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

Today the #AtoZChallenge  brings us to the letter P. These three songs were the top ‘P’ songs according to the Billboard Hot 100 Year-End lists.


But first, if you haven’t had the opportunity to vote in the current battle of the bands, I’d like to encourage you to do so. You can find the battle HERE. Voting ends Thursday, April 20 @ 6pm EST.

Okay… moving on to today’s songs:


1973 - Playground In My Mind - Clint Holmes

Clint Holmes is a singer-songwriter and Las Vegas entertainer. He was born in Bournemouth, England, the son of an African-American jazz musician and an English opera singer. He was raised in Farnham, New York, a small village southwest of Buffalo, as a child.

In 1973, Holmes released "Playground In My Mind", a nursery rhyme-styled song which featured a duet with record producer Paul Vance's son, nine-year-old Philip on the chorus. Written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss, the song was released in the U.S. in July 1972, and rose to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but did not reach the Billboard Hot 100 chart until March 24, 1973, where it stayed for 23 weeks. It was granted gold disc status by the R.I.A.A. on July 3, 1973. The single went one better in Canada, topping the RPM 100 national singles charts there for three consecutive weeks in the same year (June 23 - July 7).





1975 -  Philadelphia Freedom - Elton John

"Philadelphia Freedom" is a song released by The Elton John Band as a single in 1975. The song was the fourth of Elton John's six number 1 US hits during the early and mid-1970s, which saw his recordings dominating the charts. In Canada it was his eighth single to hit the top of the RPM national singles chart.

Recorded in the summer of 1974, during breaks between sessions for Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, the song was at the time the only song Elton John and Bernie Taupin had ever consciously written as a single, as John told journalist Paul Gambaccini. John was looking to honour Billie Jean King, and so asked Taupin to write a song called "Philadelphia Freedom" as a homage to her tennis team, the Philadelphia Freedoms.

Small bit of trivia for you: The B-side, "I Saw Her Standing There", is a live recording of the Elton John Band with John Lennon at Madison Square Garden on 28 November 1974. It was the last of three songs John and Lennon performed together that night – the performance would mark Lennon's last ever concert appearance.





1976 - Play That Funky Music - Wild Cherry

"Play That Funky Music" is a song written by Rob Parissi and recorded by the band Wild Cherry. The single was the first release by the Cleveland-based Sweet City record label in April 1976, and distributed by Epic Records. The performers on the recording included lead singer Parissi, guitarist Bryan Bassett, bassist Allen Wentz and drummer Ron Beitle, with session players Chuck Berginc, Ian Bridle, Jack Brndiar, and Joe Eckert and Rick Singer on the horn riff that runs throughout the song's verses. The single hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 18, 1976, and was also number one on the Hot Soul Singles chart. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of over 2 million records, eventually selling 2.5 million in the United States alone.






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 'Q'. 
Any guesses as to which Billboard Hits from the 70s will be showcased?