#AtoZChallenge 1970's Billboard Hits - I is for...

Today is day ten of the #AtoZChallenge and that brings us to the letter I. These four songs were the top ‘I’ songs according to the Billboard Hot 100 Year-End lists.



1971 - It's Too Late / I Feel The Earth Move - Carole King


"It's Too Late" is a song from Carole King's 1971 album Tapestry. Toni Stern wrote the lyrics and King wrote the music. It was released as a single in April 1971 and reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts. Sales were later certified Gold by the RIAA. Billboard ranked "It's Too Late" and its fellow A-side, "I Feel the Earth Move", as the No. 3 record for 1971.

The lyrics describe the end of a loving relationship without assigning blame. Music critic Dave Marsh noted the implicit feminism in the fact that the woman has left the man. Marsh also remarked on the maturity of the theme.

"I Feel the Earth Move" is a song written and recorded by pop singer-songwriter Carole King, which first appeared on her album Tapestry; additionally, the song is one half of the double A-sided single, the flip side which was "It's Too Late". Together, both "I Feel the Earth Move" and "It's Too Late" became among the biggest mainstream pop hits of 1971.







1972 -  I Gotcha - Joe Tex

"I Gotcha" is a song by Joe Tex. He originally intended for the song to be recorded by King Floyd, but Floyd never recorded it. Instead, Tex recorded it himself in the late 1960s but did not release it at that time. He decided to re-record the song in late 1971 and released it as the B-side of "A Mother's Prayer", the first single off his 1972 album that was also titled I Gotcha. This angry song has the singer accusing his lover of being unfaithful to him, by having an affair with another man, so he tests her to ask her to kiss him for a longer time, and when he is unsatisfied, he demands to her to have her give him back his love, as a result of playing with his affections. Radio DJs decided to flip the single over and started playing "I Gotcha". This would result in Tex having his first major hit in five years as "I Gotcha" eventually peaked at Number 1 on the R&B chart and Number 2 on the Pop chart for two weeks, behind "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" by Roberta Flack and would sell around three million copies. Billboard ranked it as the No. 6 song of 1972.





1977 - I Just Want To Be Your Everything - Andy Gibb

"I Just Want to Be Your Everything" is a song recorded by Andy Gibb, initially released in 1977. It reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, starting on the week ending 30 July 1977, and again for the week ending 17 September 1977. It was Gibb's first single released in the United Kingdom and United States. His previous single, "Words and Music" was only released in Australia. It is ranked number 26 on Billboard's 55th anniversary All Time Top 100 list. The song became a gold record.







Be sure to follow the 2017 AtoZ Challenge playlist for all of the songs featured in this years challenge.




Did you listen to any of these tunes in the 70's?  Would you like to know more about these artists in future posts? Let me know in the comments.

What does tomorrow bring?

Tomorrow brings us the letter 'J'. 
Any guesses as to which Billboard Hits from the 70s will be showcased?