70s Rock Bands: 56 Chart Bands Ranked, With Songs to Play
Wings had the most Billboard year-end Hot 100 hits of any 70s rock band, 11, ahead of Chicago and Electric Light Orchestra at 8 each.
Wings also had the most No. 1 hits of any rock band, 5, for 13 weeks at the top.
This page ranks all 56 rock groups that placed at least one single on a year-end list from 1970 to 1979.
Each band's biggest hit is ready to play, and every rock band page on this site is sorted by style below.
Every rock band with four or more Billboard year-end Hot 100 hits, 1970 to 1979.
Chart: Music of the 70s, from this site's year-end Billboard data.
All 56 Bands, Ranked by Year-End Hits
Every rock group with a single on a Billboard year-end Hot 100 list from 1970 to 1979 is in this table.
Tap a column heading to sort, or press Play to hear a band's biggest year-end hit.
The Listen button at the top plays the whole list in order, one song after another.
| Play | Biggest hit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wings | Classic and arena rock | 11 | 5 | 13 | Silly Love Songs (1976, year-end #1) | |
| 2 | Chicago | Classic and arena rock | 8 | 1 | 2 | If You Leave Me Now (1976, year-end #48) | |
| 3 | Electric Light Orchestra | Progressive and art rock | 8 | 0 | 0 | Telephone Line (1977, year-end #15) | |
| 4 | Three Dog Night | Classic and arena rock | 7 | 3 | 9 | Joy to the World (1971, year-end #1) | |
| 5 | Eagles | Classic and arena rock | 5 | 5 | 5 | One of These Nights (1975, year-end #10) | |
| 6 | Queen | Hard rock and metal | 5 | 0 | 0 | Bohemian Rhapsody (1976, year-end #18) | |
| 7 | Fleetwood Mac | Classic and arena rock | 5 | 1 | 1 | Dreams (1977, year-end #39) | |
| 8 | Steely Dan | Classic and arena rock | 5 | 0 | 0 | Rikki Don't Lose That Number (1974, year-end #51) | |
| 9 | Grand Funk Railroad | Hard rock and metal | 4 | 2 | 3 | The Loco-Motion (1974, year-end #6) | |
| 10 | Sweet | Glam rock | 4 | 0 | 0 | The Ballroom Blitz (1975, year-end #17) | |
| 11 | Foreigner | Classic and arena rock | 4 | 0 | 0 | Feels Like the First Time (1977, year-end #31) | |
| 12 | Steve Miller Band | Classic and arena rock | 4 | 2 | 2 | Fly Like an Eagle (1977, year-end #28) | |
| 13 | Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band | Classic and arena rock | 4 | 0 | 0 | Still the Same (1978, year-end #52) | |
| 14 | The Doobie Brothers | Classic and arena rock | 3 | 2 | 2 | Black Water (1975, year-end #16) | |
| 15 | The Rolling Stones | Classic and arena rock | 3 | 3 | 4 | Brown Sugar (1971, year-end #16) | |
| 16 | America | Classic and arena rock | 3 | 2 | 4 | A Horse with No Name (1972, year-end #27) | |
| 17 | The Guess Who | Classic and arena rock | 3 | 1 | 3 | American Woman (1970, year-end #3) | |
| 18 | Styx | Classic and arena rock | 3 | 1 | 2 | Come Sail Away (1978, year-end #56) | |
| 19 | Creedence Clearwater Revival | Classic and arena rock | 3 | 0 | 0 | Lookin' out My Back Door (1970, year-end #36) | |
| 20 | 10cc | Progressive and art rock | 2 | 0 | 0 | I'm Not in Love (1975, year-end #43) | |
| 21 | Atlanta Rhythm Section | Southern rock | 2 | 0 | 0 | So in to You (1977, year-end #38) | |
| 22 | Kansas | Progressive and art rock | 2 | 0 | 0 | Dust in the Wind (1978, year-end #39) | |
| 23 | Supertramp | Progressive and art rock | 2 | 0 | 0 | The Logical Song (1979, year-end #27) | |
| 24 | The Edgar Winter Group | Classic and arena rock | 2 | 1 | 1 | Frankenstein (1973, year-end #16) | |
| 25 | Bad Company | Hard rock and metal | 2 | 0 | 0 | Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy (1979, year-end #54) | |
| 26 | Aerosmith | Hard rock and metal | 2 | 0 | 0 | Dream On (1976, year-end #51) | |
| 27 | Jefferson Starship | Classic and arena rock | 2 | 0 | 0 | Count On Me (1978, year-end #66) | |
| 28 | Bachman-Turner Overdrive | Hard rock and metal | 2 | 1 | 1 | Takin' Care of Business (1974, year-end #63) | |
| 29 | Kiss | Hard rock and metal | 2 | 0 | 0 | I Was Made for Lovin' You (1979, year-end #74) | |
