By Steve Palec, ReMIND Magazine
“And they called it puppy love …” So fitting are the lyrics of Donny Osmond’s 1972 top single “Puppy Love” in describing our adoration of our favorite chart-topping pop stars. From those purple socks (Donny!) to those feathered locks (David!), we littered our bedroom walls with their pinups and wore out our record players with their LPs. Every hard-earned dollar we made babysitting helped fuel our delirious devotion to these superstars. Here we asked music veteran and radio host Steve Palec to take us back to the 1970s and spotlight the top pop icons of that decade in no particular order.
David Cassidy
He was Keith Partridge on TV alongside his actual stepmother Shirley Jones. The Partridge Family was both a huge hit show and a recording entity. Originally much like The Monkees, the idea was to use studio musicians for the records. When The Partridge Family producers realized their long-haired pretty boy star could really sing, they let David into the studio. “I Think I Love You” was the band’s first big hit, and during the show’s run, David released eight albums with the Partridge Family and four solo LPs. There were also massive concert tours, in which Cassidy could draw enough fans to fill stadiums — a major milestone in the early ’70s. Sadly, the man who entered the hearts of so many adoring fans died at age 67 in 2017 waiting for a liver transplant.
Donny & Marie
Donny began his career at age 5 under the tutelage of his siblings, the Osmond Brothers. By age 13 he had gone solo and started breaking hearts with melodies like “Sweet and Innocent” and his first and only No. 1 hit, “Go Away Little Girl.” By the time he was 20, Donny had a slew of Top 10 hits — including two with his beloved sister Marie (“I’m Leaving It All Up to You” and “Morning Side of the Mountain”) — along with the hit variety show Donny & Marie and a new wife, Debbie Glenn (whom he married in 1978). Fast-forward to 40 years later, and Donny continues to make his fan base swoon. His five-decade career has included a bestselling book, Broadway runs, a TV hosting gig, a syndicated talk show, a long-running Vegas act with Marie, a Mirror Ball Trophy for winning Dancing With the Stars (2009) and his most recent success on the hit 2019 singing competition series The Masked Singer.
Bobby Sherman
He had the good sense to be born near Hollywood. Certainly his good looks led to TV appearances in ABC’s primetime rock ‘n’ roll revue Shindig! and in the Western series Here Come the Brides. But you don’t have four Top 10 singles — including “Little Woman,” “La La La (If I Had You)” and “Easy Come, Easy Go”— without talent. His 1970 hit “Julie, Do Ya Love Me” was infectious. Bobby recorded his last single in the mid ’70s and then dabbled in TV and film roles thereafter before pursuing a career as an EMT. While he has mostly avoided the spotlight for the last few decades, he did erase any lingering forgetfulness that he was a teen idol by joining a “Teen Idol Tour” in 1998.
Bee Gees
These three Australian brothers — Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb — formed their act back in 1958 and rode a ’70s roller coaster. They redefined themselves in 1975 when Eric Clapton suggested they move to Florida. The sounds of “Jive Talkin’” and “Nights on Broadway” actually preceded the Saturday Night Fever phenomenon that made them true idols with “Stayin’ Alive,” “How Deep Is Your Love” and “Night Fever.” While it was their younger brother Andy Gibb who became a heartthrob with shirtless posters, the older siblings obtained their idol status based on music. Nearly everyone was aware of the disco sound they helped define in Saturday Night Fever. Interestingly, the Bee Gees’ music wasn’t even part of the filming of the movie. It was added postproduction. That was a good call, as their music had every teenager dancing at home during the 24 straight weeks the album was No. 1.
Donna Summer
She was the “Queen of Disco,” with 14 Top 10 hits including 1979’s “Hot Stuff,” “Bad Girls,” “Dim All the Lights” and her duet with Barbra Streisand “No More Tears (Enough Is Enough).” Allow me to quote her: “When you’re laying so close to me/There’s no place I’d rather you be than with me/Ahawwwww love to love you baby.” Those ahawwwwws made her an idol.
