No. 1 Hits of the 70s Vol.1 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head

It was "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" that was the first number one single on the U.S. Billboard charts in the 1970s. It was the featured song from the 1969 film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. The song spent four weeks at the top of the charts in January 1970. Written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach, B.J. Thomas had the biggest hit of his career with this song.

It has been covered numerous times and is listed on Billboard's own "Greatest Hits of All Time" at number 12.

Answer: My Sweet Lord

"My Sweet Lord" from the album "All Things Must Pass" went to number one on the charts for the last week of 1970 and remained there for the first three week of 1971. It was the first number one song from George Harrison as a solo artist after the breakup of The Beatles.

The song also reached number one in the U.K. and stayed there for seven weeks. It was the first single by an ex-Beatles to reach number one. After the song's release a legal battle took place over the musical composition which bore a striking resemblance to the Chiffons 1960s hit "He's So Fine".

After a lengthy court battle it was ruled that Harrison unintentionally copied the music from that song and he was ordered to surrender most of the royalties from the song. In any event, the song is one of the biggest hits ever by a former Beatle and is listed on Rolling Stone Magazine's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" at number 454.

Answer: Brand New Key

"Brand New key" was the carryover hit from the last week of 1971 which ended up spending the first two week of 1972 at the number one position on the Billboard U.S. Hot 100 charts as well as number one in Canada and Australia and number four in the U.K.

The song was written and performed by a one-named artist named Melanie ( Melanie Safka). She had a prior hit in 1970 with "Lay Down Candles In The Rain", but this was her biggest hit. The song was controversial in many areas for what were term "sexually suggestive lyrics" with the key in the lock suggesting sexual intercourse. Melanie claims that there was no innuendo intended and the song should be taken for what it really was.

Answer: It has never been fully revealed but it's about three men

"You're So Vain" was Carly Simon's first number one hit on the U.S. Billboard charts when it hit the top to begin 1973 and stayed there for three weeks. It also made it to number three in the U.K. Carly has never revealed the subject of the song to the public although she had dropped clues from time to time. Jagger and Beatty are most popularly rumored to be the subject and Simon has allegedly told a few people in private about the subject, but her public position is that it is about "many vain men I have known in my life" as she says.

The closest she has ever come publicly is to say that the man's name contains an A and E and an R which eliminates almost none of the rumored subjects. In any event, the song was a success even if her love life was not.

The song appears on the Billboard Magazine list of the "Greatest Songs of All Time" at number 72. In November 2015, Simon, said, "I have confirmed that the second verse is Warren" and "Warren thinks the whole thing is about him, he is the subject of that verse only, with the remainder of the song referring to two other, still-unnamed men".

Answer: It was a posthumous hit

Croce died in a plane crash in September 1973, about three months before "Time In a Bottle" reached the number one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts for a two week stay. Croce wrote the song himself, which first appeared on his "You Don't Mess Around With Jim" album.

It was written for his son, who was born in 1971. Croce has a second posthumous hit called "I'll Have to Say I Love You In a Song" later that same year.

Answer: Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds

"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" was the Lennon-McCartney classic from the Beatles that was covered and made a number one hit for Elton John to begin 1975 with a two week stay at the top of the U.S. charts. Interestingly, Lennon sang background vocals on the cover and used his favorite pseudonym, Dr. Winston O'Boogie. Elton returned the favor by singing backup on Lennon's "Whatever Gets You Through the Night". Lennon also promised Elton that he would appear with him live if that song became a number one hit. Well, it did (clue for a later quiz?) and on November 28, 1974 Lennon walked onto the stage during an Elton John performance at New York's Madison Square garden and performed both songs along with "I Saw Her Standing There" in a memorable performance.

Answer: Bay City Rollers

"Saturday Night" enjoyed a one week stay at the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts at the beginning of 1976. The Bay City Rollers were arguably one of the most successful Scottish rock and roll artists of the 1970s. They had been around since 1971 but did not crack the U.S. market until this song hit in 1976. By that time they had already scored seven top ten hits in the U.K. Ironically, "Saturday Night" never charted in the U.K. Go figure.

Answer: The 5th Dimension

Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. were two of the five members of the highly successful group The 5th Dimension, which had a number of major hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This song, from the album called "I Hope We Get to Love In Time" spent one week at the number one position on the U.S. Billboard charts in January 1977 as well as a stint at number one on the Soul charts. Subsequently, the song won a Grammy Award for the Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

Answer: Player

It was Player who took this song off the album of the same name to the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts for a three week stint in January 1978. It also reached number ten on the Soul charts that year. Player became so popular in the late 1970s that Eric Clapton invited them to open for him during his 1978 tour of North America.

However, they never achieved as great a success again as they did with this song. The song made a brief comeback in 2008/2009 after being featured in an advertisement campaign for "Swiffer" cleaning products.

By the way, The Equals (one of the other possible choices) had a 1960s song with the same title, but that was the only similarity between the two.

Answer: Too Much Heaven

"Too Much Heaven" was performed by the BeeGees as part of the "Music for UNICEF" concert held at the United Nations in January 1979. It was already a number one song at that time and it spent a total of two weeks at the top of the U.S. charts. It also reached the top of the charts in Canada, New Zealand and Italy, as well as Top 10 status in numerous other countries around the world.

The studio recording featured the horn section from the supergroup Chicago (Walt Parazaider, James Pankow and Lee Loughnane).