Top 10 Hits From 1970 Everyone Forgot About

The 1970s kicked off with one of the best and most fruitful musical years in the history of rock 'n' roll and pop. 1970 alone bore witness to the release of numerous classic songs by legendary artists and rising stars alike. There were so many big hits and landmark tunes, however, that not all of them could be remembered. The year was riddled with Top 10 hits that got lost to time and became forgotten either right away, or gradually over the next 50 years or so.

When it was still 1970, such songs were all over the radio, and hundreds of thousands of people or more rushed to record stores to buy their own 45s. It probably seemed like these songs would be enduring classics that the masses would regularly listen to and refer to, but that just didn't happen. The novelty wore off quickly, and before long, they disappeared from pop culture. Here are some Top 10 hits from 1970 by acts like Vanity Fare, Marmalade, and R. Dean Taylor that nobody talks about anymore, but which still deserve a listen.

Following a solid Top 20 placement for its 1969 single "Early in the Morning," jaunty, harmony-laden British band Vanity Fare performed even better with the follow-up, "Hitchin' a Ride." Along with a through-line of a riff played on a nontraditional-for-rock woodwind instrument, and a mildly psychedelic mid-point breakdown, "Hitchin' a Ride" chugs along like the vehicles it mentions throughout the song about returning home to one's partner. It sold a million copies stateside and hit No. 5.

Dawn, also billed as Tony Orlando and Dawn or Dawn featuring Tony Orlando, was a two-woman, one-guy vocal trio who sang big and boisterous tunes that fit in well with the TV variety show culture of the 1970s. They released three No. 1 hits, including "Knock Three Times," "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree," and "He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)," but it's not as well remembered that the group became mega-successful off their first single ever, "Candida." A chatty love song featuring a touch of the supernatural and star-gazing, "Candida" peaked at No. 3 in 1970.

Dutch bands made major inroads in the U.S. in 1970. Along with the Shocking Blue's "Venus," one of the biggest No. 1 hits of 1970, the Tee-Set emerged in the states with its single "Ma Belle Amie." Performed partially in French but primarily in English, the song utilizes many trappings of the pop-rock of the era, like raspy-voiced vocals, hand-claps, joyful organ stabs, and lyrics that speak to love and adoration. American audiences responded kindly, taking the song to No. 5.

Throughout the 1960s, Mark Lindsay sang for Paul Revere and the Raiders, an American band that chased the British Invasion and won big on the charts. In 1970, he focused on his solo career, and his first single without his band, "Arizona," benefitted from his musical celebrity. A slow-builder of a song backed by strings and horns, "Arizona" was epic pop for an audience that skewed older than the youngsters that liked Paul Revere and the Raiders, and it did well, peaking at No. 10 in early 1970. It was the biggest hit Lindsay would ever have on his own.

In the case of the jangly, Creedence Clearwater Revival-reminiscent 1970 hit "The Rapper" by Pittsburgh band the Jaggerz, a rapper is a smooth-talking pick-up artist, not a performer of hip-hop, as this song that presents itself as warning to unsuspecting women, predates rap music. But the single was such a smash that it certainly helped popularize the word. Led by late '70s and early '80s power pop star Donnie Iris, the Jaggerz took their tune about a nefarious fellow almost to the top, peaking at No. 2.

Scottish band Marmalade was quite popular in the U.K., notching 11 hits there in the late '60s and 1970s. In the U.S., they're a one-hit wonder thanks to "Reflections of My Life." Equally influenced by '60s phenomena like the Beatles, bubblegum pop, and psychedelic rock, Marmalade, as led by singer-songwriter Junior Campbell, tried to create a new sound for the '70s. They wouldn't last much longer with that vibe and lineup, although "Reflections of My Life" climbed to No. 10 in 1970.

A major star in the world of R&B, velvet-voiced love balladeer Tyrone Davis crossed over to the pop chart a handful of times in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He landed his biggest Hot 100 hit in 1970 with the bittersweet and regretful "Turn Back the Hands of Time." A since-overlooked gem of the '70s, a time when soul classics were in abundance, the tune concerns a man who wishes he could go back and mend his relationship with the ex for whom he still harbors feelings. The track was a No. 3 hit.

Motown Records was so influential in the 1970s that the otherwise R&B label could send even a dramatic and ominous folk song about a man wanted for murder explaining and justifying his crimes to the upper reaches of the pop chart. That's what happened in 1970, with Motown artist R. Dean Taylor and his captivating and dark "Indiana Wants Me." Taylor spins a first-person tale of a killer on the lam who just wants to return to his family in Indiana, but can't. It was a No. 5 smash.