“Sir Duke”Stevie Wonder 11
24.“When Will I See You Again”Three Degrees42
25.“Theme From ‘Shaft'” Isaac Hayes21
26.“Oh Girl”Chi-Lites11
27.“Band Of Gold”Freda Payne203
28.“Proud Mary”Ike & Tina Turner 54
29.“Betcha By Golly Wow” Stylistics23
30.“Shining Star”Earth, Wind & Fire11
31.“I’ll Be There”Jackson 511
32.“Let’s Get It On”Marvin Gaye11
33.“You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” Stevie Wonder31
34.“The Rubberband Man”Spinners12
35.“Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I’ve Got)”Four Tops24
36.“You’re The First, The Last, My Everything”Barry White12
37.“Papa Was A Rolling Stone” Temptations51
38.“Easy”Commodores11
39.“The Tears Of A Clown”Smokey Robinson & the Miracles11
40.“Low Rider”War17
41.“Ladies Night”Kool & the Gang18
42.“Everybody Plays The Fool”Main Ingredient23
43.“After The Love Has Gone”Earth, Wind & Fire22
44.“Rock Your Baby” George McCrae11
45.“Reunited”Peaches & Herb11
46.“Love Rollercoaster”Ohio Players11
47.“You Make Me Feel Brand New” Stylistics52
48.“Living For The City” Stevie Wonder18
49.“Working My Way Back To You, Babe”/”Forgive Me Girl”Spinners62
50.“You Sexy Thing”Hot Chocolate63
51.“Kiss And Say Goodbye” Manhattans11
52.“Never Can Say Goodbye”Jackson 512
53.“Got To Give It Up”Marvin Gaye11
54.“Show And Tell”Al Wilson101
55.“War”Edwin Starr31
56.“Tell Me Something Good”Rufus33
57.“Fantasy”Earth, Wind & Fire1232
58.“Games People Play” Spinners11
59.“That Lady”Isley Brothers26
60.“You Don’t Have To Be A Star”Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr.11
61.“ABC”Jackson 511
62.“Family Affair”Sly & the Family Stone11
63.“Car Wash”Rose Royce11
64.“This Will Be”Natalie Cole16
65.“Use Ta Be My Girl” O’Jays14
66.Then Came You”Dionne Warwick & the Spinners21
67.“Fire”Ohio Players11
68.“Mr. Big Stuff”Jean Knight12
69.“Want Ads”Honey Cone11
70.“You Can’t Change That”Raydio39
Rankings based on SiriusXM’s countdown of the greatest soul hits of the 1970s (June 11, 2021)

So what do you think? Representative list? Keep checking back for updates as I populate the list with other statistics, a Spotify playlist, and other fun facts. And feel free to comment either here or in any of the social media feeds where this article is posted.

Oh, and here’s that Spotify playlist of the countdown for your listening pleasure.

DJRob

DJRob is a freelance music blogger from somewhere on the East Coast who covers R&B, hip-hop, pop and rock genres – plus lots of music news and current stuff!  You can follow him on Twitter at @djrobblog.

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By DJ Rob

5 thoughts on “SiriusXM’s “Souled-Out” Seventies Countdown – the 70 Greatest Soul Songs of the ’70s. Do you agree with this list?”
  1. […] times when things are tough, but he is willing to weather the storm as long as they are together. According to Djrob Blog, this track was released in 1972 and became an instant hit. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart […]

  2. On your list of the 100 Greatest Black Artists of All Time, you put the late, great Sam Cooke at a measly #27! I am at a loss for words at this low ranking, because he should be in the top #5 at the least. In his short 33 years of living, he took Gospel Music to its highest level, and then crossed over to Pop, breaking racial barriers, and winning over audiences of all ethnic groups worldwide. He influenced the world with his music like Michael Jackson did, but 25 years earlier. Not only was Sam an accomplished musician, song writer, and unmatched singer, he was the proverbial ‘Sacrificial Lamb’ for Blacks in the Music Industry (and others) to own their Masters and Publishing. He challenged the Industry while others stood by and shook in their boots because of fear. He owned his own record label,(SARS), had other businesses, and produced a cache of great singers like Johnny Taylor, Mel Carter, The Womack Brothers, and The Sims Twins before it was even heard of for a Black man to do such a thing. In the 1950s, he sued RCA Records, and won $500K because he learned the Business of Music. He was doing all of this while still singing and charting #1 Hits,before any other Black artist dared to attempt it, and It paved the way for Berry Gordy to do what he did at Motown! He.eventually lost his life for fighting for what was his, and we can still see some of it happening today with the mysterious deaths of Michael, Prince, and a few others who fought for their Music. Everyone after him aspired to BE him; they stole his runs and shouts (Elvis), and even cut the perm out of their hair, wearing it natural. His vocals are unparalleled, even until this day. He needs to be pushed up in the rankings because Sam Cooke was the King of Soul & Pop, simultaneously in the 50;s and early 60’s, hands down….

    1. Thanks for this thoughtful accounting of Sam Cooke’s rightful place in music history and in rankings like these, which, admittedly, are subjective at best. I have often thought about this list in the six years since I first published it and where I’d rank certain artists today – or which ones I’d include now that I omitted the first time. I’ve also thought about which artists have come along (or improved their standings in the past six years) who would now appear on the list were I to do it again. Sam Cooke – much like Nina Simone – is an artists whose contributions to music are being better understood with the passage of time and with more revelation. He is likely to be higher when I redo the list (whenever that’ll be).

      Thanks again for your thorough response. One thing was false about your reply, though. You definitely were NOT at a loss for words. Lol

      DJRob

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