| 30 | The Who | Classic and arena rock | 2 | 0 | 0 | Won't Get Fooled Again (1971, year-end #84) | |
| 31 | The Knack | New wave | 1 | 1 | 6 | My Sharona (1979, year-end #1) | |
| 32 | Blondie | New wave | 1 | 1 | 1 | Heart of Glass (1979, year-end #18) | |
| 33 | Nazareth | Hard rock and metal | 1 | 0 | 0 | Love Hurts (1976, year-end #23) | |
| 34 | Free | Hard rock and metal | 1 | 0 | 0 | All Right Now (1970, year-end #27) | |
| 35 | The Moody Blues | Progressive and art rock | 1 | 0 | 0 | Nights in White Satin (1972, year-end #32) | |
| 36 | Cheap Trick | Hard rock and metal | 1 | 0 | 0 | I Want You to Want Me (1979, year-end #34) | |
| 37 | Toto | Classic and arena rock | 1 | 0 | 0 | Hold the Line (1979, year-end #44) | |
| 38 | Deep Purple | Hard rock and metal | 1 | 0 | 0 | Smoke on the Water (1973, year-end #50) | |
| 39 | Argent | Progressive and art rock | 1 | 0 | 0 | Hold Your Head Up (1972, year-end #50) | |
| 40 | The Charlie Daniels Band | Southern rock | 1 | 0 | 0 | The Devil Went Down to Georgia (1979, year-end #50) | |
| 41 | Heart | Hard rock and metal | 1 | 0 | 0 | Barracuda (1977, year-end #53) | |
| 42 | T. Rex | Glam rock | 1 | 0 | 0 | Bang a Gong (Get It On) (1972, year-end #56) | |
| 43 | The Marshall Tucker Band | Southern rock | 1 | 0 | 0 | Heard It in a Love Song (1977, year-end #57) | |
| 44 | Golden Earring | Hard rock and metal | 1 | 0 | 0 | Radar Love (1974, year-end #64) | |
| 45 | Santana | Classic and arena rock | 1 | 0 | 0 | Evil Ways (1970, year-end #69) | |
| 46 | Focus | Progressive and art rock | 1 | 0 | 0 | Hocus Pocus (1973, year-end #69) | |
| 47 | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Southern rock | 1 | 0 | 0 | What's Your Name (1978, year-end #70) | |
| 48 | Mountain | Hard rock and metal | 1 | 0 | 0 | Mississippi Queen (1970, year-end #78) | |
| 49 | The Allman Brothers Band | Southern rock | 1 | 0 | 0 | Ramblin' Man (1973, year-end #79) | |
| 50 | Foghat | Hard rock and metal | 1 | 0 | 0 | Slow Ride (1976, year-end #85) | |
| 51 | Thin Lizzy | Hard rock and metal | 1 | 0 | 0 | The Boys Are Back in Town (1976, year-end #87) | |
| 52 | Jethro Tull | Progressive and art rock | 1 | 0 | 0 | Bungle in the Jungle (1975, year-end #89) | |
| 53 | Yes | Progressive and art rock | 1 | 0 | 0 | Roundabout (1972, year-end #91) | |
| 54 | Pink Floyd | Progressive and art rock | 1 | 0 | 0 | Money (1973, year-end #92) | |
| 55 | Boston | Classic and arena rock | 1 | 0 | 0 | Don't Look Back (1978, year-end #93) | |
| 56 | Van Halen | Hard rock and metal | 1 | 0 | 0 | Dance the Night Away (1979, year-end #95) |
Song titles in gold link to a full song story on this site.
"So in to You" and "Takin' Care of Business" play the label's own audio release of the original recording.
Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me" plays the Budokan live recording, the version that became the 1979 hit.
Ties are broken by chart points, so a higher-placed song counts for more.
That is why Chicago sits above Electric Light Orchestra, with eight year-end hits each.
For a longer session across every style, the Listen Now 70s radio plays the decade's hits back to back.
Three Rock Bands Topped a Whole Year
Only three songs by rock bands finished a 1970s year at No. 1 on the year-end Hot 100.
| Year | Song | Band | Weeks at No. 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Joy to the World | Three Dog Night | 6 |
| 1976 | Silly Love Songs | Wings | 5 |
| 1979 | My Sharona | The Knack | 6 |
"My Sharona" was the only year-end hit The Knack had in the decade.
It still finished above every other song of 1979.
Wings Under Three Credits
Billboard credited the band as Paul McCartney & Wings, Paul McCartney and Wings, and plain Wings.
This ranking merges all three, which is how Wings reach 11 year-end hits.
"Silly Love Songs" spent 5 weeks at No. 1 in 1976, more than any other Wings single.
Rock Bands by Style
Each of the 70s rock bands in the ranking is filed under one main rock style.
Classic and arena rock bands placed 80 year-end hits, more than every other style put together.
