You'd never know of the legendary influence of Neil Young just by looking at his track record on the Top 100. Young has had an interesting career over the decades, beginning in 1965 with his time in the Mynah Birds, which featured Rick James on vocals. From 1966-1969 he was in Buffalo Springfield. Outside of adventures as a part of Crosby, Stills & Nash, he's been primarily a solo artist (sometimes with his band, Crazy Horse), earning him adoration from more recent acts like Pearl Jam, who christened Young as the "Godfather of Grunge." Young first hit the charts as a solo artist in 1970 when "Cinnamon Girl" went to #55. His breakthrough hit arrived in 1972 when the classic "Heart Of Gold," which features Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor on backing vocals, soared to #1. He followed this up with what would become his last Top 40 hit to date: "Old Man," which got to #31 later that year. His last chart appearance was when "Little Thing Called Love" stalled at #71 in 1983. Despite not breaking onto the charts, many of Young's rockers and ballads have become familiar classics, including "Down By The River," "The Needle And The Damage Done," "Southern Man," "Rockin' In The Free World," and "Harvest Moon." "Philadelphia" showcases Young's softer side and may just be one of the most beautiful songs ever written that most people have forgotten about or never heard. It can be found on the soundtrack to the 1993 movie of the same name.
English singer, songwriter, and synth wizard Steve Winwood has helped propel many groups to successful heights, including The Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith, and Traffic. But he is perhaps known best as a solo artist, one of the most successful of the 80s. Winwood's solo chart career began to take off in 1981 when "While You See A Chance" soared to #7. After an interlude of minor hits, he came back in a big way in 1986 when "Higher Love" became his first #1 smash. From the monster album, "Back In The High Life," it was the first in a string of hits like "Freedom Overspill" (#20), "The Finer Things" (#8), and the title track, which featured James Taylor on backing vocals and went to #13. Winwood then revived some of his earlier 80s tracks and breathed new life into them, most notably the excellent "Valerie." "Valerie" only went to #70 in 1982 but its remix became a big hit in 1987, reaching #9. Windwood scored a second #1 with "Roll With It" in 1989, followed by another string of consecutive hits in "Don't You Know What The Night Can Do" (#6), "Holding On" (#11), and "Hearts On Fire" (#53). He'd finish his chart career after another album in 1990 produced a single entry when "One And Only Man" went to #18. Mining more of his early 80s material, "While There's A Candle Burning" is another overlooked gem.
James Taylor is an acclaimed singer/songwriter from Boston who ranks as the 32nd most successful chart artist of the 70s. He maintained a chart presence across three decades, until 1997's "Little More Time With You" stalled at #70. Taylor had two brothers (Alex and Livingston) and a sister (Kate), all of whom were musically inclined, with some also tasting chart success. Kate Taylor scored a minor hit with her cover of "It's In His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song)," which reached #49 in 1977. Livingston Taylor pulled out two Top 40 hits: "I Will Be In Love With You" reached #30 in 1979 and "First Time Love" reached #38 in 1980. But no one could match the impressive roster of chart hit James managed to collect, beginning in 1970 when the classic "Fire and Rain" soared to #3. He topped the chart once in 1971 with the Carole King song, "You've Got A Friend." Taylor also scored hits with Carly Simon, his wife from 1972-1983, most memorably "Mockingbird," which hit #5 in 1974. "Blossom" is a sweet, yet overlooked, song from his masterful 1970 record, "Sweet Baby James."
It was really difficult to avoid going disco in the late 70s, even if you cut your teeth being a soft rock singer. The prolific Carly Simon scored an impressive array of hits before the advent of disco, including classics like "You're So Vain" (featuring Mick Jagger on backing vocals, #1 for 3 weeks), "Mockingbird" (with James Taylor, her husband from 1972-1983, #5), "Nobody Does It Better" (#2), and "You Belong To Me" (written with Michael McDonald and featuring James Taylor again, #6). She won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1971 and her constant presence at radio made her the #39th most successful chart artist of the 70s. From the same 1978 album that spawned "You Belong To Me" comes a disco song from out of nowhere called "Tranquillo (Melt My Heart)". And it ain't half bad! Actually grows on you pretty quickly. But thankfully, Simon didn't linger in disco long. She returned to her roots and scored a #11 hit in 1980 with "Jessie." The magic began to wear off by 1987, and "Coming Around Again," which peaked at #18, become her last Top 40 appearance.
