Travel back in time, year by year, with three 50 year-olds to find out what was happening back in the day and which song is actually the best song for each year they’ve been alive.
Our Picks Through the Years
| Year | Grammy Winner | #1 Hit | Ben’s Pick | Jeff’s Pick | Tim’s Pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Games People Play | Aquarius/Let the Sunshine in | You Got the Silver | I Want You Back | Ooh Child |
| 1970 | Bridge Over Troubled Water | Bridge Over Troubled Waters | Super Bad | Signed, Sealed, Delivered | If You Could Read My Mind |
| 1971 | You’ve Got a Friend | Joy to the World | Love the One You’re | Bargain | Me and Bobby McGee |
| 1972 | First Time I Ever Saw Your Face | First Time Ever I Saw Your Face | The Rain Song | Papa was a Rolling Stone | Mona Lisa and Mad Hatters |
| 1973 | Killing me Softly | Tie a Yellow Ribbon… | Roll Um Easy | Stir it Up | These Days |
| 1974 | The Way We Were | The Way We Were | Papa Don’t Take No Mess | O My Soul | Living for the City |
| 1975 | Send in the Clowns | Love Will Keep Us Together | Thunder Road | Idiot Wind | It’s a Long Way to the Top |
| 1976 | I Write the Songs | Silly Love Songs | Hots On For Nowhere | American Girl | Rich Girl |
| 1977 | Evergreen/You Light Up My Life | You Light Up My Life | Vienna | Marquee Moon | Paradise By the Dashboard Lights |
| 1978 | Just the Way You Are | Shadow Dancing | You Got That Right | Radio, Radio | Last Dance |
| 1979 | What a Fool Believes | My Sharona | Rapper’s Delight | Clampdown | And the Healing Has Begun |
| 1980 | Sailing | Call Me | Back in Black | Tattooed Love Boys | I Will Follow |
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Recent Articles
Debutante Ball–Who Wowed ‘Em Out of the Gate?!
By Jeff Symonds On the 1983 podcast, we talked about debut records, and I suggested that the Violent Femmes record from that year was one of the all-time greatest debut records, maybe in the top 2 or 3. And boy did I hear it from people! J So I went back and double checked, and as … Continue reading Debutante Ball–Who Wowed ‘Em Out of the Gate?!
Sexual Healing Indeed
Break-ups can be messy in the music world. Singers have their medium to work through their emotions and if their song becomes a hit—or a career (Taylor Swift)—then we have this strange ringside seat as we pick through their heartache. Think of Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me A River,” where we not only know it’s about … Continue reading Sexual Healing Indeed
Start Fixing That Piña Colada
While deciding on the best song of 1979 in our 50 Years of Music podcast, we couldn’t help but spend a few moments mocking the syrupy sweetness of piña coladas, pointing out the flaws of consummating a relationship in the dunes on the Cape (or any beach setting), and marveling at the lack of moral fiber in … Continue reading Start Fixing That Piña Colada
