Test Your ’70s Music Smarts

That distinction goes to David Bowie. Bowie was the master of reinvention, and adopted a new persona with nearly every album he released. But even the name David Bowie was a bit of reinvention. He was born David Jones but feared he’d be confused with the Monkees front man Davy Jones. So he changed his surname to match the American pioneer Jim Bowie, who was a central character in the film The Alamo.

McLean’s folksy 8-minute, 27-second song remained the longest song to top the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for nearly half a century. It was bested by Taylor Swift’s 2021 reissue of “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version),” which clocked in at 10 minutes and 13 seconds.

There’s been much speculation about which ex inspired Simon’s musical takedown, including Kris Kristofferson, Warren Beatty, Mick Jagger (who sang backup on the track) and ex-husband James Taylor. In 2003, former NBC sports president Dick Ebersol paid $50,000 at a charity auction to learn the identity of the song’s target — but on the condition that he’d keep it a secret.

Wings’ theme song for the 1973 film — the first with Roger Moore as 007 — reached number 2 on the Billboard singles chart. That feat was also accomplished by Carly Simon four years later with “Nobody Does It Better,” the theme to the movie The Spy Who Loved Me.

“The Dark Side of the Moon” became the first Pink Floyd album to top the American charts — and it was such a success that the band agreed to help finance the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which the British troupe of comedians had struggled to get off the ground. (The band members had fondly spent their downtime during recording sessions watching Monty Python’s Flying Circus on TV.)