Ever go to bed on the 21st night of September? Have a date with a Dream Weaver? Feeling like riding in your newly-purchased magic bus? Or wake up to a lovely day? Want to let the sun shine in? Are you feeling that Jesus is just alright (in a good way)? Have the Theme from Shaft as an earworm? Want to empower your friends? Want to dance a thousand dances?
This one’s for you. The rules are simple: upbeat, no downers, one song per artist, and all from the 1960s and ‘70s.
Power to All
- Cliff Richard — “Power to All Our Friends” (1973)
- The Who — “Magic Bus” (1968)
- Steppenwolf — “Magic Carpet Ride” (1968)
- Gary Wright — “Dream Weaver” (1975)
- Norman Greenbaum — “Spirit in the Sky” (1969)
- Pilot — “Magic” (1974)
- Electric Light Orchestra — “Mr. Blue Sky” (1977)
- Edison Lighthouse — “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” (1970)
- The Flowerpot Men — “Let’s Go to San Francisco” (1967)
- The Rubettes — “Sugar Baby Love” (1974)
- Sweet — “Love Is Like Oxygen” (1978)
- Isaac Hayes — “Theme from Shaft” (1971)
- Earth, Wind & Fire — “September” (1978)
- Bill Withers — “Lovely Day” (1977)
- ABBA — “Take a Chance on Me” (1977)
- Boney M. — “Daddy Cool” (1976)
- Santana — “Soul Sacrifice” (1969)
- Manu Dibango — “Soul Makossa” (1972)
- Hugh Masekela — “Grazing in the Grass” (1968)
- The Doobie Brothers — “Jesus Is Just Alright” (1972)
- The Staple Singers — “I’ll Take You There” (1972)
- The 5th Dimension — “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” (1969)
- The Four Seasons — “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)” (1975)
- Wilson Pickett — “Land of 1000 Dances” (1966)
- James Brown — “Get Up Offa That Thing” (1976)
- Blood, Sweat & Tears — “Spinning Wheel” (1969)
- Booker T. & the M.G.’s — “Green Onions” (1962)
- King Harvest — “Dancing in the Moonlight” (1972)
- Bellamy Brothers — “Let Your Love Flow” (1976)
Oh, what a night
Spotify is square! The algorithm matches era and sound, not mood. It kept pushing contemporary worship music at me, and at one point it offered Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s in the Cradle,” maybe the saddest song of the decade. Some things still need a human ear. (It did redeem itself with “December, 1963.”)
Hippie Christian is hip! “Spirit in the Sky” opened the door, and “Jesus Is Just Alright” and “I’ll Take You There” danced right through it. Faith that sounds like joy, not a lecture. (Fun fact: Norman Greenbaum, who wrote “Spirit in the Sky,” is Jewish. There’s a wink in it.)
The awesome cuts. Great songs, wrong party:
- Edwin Starr — “War.” What is it good for? Not this list.
- Marmalade — “Reflections of My Life.” Lovely, and a little too homesick. “Love Grows” took its place. It came out in 1970. So did I.
- ABBA — “Waterloo,” Earth, Wind & Fire — “Shining Star,” and Santana — “Oye Como Va.” No repeats means no repeats.
Cut there, voted in here! “Mr. Blue Sky,” “Magic Carpet Ride,” and “Lovely Day” were all cut from my showstoppers list for being pure spectacle: glorious lift, nobody deciding anything. Here, that’s the whole point. They’re in.
Crossovers welcome! Some of the best songs here jumped the fence: gospel onto the pop charts (“I’ll Take You There”), Latin into rock (“Soul Sacrifice”), Cameroon onto the disco floor (“Soul Makossa”), South African jazz into the Top 10 (“Grazing in the Grass”).
Your turn
What am I missing? Upbeat, no downers, no repeat artists, 1960s and ’70s only. Send suggestions to [email protected].
The first ones are already in. Thanks to Dylan for “Let Your Love Flow” and “Dancing in the Moonlight.”