Year-end Hot 100 hits by the rock bands in the ranking, grouped by style.
Chart: Music of the 70s, from this site's year-end Billboard data.
Classic and Arena Rock
21 classic and arena rock bands made the ranking, led by Wings, Chicago and Three Dog Night.
Foreigner, Boston and Toto all made their first year-end list in 1977 or later.
- Chicago: The Band's 12 Hits Played, 1 at Number One
- Three Dog Night: 12 Hits Played, 3 at Number One
- Eagles: The Lineup Swap That Changed Everything
- Fleetwood Mac: 9 Hits Played, 1 at Number One
- Grateful Dead: The Band the Charts Missed
More from this style: 70s rock.
Hard Rock and Metal
Queen lead the hard rock bands with 5 year-end hits, and "Bohemian Rhapsody" was their biggest, No. 18 for 1976.
Grand Funk Railroad reached No. 1 twice, with "We're an American Band" and "The Loco-Motion."
Bachman-Turner Overdrive are the only other hard rock band here with a No. 1, "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet."
- Queen: Two Nights That Defined Their 70s
- Brian May and Queen: The Guitar Built From a Fireplace
- Led Zeppelin: Play 15 Essentials and Their Stories
More from this style: 70s hard rock.
Progressive and Art Rock
Electric Light Orchestra placed 8 year-end hits without a single week at No. 1.
Yes, Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd each reached the year-end list exactly once, all three in the bottom 15 places.
- Electric Light Orchestra: Electric Light Orchestra's 11 Hits, 5 Top Tens
- Pink Floyd: 12 Tracks Played, 1 at Number One
More from this style: 70s progressive rock.
Southern Rock
Atlanta Rhythm Section are the top southern rock band here, with 2 year-end hits.
Their best placing was "So in to You," No. 38 for 1977.
The Charlie Daniels Band followed with "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," No. 50 for 1979.
Southern rock shares its roots with country rock, covered on the 70s country rock page.
Glam Rock
Sweet placed 4 year-end hits, more than any other glam band.
The only other glam band in the ranking reached the list once, with "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" at No. 56 for 1972.
More from this style: glam rock in the 70s.
Punk and New Wave
- No punk band placed a single on a 1970s year-end Hot 100 in this site's data.
- Blondie's "Heart of Glass" finished No. 18 for 1979.
- The Knack's "My Sharona" finished No. 1 for the same year.
- Talking Heads: Built From Found Objects, Not a Plan
- Iggy Pop: The 1970s Collapse and Berlin Resurrection
More from this style: 70s punk rock.
Big 70s Rock Bands the Singles Chart Missed
Some of the decade's best-known rock bands never placed a single on a year-end Hot 100 list.
None of these bands has a year-end entry in this site's data, so none appears in the table above.
- Led Zeppelin
- Black Sabbath
- AC/DC
- Rush
- Journey
- Genesis
- Grateful Dead
- Talking Heads
- Ramones
Led Zeppelin and the Grateful Dead have full song pages on this site, linked in the style sections above.
How This Ranking Was Built
Every number on this page about 1970s rock bands comes from this site's Billboard year-end and weekly Hot 100 files.
Who Counts as a Rock Band
- Groups only, so solo rock singers like Rod Stewart and Peter Frampton are left out.
- Rock styles only, so soft rock groups like Bread and the Carpenters sit on the 70s soft rock page instead.
- Credits that name the same band are merged, such as Grand Funk and Grand Funk Railroad.
- Ties on year-end hits are broken by chart points: 101 minus the year-end rank, added up across every hit.
For every 70s group in every style, rock or not, see the 70s bands pillar page.
The biggest songs of the decade across all acts are on the 70s songs page, and every genre has a page on the 70s music genres hub.
The full approach to sourcing is on the site's methodology page.
Go back to the Music of the 70s home page for every tool and list on the site.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Led Zeppelin inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Led Zeppelin were inducted in 1995.
Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith inducted them, two members of a band that sits in the ranking above.
Which 70s rock band won the Grammy for Record of the Year?
The Eagles won Record of the Year for "Hotel California" at the 20th Annual Grammy Awards.
The same night, Fleetwood Mac's Rumours won Album of the Year over Steely Dan's Aja and the Eagles' own Hotel California album.
Was Foreigner nominated for Best New Artist?
Yes, Foreigner was nominated for Best New Artist at the 20th Annual Grammy Awards.
Debby Boone won the award that year.
How high did "Bohemian Rhapsody" reach in the United States?
Wikipedia reports that "Bohemian Rhapsody" peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976.
It climbed to a new peak of No. 2 in 1992 after it appeared in the film Wayne's World.
When was Queen inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Queen were inducted in 2001.
Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters inducted the band.
Sources
Year-end ranks, No. 1s and weeks at No. 1 come from this site's Billboard year-end and weekly Hot 100 files.
