Favorite Songs of 1971

Although the Beatles had disbanded the previous year, I was still an ardent fan. The great closing medley of 1969's Abbey Road album Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End was one song that I couldn't get enough of in 1971. Also, each Beatle had solo projects out as well. Ringo Starr had his first single It Don't Come Easy. George Harrison had three songs I liked a lot: What Is Life (my #5 song of the year), Apple Scruffs, and Bangladesh. Paul McCartney's second solo album Ram spawned a few good ones as well, including Too Many People, Ram On, Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey, Smile Away, and Eat At Home. John Lennon's Imagine was breathtaking to hear, but I had mixed feelings about some of its lyrics. Marvin Gaye released a string of great singles about social consciousness (What's Going On, Mercy Mercy Me, Inner City Blues). James Taylor had his first song that I liked in the sweet Carolina in My Mind. I got a taste of reggae (without knowing it): Double Barrel ("I am W-O-O-O") by the English duo Dave and Ansell Collins. It was also my #4 favorite song from 1971. Isaac Hayes had his exciting Theme from Shaft, complete with its long instrumental buildup. Sly and the Family Stone had two good hits: Family Affair and (my favorite of theirs), the not-so-well-known Running Away. Van Morrison's Wild Night was also "minor" back then, although you wouldn't know that now by how often it's played. My #3 song of 1971, Chicago's Questions 67 & 68, may be their second-best "glory days" song (behind Dialogue) for its grand horn section and wild guitar riffs. The Supremes, minus Diana Ross, continued their singles success with the fast-paced Nathan Jones. Bread's Let Your Love Go was also fast-paced and loud, very atypical of this group's works. L.A. Woman, the final album of the Doors, came out in 1971. And with it, I heard the songs Riders on the Storm, L.A. Woman, and (my #2 song of that year) Love Her Madly. It's was too bad that Jim Morrison died then at the way-too-young age of 27. Besides being sad about a loss of life, I also believe that his (and his band's) best works lay ahead of them. Finally, at the very close of 1971, a distinctive-sounding band dominated by keyboards and a high-pitched singer (Jon Anderson) made their presence known to the world: the group Yes, although already having put out two earlier albums, released their third (The Yes Album) and with it the infectious, two-part I've Seen All Good People. And that was my top favorite tune of 1971 (as I lived through it). Here are some other good songs I listened to back then:

Temptation Eyes (Grass Roots)
Won't Get Fooled Again (The Who)
Me and You and a Dog Named Boo (Lobo)
Hot Love (T Rex)
Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep (Mac and Katie Kissoon)
Oye Como Va (Santana)
I Don't Know How to Love Him (Helen Reddy)
Timothy (Buoys)
Draggin' the Line (Tommy James)
Don't Knock My Love (Wilson Pickett)
Mozart's 40th (Waldo de los Rios)
That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be (Carly Simon)
Ain't No Sunshine (Bill Withers)
I Just Want to Celebrate (Rare Earth)
Have You Seen Her (Chi-Lites)
Desiderata (Les Crane)
Brand New Key (Melanie)
American Pie (Don McLean)
Joy to the World (Three Dog Night)
Rain Dance (Guess Who)
I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag (Country Joe McDonald & the Fish)
Hot Pants Part 2 (James Brown)
Never Ending Song of Love (Delaney and Bonnie and Friends)