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

Today the #AtoZChallenge  brings us to the letter Q.  Q just happens to be one of those letters that were not on the Billboard Hot 100 Year-end Charts.



So I did some digging around, and came up with the following:

1970 - Question - The Moody Blues

"Question" is a 1970 single by the English progressive rock band The Moody Blues. It was written by guitarist Justin Hayward, who provides lead vocals. "Question" was first released as a single in April 1970 and remains their second highest charting song, reaching number two and staying on the chart for 12 weeks. It was later featured as the lead track on the 1970 album A Question of Balance.

Originally, the song itself was also to have been named "A Question of Balance," but was shortened to "Question." The lyrics of the chorus, "Why do we never get an answer, when we're knocking at the door/ With a thousand million questions about hate and death and war?", represented Hayward's feelings and attitude toward the Vietnam War.

At the time, "Question" was a simple recording for the Moody Blues. Their previous album, To Our Children's Children's Children, featured songs which included many different sounds provided by overdubbing and double-tracking. Unfortunately, this made most of the songs on the album very difficult to perform live. For this reason, "Question" was recorded in one take, and did not need any overdubbing or double-tracking, making it easier for the Moody Blues to perform live.

While this song did not hit the Billboard Hot 100 Year-end Charts, it did reach the number 2 spot on UK Singles Chart, and number 21 on Billboard Hot 100 when it was released.





1971 -  Queen Bitch - David Bowie

"Queen Bitch" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 for the album Hunky Dory.

Bowie was a great Velvet Underground fan and wrote the song in tribute to the band and Lou Reed. He recorded a studio cover of Reed's "I'm Waiting for the Man" in 1967 (which remains unissued), as well as live versions, which may be heard on Bowie at the Beeb and on Live Nassau Coliseum '76 (in the 2010 special edition and deluxe edition re-issues of Station to Station).

"Queen Bitch" starts with Bowie counting down to his acoustic guitar before Mick Ronson's thrashy guitar riff enters. The song's arrangement, featuring a melodic bass line, a tight drum pattern, choppy distorted guitar chords, and an understated vocal performance by Bowie, provided the template for the glam rock style that features prominently on The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, his seminal 1972 follow-up to Hunky Dory. While the main riff is similar to The Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane", it is actually lifted from Eddie Cochran's "Three Steps to Heaven".





1973 - Queen of Hearts - Gregg Allman

Gregg Allman wrote this for Janice Blair, who was the second of his six wives - she married him in 1973 and they divorced in 1975. Janice is the sister of Ron Blair, the bassist of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Gregg Allman originally intended this for The Allman Bros' Brothers and Sisters LP. "That song took me about a year and a half to write," he told American Songwriter magazine. "We were rehearsing for the Brothers and Sisters album in 1973, and I had this pile of confetti around the piano where I'd tear it [the song] up in a rage and then go back to it. I finally played it for the band and one of them, I won't say who, said, 'Well, it just ain't sayin' nothin'.' I was livid. So I got on the first thing smokin' to Miami and recorded the Laid Back album." (source: Songfacts)  Laid Back is Gregg Allman's first solo album.






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