Paul McCartney
McCartney wasted no time forging his own career once the Beatles broke up in early 1970. He released his first solo album, McCartney, in April 1970 and by 1971 had formed Wings with first wife Linda, guitarist Denny Laine and drummer Denny Seiwell. That band produced hits throughout the decade, finding their creative stride in 1973 with the chart-topper “My Love” and the Oscar-nominated James Bond theme song “Live and Let Die.” In late ’73, Wings released its first platinum album, Band on the Run, with hits including the title tune. Other Wings successes included “Listen to What the Man Said” (1975), “Silly Love Songs” (1976) and “With a Little Luck” (1978). And Sir Paul, even when he’s closer to 80 than 70 years old, STILL can touch the heart of anyone young or old.
Tony Orlando & Dawn
Tony Orlando and the duo known as Dawn (comprised of singers Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson) didn’t seem like pop stars, but their TV show The Tony Orlando & Dawn Show (1974-76) elevated them to just that. In 2008, Billboard’s 50th anniversary of the Hot 100 ranked their song “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” as the 37th biggest song of all time.
The Carpenters
When they were signed to A&M Records just before the start of the decade, Karen was only 19 and needed parental permission. One of their biggest hits was “We’ve Only Just Begun,” which Richard heard on a bank commercial. They took the sale of over 90 million records right to their own bank and earned themselves idol status.
Elton John
He was so flamboyant that he defied categorization. While a teen, Reginald Dwight was in the seminal British blues band Bluesology. And when he first came to America in 1970, he was modestly dressed. But he was elevated to idol status when his sequined glasses and shoes and outrageous costumes combined with huge hits. When your decade includes “Tiny Dancer,” then “Rocket Man,” then “Honky Cat,” then “Crocodile Rock,” plus “Daniel,” and then the entirety of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, then you just enjoy.
Jackson 5
The ’60s were a decade in which Motown made a huge mark. But before they became wildly famous, the Jackson 5 started the ’70s with their first No. 1 hit “I Want You Back,” along with their other chart-toppers “ABC” and “I’ll Be There.” But besides their adored songs, they were the opportunity for Motown to market to the masses. Having a Saturday morning cartoon made them all the more lovable. That meant lunchboxes, a board game, coloring books, clothing and dozens of other items that made their way into the homes of an eager audience.
ABBA
There was something special about this group that won the prestigious Eurovision contest in 1974. While Björn or Benny or Agnetha or Anni-Frid could have been waiting in line for gas like the rest of us and never been recognized, the fact that we can all easily sing along with any of their hits puts them into idol territory. The worldwide success of their hits, including “Waterloo,” “SOS,” “Dancing Queen” and “Fernando,” has made them one of the most commercially successful musical acts of all time. Benny and Björn helped turn ABBA’s music into the jukebox musical Mamma Mia!, which opened on Broadway in 2001 and spawned two successful movies.
Bay City Rollers
“Saturday Night” was a No. 1 hit in 1975, even though these Scottish guys had tried releasing the song in the U.K. two years earlier. And I bet you can’t name one of them, making their pop stardom a true group effort. Of the heyday band members — Leslie, Eric, Woody, Alan and Derek (and later Pat and Ian) — frontman Les McKeown is still touring today under the name Les McKeown’s Bay City Rollers, and Stuart “Woody” Wood has formed a new version of the band.
Captain & Tennille
The husband-and-wife duo released a string of hit songs in the ’70s — “Love Will Keep Us Together,” “The Way I Want to Touch You,” “Shop Around” and “Muskrat Love” — before their short-lived variety series The Captain and Tennille (1976-77).
Three Dog Night
They were formed in the ’60s, and they cranked out hit after hit in the early ’70s. Hosting Dick Clark’s very first New Year’s Rockin Eve elevated them to pop idol status. They picked up a lot of fans, most too young to go out on New Year’s Eve.
Bread
Frontman David Gates may not have had his photo in many school lockers, but Bread’s 13 hits from 1970 to 1977 gave the band idol status. And just the words of their title track “Baby I’m-a Want You” proved pop had poets.
Peter Frampton
A true rocker slipped into the world of idoldom with a 1976 live album that, according to Wayne Campbell of Aurora, Ill., came in the mail with samples of Tide. Frampton Comes Alive! remains one of the bestselling live albums of all time.
Linda Ronstadt
She was a seriously talented vocalist with hits like “Blue Bayou” and “You’re No Good” who could move easily between rock, country and traditional Mexican music. She also moved effortlessly from posters to album covers to indelibly stamped images of her in roller skates.
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