These are the songs that Australians were listening to in 1970. Here is the end of year Australian singles chart based on sales.
Top 10 Selling Singles By Australian Artists for 1970
- In The Summertime – The Mixtures
- Knock Knock Who’s There? – Liv Maessen
- Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head – Johnny Farnham
- Old Man Emu – John Williamson
- Smiley – Ronnie Burns
- Two Little Boys – Rolf Harris
- I Thank You – Lionel Rose
- Yellow River – Autumn/Jigsaw
- Boom Sha La La Lo – Hans Poulsen
- Turn Up Your Radio – Master’s Apprentices
*Denotes Australian artist
Top selling singles in Australia for 1970
- Let It Be – The Beatles
- (They Long To Be) Close To you – The Carpenters
- In The Summertime – The Mixtures*
- Spirit In The Sky – Norman Greenbaum
- Bridge Over Troubles Water – Simon & Garfunkel
- Lookin’ Out My Back Door – Creedence Clearwater Revival
- El Condor Pasa – Simon 7 Garfunkel
- Up Around The Bend – Creedence Clearwater Revival
- Knock Knock Who’s There? – Liv Maessen*
- Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head – Johnny Farnham*
- Whole Lotta Love – Led Zeppelin
- Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) – Edison Lighthouse
- Cottonfields – The Beach Boys
- Travellin’ Band/Who’ll Stop The Rain? – Creedence Clearwater Revival
- The Wonder Of You – Elvis Presley
- In THe Summertime – Mungo Jerry
- A Song Of Joy – Miguel Rios
- Spill The Wine – Eric Burdon and War
- Venus – Shocking Blue
- Old Man Emu – John Williamson*
- Everything Is Beautiful – Ray Stevens
- Lay Down (Candles In The Rain) – Melanie with the Edwin Hawkins Singers
- Smiley – Ronnie Burns*
- Two Little Boys – Rolf Harris*
- I Thank You – Lionel Rose*
Gibbos pick for 1970 is The Mixtures with “In The Summertime”

{ 45 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi,i heard a great song from about 1970 on the radio on coast fm Adelaide,i think it may have been the Master Apprentices,not sure,but i havnt heard it since released!The lyrics are repetative,and repeat”Do what you wanna do,be what you wanna be,Yeah.Softish rock song.Brilliant,can you help please?Thanks Billy.
Hi Billy,
The song you’re looking for is called, it’s because I love you.
Hope this helps
Cheers, RAy
Hadn’t heard this song for years. Australian I think from the seventies? Female singing-”gonna give you all the good things that you wanted,gonna feel it like you never felt before,gonna give you all the good things that you wanted,believe me baby you’ll be back for more.” Takes me back to my younger days. Can you help. Thanks, Kelly.
Kelly,
The song is “All The Good Things” by Brisband Carol Lloyd Band. From the album, Mother Was Asleep At The Time. This bans was the follow on from Railroad Gin. The album is about to be rereleased. Search Railroad Gin in Facebook and there is a fan site with photos and videos.
Cheers John
Brisbane
Billy was right – the band he heard was The Masters Apprentices. The song was Because I Love You, released as a single in 1971.
Trying to find the name of the song on the b side of John Williamson’s “Old man emu” 45 single released in 1970. This song was about a tree observing history over the last 200years in Australia. Captain Cook and ned Kelly were mentioned. If anyone does know could they please email rpark36@eq.edu.au
Hi There
I believe the song was called ‘Gum Tree’
Hope this helps…
Trying to find music not words online (NOT TO RECORD) just to listen to. The song was called “A little too late” by Lewie Wickham. Can anyone help me please as it’s driving me nuts trying to find it???
Try here
http://www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/lewie_wickham/a_little_bit_late-lyrics-1148786.html
I am trying to remember a song which had these lyrics,”songs to aging children” it was an Australian band i remember when i lived in Sydney 1970-1972.I am being driven nuts by it.I also want to purchase a LP by the band.
George
Looking for a song that I thought was called The Whale Song, but no info online. It is quite possibly a traditional sea shanty that was redone, and included on a hits compilation that I think came out around 1970 – 72, with a brown cover and photo’s of artists included. The only thing I remember for sure is the repeated ‘chorus’ of ‘Di di di, di di di di, di’ hahah.
Hi Clint,
I checked on the APRA website but there were a million listings for “Whale Song”. Check it out & see if one of the performers names rings a bell for you.
http://www.apra.com.au
Cheers, Mark
There was definitely a song called the whale song I have a feeling it was a duo and one of the names I think was Dyer.
Yes I remember that song too. A bit of googling revealed that The Whale song was released in 1972 by Terry Fielding and Fred Dyer. Lyrics here: http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiTHEWHALE.html
Brilliant GeeTee, thanks so much. I actually remember the song now that I’ve seen the lyrics.
Thanks again, Mark
The song is called ‘The Whale’ by Fielding & Dyer
Its on Living In The 70′s Vol 3 from BMG Records if you can still get a copy..
I have it if you are having a problem…
It’s on YouTube to listen to -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnnp9scb9v8
Further to the enquiry re The Whale by Fielding & Dyer, it is also available on ‘A Decade Of Classic Australian Hits’ 3CD set, its showing as still available.
