3 One-Hit Wonders From the 1970s We Hear All the Time in Shopping Malls and Grocery Stores

Don’t you just love hearing your favorite song while you’re shopping for a new outfit? Or when you’re zooming down the grocery store aisles, isn’t it great when a song you’ve always loved pops on the overhead speakers? Well, that’s just what we wanted to showcase. We wanted to highlight three tunes from back in the day that often pop up when we’re out. Indeed, these are three one-hit wonders from the 1970s we hear all the time in shopping malls and grocery stores.

“Mr. Big Stuff” by Jean Knight from ‘Mr. Big Stuff’ (1971)

When you’ve got two hands on the grocery cart, and you’re moving down aisle after aisle, looking for things like breakfast cereal and bacon, isn’t it great when this song comes on the speakers? You feel proud, big-chested. Either you relate to the subject of the song, Mr. Big Stuff, himself. Or you relate to the person wagging their finger at him. Either way, there is an empowering element to this track. And you feel it especially while selecting between Swiss cheese options.

“Hooked On A Feeling” by Blue Swede from ‘Hooked On A Feeling’ (1974)

Sometimes when you’re out shopping, all you want to do is feel a sense of bliss. Well, there might not be a single song from the 1970s that does that better than “Hooked On A Feeling” by Blue Swede. The 1974 offering gets you in a happy mood. Wherever you hear the track, that’s where you want to stay. Are you choosing between athletic hoodies at a department store sale rack? Well, that’s a perfect activity when this tune pops on the stereo overhead. Enjoy!

“The Entertainer” by Marvin Hamlisch from ‘The Sting’ (1973)

This song has a 100 percent approval rating. Originally written by Scott Joplin, the ragtime tune is fun, jaunty, and perfect for the background of a movie soundtrack or your next shopping experience. Of course, department stores and grocery shops know this, which is why they pump it on the speakers. But that’s great! The song is tremendous, classic, influential. And when it appeared in the 1973 film, The Sting, played by Marvin Hamlisch, it won both a Grammy and an Oscar.

Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images