April 6th, 1970: the most classic hit-filled week in chart history?
Space hoppers, brown wallpaper, those terrifying Public Service Announcements, and Pong; we certainly have a lot to thank the 1970s for. Among the crowning achievements of the decade was its vastly eclectic musical output, ranging from the complex compositions of progressive rock to the revolutionary abrasion of punk.
Following on from the counterculture explosion of the previous decade, the 1970s certainly had a lot to live up to. Building upon the expansive psychedelic innovations of the 1960s, the musical mainstream of this new age in popular music focused firmly on the future, rather than wallowing in the successes of Woodstock, LSD, and tie-dye. As a result, the pop charts became much more diverse and inventive, hosting everybody from glam rock heroes like Marc Bolan to the enduring stars of Motown funk and soul.
While the pop charts aren’t always reliable in terms of presenting the absolute best music of a certain time period – Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Springsteen, Nirvana, and The Velvet Underground are just some of the iconic, incredible artists who have never had a number one in the UK – you can still tell a lot about a time period by looking at its chosen chart-toppers.
In June of 1977, for instance, the UK singles chart was topped by Rod Stewart, and the top five included the likes of Barbara Streisand and Kenny Rogers; about as mainstream and inoffensive as a chart list is possible to be. Yet, at number two was the Sex Pistols’ anti-monarchy anthem ‘God Save The Queen’, reflecting the rise of the punk movement and the widening gap between the mainstream tastes of the older generation and the cultural defiance of the youth.
Whereas the modern-day pop charts are often lacking in sonic diversity, the breadth and quality of the charts back in the 1970s were incredible. If you look back through the decade, virtually every week was noted by a now-iconic anthem, but few weeks were quite as productive as the week spanning from April 6th to April 11th, 1970.
So why was this period important?
It was the week that Apollo 13 launched, Midnight Cowboy won ‘Best Picture’ at the Oscars, and Paul McCartney quit The Beatles. For such an important week in the cultural history of the 20th century, the pop charts were suitably stacked with classic hits.
The US top five of that week, in particular, is staggering in its pop power: topped by The Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’, and followed by ‘ABC’ by Jackson 5, ‘Instant Karma’ by John Lennon, ‘Spirit In The Sky’ by Norman Greenbaum, and capped off by Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’.
To call any top five ‘the greatest top five of all time’ is a bold claim, but when names as colossal as The Beatles, Jackson 5, John Lennon, and Simon and Garfunkel are thrown together, it is hard to think of any chart week which eclipses it. Even ‘Spirit In The Sky’, which is inarguably the weakest link of the list, still goes down among the most iconic tracks of the decade, and in any other week it might easily have reached the top spot.
Not only does that top five feature some of the greatest names in musical history, but it has power in its breadth, too. ‘Spirit In The Sky’ reflects the lasting hangover of the hippie ‘peace and love’ age, while the Jackson 5 continue to fly the flag of Motown’s unstoppable hit factory, and The Beatles conclude their still unparalleled career with one of their greatest number-ones of all.
Whether or not April 6th, 1970, truly is the most classic-filled week in US chart history is ultimately up for interpretation, but it is difficult to imagine any other week being quite so jam-packed with classic songs which are all still beloved to this day. Not only did the chart reflect the incredible breadth of sounds emanating from the music industry back in the 1970s, but also the ability of the pop charts to capture and reflect a certain period in time.
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