There is a song with the lyrics “will I make a man of my life, maybe” I think it’s an Aussie band and I think it’s from the late 70′s
Hi There,
The song with those lyrics is called ‘Will I’ by Mississippi
It’s currently available on Australian Pop Of The 70′s ‘Get That Jive’ by Sony, BMG Music. Its on CD1, Track 2, track listing shows its release as 1974.
Hope that helps…
I was thinking of Little River Band……I was close.
Thanks for your help, my mind will rest of a night time now.
Hi
Looking for a jazz record from early 70′s–not quite sure of the bands name—-
something like this “Name ! and his big fat brarse”–featured drummer Glenn Bayliss
Thanks
Jan
steve murphy and his big fat brarse with glen bayliss herman schweiger and mike cousins among others the guitarists nickname was “the electric fetus” used to watch em at the musos club in windsor in the seventies
Thanks Warren
Glenn was actually my drum teacher at that time
Any idea who would sell this sort of record?
Possible there is some sort of register somewhere – for records not longer produced!
Have tried several search engines with no luck.
Thanks
Jan
Hi Guys
I’m 49yo, live in melb – back in the mid to late 70′s there was a song by a local band with lyrics that went like this…………..”I like smokin cigerettes, I like smokin, will you smoke with me, yeh yeh, will you smoke with me yeh yeh………..” I’ve been searching for this song and artist for 20 years. Its not a figment of my imagination, I heard it and I’m hoping you guys can help me locate it.
Please Help
Carl
Carl, im having the same problem, im looking for a song
i think some of the lyrics go something like this, go with waves across the sea across the sky singing the song with a tear in my eyes, searhing for a way a new place to stay. it was between 1970 & 1973. Do you know it? regards
Mal
I think the song you’re after is I Like Dancing by Redhouse.
spot on mate, with your help I found the damned thing on youtube. Great to hear it again. Solved a 20 year mystery – now I can collect on all those bets!!!Thanks for the leg up.
There was a band in Oz back in 1964 called The Cicadas.They made about 3 or 4 singles here, with moderate success.Whatever happened to them?
Did they go Overseas, or went on to form another Band?
Please help!
The first single I ever bought was 55 Days st Peking, by Rob E G. in 1963. Can somebody tell me if he has any CD’s on the market, and if so where can I get one?….cheers:
G’Day Glenn. I have a DVD with 55 Days at Peking on it (so it definitely exists).
CD Name is “20 Golden Greats of the 50′s and 60′s”. It was released by Festival Records. Let me know how you get on. If no luck, let me know and I’ll help out.
can anybody tell me the name of a adelaide band that sang a song called louise
‘Louise’ was recorded by Adelaide band James Wright Group – very hard to find
thankyou
I heard a Duet in the early 70″s Which combined the lyrics of “Words of love so soft and tender cant win a girls heart anymore” by the Mama and Papas and “Words all i have is words” by the Bee Gees The duet may have been sung by Jackie Trent & Tony Hatch but I cant find it on their discographies, It may have been at a concert but i did hear it on the radio
Words of love by the Mamas and the Papas
Words of love, so soft and tender
Won’t win a girl’s heart anymore
If you love her then you must send her
Somewhere where she’s never been before
Worn out phrases and longing gazes
Won’t get you where you want to go
If you go to the ultimate guitar site and do a search you will find words and music also you can listen to the song.
Cheers
Hi.
Just curious to know what song was number one on November 10, 1970.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Sean
I don’t know what it was in Australia, but in the U.S it was “I’ll Be There” by The Jackson 5, in England it was Woodstock, by Matthews Southern Comfort.
Cheers
November 10, 1970: David Bowie is at No. 1 on the UK singles chart with “Space Oddity”
And in Australia the #1 hit for 10th november 1970 … Creedence Clearwater Revival “Lookin’ Out My Back Door” / “Long as I Can See the Light”
Cheers
Slider
Thanks so much.
Very greatly appreciated.
Cheers
This has been bugging me for yearsand everyone thinks I made it up. Lyrics are:
When the door did open, there to my surprise, stood a sweet young girl with golden hair and a twinkle in her eye. She said Hey Mister, can you tell me please the time of day? Hey Mister won’t you listen to the things I say? Hey Mister, won’t you take me down the way you been; I’ve been sixteen years in this old back yard don’t wanna see this place again…. he said he was in the war; he never came back to see us so Mama had an open door.
For anyone who wants a challenge.
My brother is hoping to find a song he heard back in the early 70′s, sung by a band he cant remember. His only recollection of the song is that it tells of a family losing a son to either a car accident or to suicide. It starts off as a narrative before going into the song. Sorry it’s not a lot to go on, but it is a challenge.
The band is all males….he thinks. He did eliminate Jon English.
Many thanks for all who reply
The Cicadas started out as a middle-of-the-road band called the The Hi-Fi’s until they caught the Merseybeat bug. They later moved to the UK where they released a number of singles, notably The Magic Book (1966), using the name The Gibsons. (See The Gibsons’
UK discography at 45-rpm.org.uk.)
http://www.poparchives.com.au/1211/the-cicadas/thats-what-i-want
Try the above link
Cheers
Thanks Slider for the info on the Cicadas….Much appreciated!:)
Thanks Glenn Not a problem