Remember growing up in a small town and listening to AM radio? Especially in the 1970s? It was a vibe, without a doubt. And if you were young in 1972, I bet you listened to these three hit songs on your small-town radio station regularly. Let’s get nostalgic and revisit some country and pop classics, shall we?
“Song Sung Blue” by Neil Diamond from ‘Moods’
Neil Diamond dropped the pop hit “Song Sung Blue” in 1972, and it was a fast hit on the charts. The song, which was inspired by Mozart, peaked at No. 1 in the US. The whole of the album Moods is a real throwback to the early 1970s, but something about “Song Sung Blue” still hits so good after all these years.
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“Baby Don’t Get Hooked On Me” by Mac Davis from ‘Baby Don’t Get Hooked On Me’
Small-town radio stations in the 1970s played quite a bit of country-pop, so it comes as no surprise that this hit from Mac Davis made it to AM radio often in 1972. “Baby Don’t Get Hooked On Me” is the title track of Davis’ breakthrough record, and that very title track was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Easy Listening chart. The story goes that Davis’ label demanded a song with a strong hook, and he certainly did that with “Baby Don’t Get Hooked On Me”. This catchy song was virtually inescapable on small-town radio for a while.
“The Happiest Girl In The Whole U.S.A.” by Donna Fargo from ‘The Happiest Girl In The Whole U.S.A.’
Another country-pop classic, “The Happiest Girl In The Whole U.S.A.” by Donna Fargo is a shoo-in on our list of small-town radio songs from 1972. It’s just that good. This song was easily the song of the year in 1972, at least on small-town radio. “The Happiest Girl In The Whole U.S.A.” was written from the perspective of a new bride to her husband. And it quickly became Fargo’s signature song. This country-pop tune peaked at No. 1 on the Hot Country Singles chart. It also reached No. 11 on the Hot 100 chart.
Photo by Tony Russell/Redferns