20 pop classics from the 1970s that should not be called soft-rock

“The Long and Winding Road” is not on the following list. As a pop-rock song from the 1970s (released in 1970, around the same time the Beatles officially broke up), it qualifies to be on the list. But I don’t really like the song very much. Neither did its writer, Paul McCartney, who thought that producer Phil Spector’s overproduction ran a delicate ballad.

But “the long and winding road” does kind of sum up this journey we have been on. We have spent the last month or so taking a tour of many of the outstanding songs that helped make the 1970s such a glorious year for mainstream music. We began with hard rock – the fundamental currency of the realm during the decade - then branched out to glam, prog, and punk. We did funk. We did country, and folk, and even gave the briefest of hat-tips to disco, which briefly devoured popular music late in the decade.

Before reaching this final chapter, we took a side trip into each year’s top ten to see which year had the best (and the worst) collection of very popular songs. Yes, it has been a journey – but, ironically enough, there is no Journey on this list. They certainly recorded some popular music in the decade but didn’t really hit their stride until the early ‘80s. Besides, truth be told, I never really liked Journey very much, and I’m the one making the list.

Don't call it soft-rock: These are 20 pop gems from the 1970s

So today, we conclude with somewhat of a generic category which I am calling “Soft Rock/Pop.” You can include a lot of songs under that umbrella. As you are about see. We have some dance pop and some folk rock. A couple of jazzy numbers and one or two big-time ballads. For some of these songs you really have to stretch the meaning of “soft” in “soft rock” to sneak it into the mix. But we have to do it. This is the final 70s' list. My editor and my doctor have both made it clear to me that this is the end.

“ABC” by the Jackson 5 (1970)

In late 1969, five brothers from Indiana exploded onto the pop music scene with the undeniably contagious “I Want You Back.” So their Motown producers decided to do it all over again with “ABC.” It added some fuzzed-out guitar to the mix and, if anything, was even more danceable.

It also allowed superstar lead vocalist Michael – not quite a teenager yet – to show off his performative skills to an even greater extent by letting him insert a little talk/shouting. How many 11-year-olds could shout out, “Sit down, girl – I think I love you – No, get up, girl – Show me what you can do” and not be laughed off the radio?

Michael Jackson could. Backed by his brother’s voices and some first-rate Motown session players, ‘ABC” replaced the Beatles’ “Let It Be” at the top of the Billboard charts. Then – what the hell – they did it all over again with “The Love You Save.”