A recent Apple+ documentary proclaims 1971 as “The Year That Music Changed Everything,” and while I guffaw at such a hyperbolic title, 1971 does offer quite the assortment of heavy-hitters at their peaks. You have ’60s rock legends in the Rolling Stones and the Who expanding their sound; David Bowie becomes the glam pop mastermind we all adore; Marvin Gaye gets socially conscious on record to the ire of Motown; Joni Mitchell releases her greatest work; Lennon & McCartney continue their pop genius on separate paths; Al Green and Bill Withers pave the way forward for ’70s soul music; Alice Coltrane and Miles Davis take jazz down transcendental and chaotic paths, respectively; Funkadelic and Sly and the Family Stone experiment with R&B in ways never seen before.
It’s a lot of ground to cover, but I believe 75 songs gets to the heart of what makes 1971 one of the greatest years in music. Every song here had to see their first release in the year 1971 (that excludes songs released as singles in ’71, like Curtis Mayfield’s “Move on Up,” which were featured on ’70 albums). Check at the bottom of the list for a Spotify playlist of all the songs in order. Enjoy!
75. Stevie Wonder – “If You Really Love Me”
74. Carpenters – “Superstar”
73. Françoise Hardy – “La question”
72. The Undisputed Truth – “Smiling Faces Sometimes”
71. David Crosby – “Music Is Love”
70. Betty Wright – “Clean Up Woman”
69. Bobby Womack – “That’s the Way I Feel About ‘Cha”
68. Pink Floyd – “Echoes”
67. Denise LaSalle – “Trapped by a Thing Called Love”
66. John Lennon – “Gimme Some Truth”
65. Van Morrison – “Tupelo Honey”
64. James Brown – “Hot Pants (She Got to Use What She Got to Get What She Wants)”
63. Jean Knight – “Mr. Big Stuff”
62. Shirley Bassey – “Diamonds Are Forever”
61. The Chakachas – “Jungle Fever”
60. The Persuaders – “Thin Line Between Love and Hate”
59. Miles Davis – “Right Off”
58. The Beach Boys – “Long Promised Road”
57. Paul & Linda McCartney – “Monkberry Moon Delight”
56. America – “A Horse With No Name”
55. The Dramatics – “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get”
54. Faces – “Stay With Me”
53. Sly & the Family Stone – “Luv N’ Haight”
52. The Stylistics – “You Are Everything”
51. Isaac Hayes – “Theme from Shaft”
50. Serge Gainsbourg (ft. Jane Birkin) – “Ballade de Melody Nelson”
49. Janis Joplin – “Me and Bobby McGee”
48. The Staple Singers – “Respect Yourself”
47. Alice Coltrane – “Journey in Satchidananda”
46. The Jackson 5 – “Never Can Say Goodbye”
45. Milton Nascimento – “Tudo O Que Você Podia Ser”
44. Aretha Franklin – “Rock Steady”
43. Judee Sill – “Jesus Was a Cross Maker”
42. The Rolling Stones – “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking”
41. CAN – “Halleluhwah”
40. Al Green – “Tired of Being Alone”
39. Shuggie Otis – “Strawberry Letter 23”
38. Black Sabbath – “Sweet Leaf”
37. T. Rex – “Bang a Gong (Get It On)”
36. The Doors – “Riders on the Storm”
35. Carole King – “It’s Too Late”
34. Elton John – “Tiny Dancer”
33. The Who – “Won’t Get Fooled Again”
32. David Bowie – “Queen Bitch”
31. The Abyssinians – “Satta Massagana”
30. Rod Stewart – “Maggie May”
29. Bill Withers – “Grandma’s Hands”
28. The Beach Boys – “Surf’s Up”
27. Nick Drake – “Northern Sky”
26. Paul & Linda McCartney – “Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey”
25. The Chi-Lites – “Have You Seen Her”
24. The Temptations – “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)”
23. Karen Dalton – “Something on Your Mind”
22. Donny Hathaway – “A Song for You”
21. Harry Nilsson – “Without You”
20. John Prine – “Hello in There”
19. Joni Mitchell – “River”
18. John Lennon – “Jealous Guy”
17. Funkadelic – “Maggot Brain”
16. Carole King – “So Far Away”
15. Marvin Gaye – “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)”
14. Leonard Cohen – “Famous Blue Raincoat”
13. Funkadelic – “Can You Get to That”
12. The Rolling Stones – “Wild Horses”
11. Marvin Gaye – “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)”
10. David Bowie – “Changes”
9. The Who – “Baba O’Riley”
8. Sly & the Family Stone – “Family Affair”
7. Led Zeppelin – “When the Levee Breaks”
6. Gil Scott-Heron – “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”
5. Bill Withers – “Ain’t No Sunshine”
4. Joni Mitchell – “A Case of You”
3. Al Green – “Let’s Stay Together”
2. David Bowie – “Life on Mars?”
1. Marvin Gaye – “What’s Going On”
Bitter Melodies 