The best pop artists of the seventies include Elton John, ABBA, the Bee Gees, Donna Summer, Paul McCartney and Wings, David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, the Carpenters, Rod Stewart and Queen. Between them they have a soundtrack that sold more than 40 million copies, a run of three Album of the Year Grammys and a Eurovision win.
Updated October 26, 2026.
Pop in the seventies had catchy tunes, big hooks and lyrics anyone could relate to. Almost everyone can sing along to at least one song from the decade without ever having learned the words. Anyone who has spent years listening knows it was less one sound than an argument between sounds. Disco and glam were on one side, soft-spoken singer-songwriters on the other, and a few acts refused to pick.
Elton John: A Seventies Pop Artist With Six US Number Ones
Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight in 1947. He was a larger-than-life star, with wild shows and bedazzled outfits. He had six US Hot 100 number ones between 1973 and 1976, starting with “Crocodile Rock” in 1973. Later chart-toppers included “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” with John Lennon in January 1975, “Island Girl” in 1975 and “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” with Kiki Dee in 1976.
His 1973 album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is where “Bennie and the Jets” lives. “Your Song” and “Rocket Man” are two more favorites. His songs tell stories about love, heartbreak and finding yourself. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and has sold more than 300 million records. What sets him apart from the glam crowd is the piano. The songs work with the costumes off.
ABBA: Seventies Pop Artists Who Won Eurovision
Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad were a Swedish quartet. They won the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton on April 6, 1974, with “Waterloo.” That one night launched the biggest act the contest has produced. “Dancing Queen,” the first single from Arrival, topped both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK chart.
They collected nine UK number ones, ending with “Super Trouper.” “Mamma Mia” is another one most people know. Their harmonies are why the records still sound clean, and the shimmering disco-pop sound still feels carefree. They released a new album, Voyage, on November 5, 2021, their first in 40 years.
Bee Gees: Disco Pop Artists of the Seventies
The Bee Gees were brothers: Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb. They were at the front of the disco wave, with silky falsetto voices and great songwriting. The Saturday Night Fever soundtrack came out in 1977 and sold more than 40 million copies. At that point it was the highest-selling album in recording history. “Stayin’ Alive,” “How Deep Is Your Love” and “Night Fever” all reached number one in the US. Anyone who has been to a wedding knows how fast the dance floor fills when a disco song comes on. The Bee Gees won five Grammys over two years for the album, including Album of the Year.
Barry Gibb became the only songwriter with four consecutive US number ones. He passed the record Lennon and McCartney set in 1964. The four songs were “Stayin’ Alive,” “Love Is Thicker Than Water,” “Night Fever” and “If I Can’t Have You.” The group entered the Rock Hall in 1997. Maurice Gibb died on January 12, 2003, and Robin Gibb on May 20, 2012.
Donna Summer: The Queen of Disco
Donna Summer earned the nickname Queen of Disco by ruling the dance charts. Her sultry voice and stage presence brought disco to its peak. “I Feel Love” appeared in 1977 on I Remember Yesterday. “Last Dance,” written by Paul Jabara for the 1978 film Thank God It’s Friday, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
“Hot Stuff” reached number one on the Hot 100 and won her the Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance at the 1980 ceremony. Bad Girls came out on April 25, 1979. Live and More, Bad Girls and On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II each reached number one on the Billboard 200 as back-to-back double albums. She entered the Rock Hall in 2013, a year after she died on May 17, 2012, at age 63.
Paul McCartney and Wings
After the Beatles split up, Paul McCartney formed Wings. They started in London in 1971 and lasted until 1981. Band on the Run, released in 1973, went to number one in both the US and the UK. “Jet” was among its top-ten singles. “Live and Let Die” came out as a non-album James Bond theme in mid-1973 and became a worldwide hit. It kept his Beatles legacy alive while giving pop-rock a fresh sound.
Venus and Mars in 1975 topped the charts and included the US number one “Listen to What the Man Said.” “Silly Love Songs” was a US number one in 1976. That year’s triple live album, Wings over America, was the fifth Wings album in a row to reach number one in the US. Denny Laine’s departure in April 1981 effectively ended the band.
David Bowie: Reinvention Through the Seventies
David Bowie was the master of reinvention. “Space Oddity” came out in July 1969, so strictly it belongs to the sixties, although it reached number one in the UK in 1975 as a reissue. His seventies record is long. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars came out in June 1972. “Changes” is another classic. “Fame,” a collaboration with John Lennon, became his first US number one in 1975.
