20:42Oldies Music · 1976 · One-Hit WondersSongs From 1972: Can You Name 10 of These 15?
Episode: Only a True 1972 Kid Can Name 10 of These 15 Songs
From Sora Music Rewind · 35 min ·
About These Songs From 1972
These 15 songs from 1972 filled car radios, jukeboxes and transistor sets that year, and only a true 1972 kid can name 10 of them along with the artists.
The episode counts down from 15 to 1. Here is the story behind each record.
The Countdown: 15 Songs That Ruled the Radio in 1972
#15: Stuck in the Middle with You — Stealers Wheel (1972)
Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan wrote this as a joke about an awkward music-business party, and Rafferty sang it as a parody of Bob Dylan. The impression was so close that many listeners still think it is Dylan.
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller produced it for the band's 1972 debut album. Released as a single in 1973, it reached number six on the Hot 100 and sold more than a million copies, though Rafferty had already left the group. Tarantino later used it in Reservoir Dogs.
#14: Brandy (You're a Fine Girl) — Looking Glass (1972)
Looking Glass formed at Rutgers University in New Jersey in 1969, and guitarist Elliot Lurie wrote "Brandy."
Harv Moore, program director at WPGC near Washington, put it into heavy rotation. It hit number one on the Hot 100 for the week of August 26, 1972, and was certified gold. Barry Manilow later renamed a different "Brandy" song "Mandy" to avoid confusion.
#13: Dancing in the Moonlight — King Harvest (1972)
This carefree tune came from a painful time. Sherman Kelly wrote it in 1969 while recovering from a brutal gang attack on the island of St. Croix.
His band Boffalongo recorded it first in 1970. King Harvest, a group of Americans who had been based in Paris, released their version as a single in 1972. It climbed slowly to number 13 on the Hot 100 and number five in Canada.
#12: Go All the Way — Raspberries (1972)
The Raspberries came out of Cleveland, Ohio, in neat matching suits, but Eric Carmen's song was cheekier than their clothes. Carmen said the Rolling Stones' "Let's Spend the Night Together" inspired it.
It reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100, sold more than 1.3 million copies and became the band's only certified gold record. It later turned up in Almost Famous and Guardians of the Galaxy.
#11: Nice to Be with You — Gallery (1972)
On American Bandstand's "Rate-a-Record" segment on February 26, 1972, this song earned an average score of only 57.5 on a scale of 35 to 98. Record buyers disagreed.
Jim Gold wrote it for his Detroit band, Gallery, and Mike Theodore and Dennis Coffey produced it. It reached number four on the Hot 100, number one on the Cash Box chart and number one in Canada. Billboard ranked it the 14th biggest song of 1972.
#10: Beautiful Sunday — Daniel Boone (1972)
Daniel Boone was the stage name of Peter Charles Green, born in Birmingham, England. He wrote "Beautiful Sunday" with Rod McQueen.
The song went to number one in Germany, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway and South Africa. In the United States it reached number 15 on the Hot 100 and number six on the easy listening chart. At home in Britain it stopped at number 21. Peter Green died in January 2023, aged 80.
#9: How Do You Do — Mouth and MacNeal (1971)
This bouncy Dutch duet was written by Hans van Hemert and Harry van Hoof and first released in Europe in January 1971. It went to number one in the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland and New Zealand.
In America it arrived a year later, reached number eight on the Hot 100 and was certified gold. In 1974 the duo represented the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest with "I See a Star" and finished third, behind ABBA and Italy's Gigliola Cinquetti.
#8: Layla — Derek and the Dominos (1970)
Eric Clapton wrote "Layla" out of his love for Pattie Boyd, then married to his friend George Harrison. It appeared on the 1970 album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, produced by Tom Dowd, with Duane Allman as a guest on slide guitar.
A shortened single reached only number 51 in 1971. In 1972 the full seven-minute version was reissued and reached number ten in America and number seven in Britain. The piano coda is credited to drummer Jim Gordon, though Rita Coolidge and others have said the melody was hers.
#7: Hold Your Head Up — Argent (1971)
When the Zombies broke up, keyboardist Rod Argent formed a new band named after himself in 1969, with Russ Ballard, Jim Rodford and Bob Henrit.
"Hold Your Head Up," written by Chris White, Argent's old Zombies partner, and credited to White and Argent, was first released in Britain in October 1971 and became a hit in 1972 from the album All Together Now. Russ Ballard sang lead. It reached number five in both the United States and Britain.
#6: Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues — Danny O'Keefe (1972)
Danny O'Keefe first recorded this song in 1967, and it went nowhere for years. In 1972 he cut a new version for his album O'Keefe, produced by Arif Mardin, and released it as a single that August.
This time it reached number nine on the Hot 100 and number five on the adult contemporary chart. Elvis Presley, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson all recorded it later.
#5: Thunder and Lightning — Chi Coltrane (1972)
Chi Coltrane, a singer and pianist who started out performing in Chicago, was signed to Columbia Records by Clive Davis.
"Thunder and Lightning" reached number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, her only American hit. Her career later continued in Europe, especially in Germany.
#4: In the Rain — The Dramatics (1972)
The Dramatics, a Detroit vocal group, had already reached number nine in 1971 with "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get." Songwriter Tony Hester then gave them "In the Rain," released in February 1972 on Volt, part of Stax.
Opening with the sound of rain and thunder, it tells of a man who wants to stand in the storm so no one can see him cry. It spent four weeks at number one on the R&B chart, reached number five on the Hot 100 and sold more than a million copies.
The Top 3
The final three are revealed in the episode.
Watch the countdown to find out — or tap below to read them now.
#3: Sunshine — Jonathan Edwards (1971)
"Sunshine" was never meant to be a single. Near the end of Jonathan Edwards's debut album sessions, an engineer accidentally erased the master of a track called "Please Find Me," and "Sunshine" filled the gap.
Capricorn Records released it in November 1971. It reached number four on the Hot 100 in January 1972 and earned a gold record, and many listeners heard it as a song of the Vietnam era.
#2: Popcorn — Hot Butter (1972)
Gershon Kingsley wrote "Popcorn" in 1969 for his album Music to Moog By. Born in Germany in 1922, he fled the Nazis at 15 and taught himself piano on a kibbutz in Palestine.
Stan Free, a fellow member of Kingsley's First Moog Quartet, recorded it with his group Hot Butter in 1972. It reached number nine in America and number five in Britain. Kingsley died in 2019 at 97.
#1: Say You Don't Mind — Colin Blunstone (1972)
After the Zombies ended, singer Colin Blunstone briefly worked as an insurance clerk.
His 1971 solo album One Year was produced by his old bandmates Rod Argent and Chris White. "Say You Don't Mind," written by Denny Laine of the Moody Blues and later Wings, used only strings, arranged by Christopher Gunning. It reached number 15 in Britain in February 1972. Laine later said a faulty publishing contract meant he never earned royalties from it.
How These Records Ended Up on 1972 Radio
Not every song here was new in 1972. "Layla," "Sunshine," "How Do You Do" and "Hold Your Head Up" first came out earlier, but all of them were on the air that year.
Why These 1972 Hits Are So Hard to Name
Radio in 1972 mixed soft rock, soul, country-flavored pop and even a Moog synthesizer instrumental.
Many of these songs from 1972 also had second lives in movies and covers, which kept the music familiar long after the artists faded from view.
How many of these 15 could you name without peeking, and which one takes you straight back to 1972?
Sources and Further Reading
Topics in This Story
Your turn...
Which song takes you right back — and where were you when you first heard it?
Tell us the story — fellow fans would love to hear it.
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