Station to Station in 1976 introduced the Thin White Duke. Low and “Heroes” followed in 1977, and the Berlin trilogy finished with Lodger in 1979. He mixed genres, broke rules and told strong stories in his songs. He entered the Rock Hall in 1996 and died on January 10, 2016, two days after releasing Blackstar. Nobody else changed shape this often and stayed this good.
Stevie Wonder: Three Album of the Year Wins
Stevie Wonder sang, wrote and played many instruments, and all of it came together in the seventies. His classic run is Talking Book in October 1972, Innervisions in August 1973 and Songs in the Key of Life in September 1976. “Superstition” and “Sir Duke” both reached number one on the Hot 100. “Living for the City” won Best Rhythm & Blues Song. He blended soul, funk and pop into one sound, and his lyrics covered social issues as well as matters of the heart.
He won Album of the Year for Innervisions, Fulfillingness’ First Finale and Songs in the Key of Life. That made him the first Black musician to win the award and the only artist to win it with three albums in a row. His leverage came from a new Motown contract in July 1971, after he turned 21 on May 13, 1971. The royalty rate was 14 percent, which was unusually good for Motown. He has 25 Grammys in all and entered the Rock Hall in 1989.
The Carpenters: Soft Pop With Three Number Ones
The Carpenters brought a softer, melodic side to seventies pop. “(They Long to Be) Close to You” reached number one on July 25, 1970, and held the spot for four weeks. The duo had three US number ones in all: that one, “Top of the World” and “Please Mr. Postman.” “We’ve Only Just Begun” and “Rainy Days and Mondays” both peaked at number two. Most of us have a soft song that takes us right back to a car ride or a kitchen radio from years ago.
Richard Carpenter was the creative engine as keyboard player, composer and arranger. Critic Daniel Levitin called him “one of the most gifted arrangers to emerge in popular music.” Karen Carpenter’s lead vocal did the rest. Their music is a soothing reminder of the gentler side of the seventies. She died in February 1983, at age 32. The duo won three Grammys and sold more than 100 million records worldwide.
Rod Stewart: Number One on Both Sides of the Atlantic
With his raspy voice and big stage presence, Rod Stewart was a pop-rock star. In 1971, Every Picture Tells a Story and its single “Maggie May” reached number one at the same time in the UK, US, Canada and Australia, a first at the time. The single stayed on top in the US for five weeks. Stewart sang for the Faces from October 1969 until the group broke up at the end of 1975.
Atlantic Crossing in 1975 was a UK number-one album, and its single “Sailing” topped the UK chart. “You’re in My Heart” reached number four in the US in 1977. “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” from 1978 went to number one in both the US and the UK. He has sold more than 120 million records, and he entered the Rock Hall in 1994 as a solo act and in 2012 with the Faces.
Queen: Rock and Pop at Their Biggest
Freddie Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor founded Queen in 1970, and John Deacon joined in February 1971. Fronted by the charismatic Mercury, they were a band that never fit in one box. “Bohemian Rhapsody” came out in 1975 on A Night at the Opera and spent nine weeks at number one in the UK. “Somebody to Love” followed in 1976 and reached number two in the UK and number 13 in the US. Their big, almost operatic sound is still easy to spot.
“We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions” both came from News of the World in 1977, and both became sports anthems. Most of us have clapped along to one at a ball game without thinking about it. The Live Aid set at Wembley on July 13, 1985, is the performance most often ranked among the greatest in rock. Mercury died on November 24, 1991, and Queen entered the Rock Hall in 2001. If you want the decade’s other guitar heroes, the top rock stars of the 70s are a good next read.
Best Seventies Pop Artists: Common Questions
Who were the biggest pop artists of the seventies?
The records point to a handful. The Bee Gees’ Saturday Night Fever soundtrack sold more than 40 million copies. Donna Summer had three consecutive number-one double albums. Stevie Wonder won Album of the Year three times. Elton John had six US number ones between 1973 and 1976, and the Carpenters had three.
What was the best-selling album of the seventies?
The Saturday Night Fever soundtrack by the Bee Gees and others, released in 1977, sold more than 40 million copies. It was the highest-selling album in recording history up to that point. Three of its songs, “Stayin’ Alive,” “How Deep Is Your Love” and “Night Fever,” reached number one in the US.
Which seventies act won Eurovision?
ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton on April 6, 1974, with “Waterloo.” The Swedish group went on to score nine UK number ones, and “Dancing Queen” topped both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK chart.
Who won Album of the Year three times in the seventies?
Stevie Wonder won Album of the Year for Innervisions, Fulfillingness’ First Finale and Songs in the Key of Life. He was the first Black musician to win the award, and the only artist to win it with three consecutive albums.