4x Life

One month in pop history, every week.

It’s July, 1973

Written by

Thomas Scovell

in

It’s February here in 2026 as we turn our ears back to the sounds of July, 1973…

Songs of the month

  • [new] “Angel” – Aretha Franklin
  • [new] “Bad Bad Leory Brown” – Jim Croce
  • “Bad Bad Leroy Brown” – Jim Croce
  • “Behind Closed Doors” – Charlie Rich
  • “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” – Bette Midler
  • [new] “Brother Louie” – Stories
  • [new] “Daddy Could Swear – I Declare” – Gladys Knight And The Pips
  • “Daddy Could Swear I Declare” – Gladys Knight And The Pips
  • “Daniel” – Elton John
  • “Diamond Girl” – Seals And Crofts
  • “Doin’ It To Death” – Fred Wesley And The Jb’s
  • [new] “Feelin’ Stronger Every Day” – Chicago
  • “Frankenstein” – Edgar Winter Group
  • [new] “Get Down” – Gilbert O’sullivan
  • “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)” – George Harrison
  • [new] “Here I Am” – Al Green
  • [new] “How Can I Tell Her” – Lobo
  • [new] “I Believe In You” – Johnnie Taylor
  • “I’m Doin’ Fine Now” – New York City
  • “I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby” – Barry White
  • [new] “If You Want Me To Stay” – Sly And The Family Stone
  • “Kodachrome” – Paul Simon
  • [new] “Live And Let Die” – Wings
  • “Long Train Runnin’” – Doobie Brothers
  • [new] “Misdemeanour” – Foster Sylvers
  • “Money” – Pink Floyd
  • [new] “Monster Mash” – Bobby Pickett And The Crypt-Kicker
  • “My Love” – Paul Mccartney And Wings
  • “Natural High” – Bloodstone
  • “One Of A Kind” – Spinners
  • “Pillow Talk” – Sylvia
  • “Playground In My Mind” – Clint Holmes
  • “Right Place Wrong Time” – Dr. John
  • [new] “Satin Sheets” – Jeanne Pruett
  • “Shambala” – Three Dog Night
  • “Smoke On The Water” – Deep Purple
  • “So Very Hard To Go” – Tower Of Power
  • [new] “The Morning After” – Maureen Mcgovern
  • “Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree” – Dawn
  • [new] “Touch Me In The Morning” – Diana Ross
  • [new] “Uneasy Rider” – Charlie Daniels
  • [new] “Where Peaceful Waters Flow” – Gladys Knight And The Pips
  • “Will It Go Round In Circles” – Billy Preston
  • “Yesterday Once More” – Carpenters
  • “You’ll Never Get To Heaven” – Stylistics

[new] = New to the chart this week.

You can listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

This month in history

On the 6th the James Bond film “Live and Let Die” was released in British cinemas (after premiering in the United States on June 27, 1973), with the spy played by 45-year-old star Roger Moore.

Then on the 10th John Paul Getty III, the rebellious 16-year-old grandson of the wealthiest man in the world, was kidnapped from the Piazza Farnese in Rome, and held for $17 million ransom. His grandfather, J. Paul Getty, refused to pay the ransom, arguing that giving money to terrorists would put his 13 other grandchildren at risk. A ransom of $3.2 million would be paid in December, but only after the teenager’s ear had been cut off by his kidnappers and sent to a Rome newspaper. Young Getty would be freed on December 15.

And on the 28th “The Summer Jam” at Watkins Glen, a massive rock festival featuring the Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers Band and The Band, took place at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Raceway in New York, United States, attracting over 600,000 music fans, a record audience for the time.

What’d Sadie think?

Two weeks at the top for “Will It Go Round In Circles” by Billy Preston followed by two for “Bad Bad Leroy Brown” by Jim Croce.

Loved ’em

With the release of the new James Bond film we also have the title song by Wings on the charts this week. Upon release, “Live and Let Die” was the most successful Bond theme up to that point, reaching No. 1 on two of the three major US charts. It became the first Bond theme song to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, but ultimately lost the award to Barbra Streisand’s “The Way We Were”.

  • “Bad Bad Leory Brown” – Jim Croce
  • “Brother Louie” – Stories
  • “Here I Am” – Al Green
  • “Live And Let Die” – Wings
  • “Monster Mash” – Bobby Pickett And The Crypt-Kickers

Liked ’em

  • “Angel” – Aretha Franklin
  • “Daddy Could Swear – I Declare” – Gladys Knight And The Pips
  • “Feelin’ Stronger Every Day” – Chicago
  • “Get Down” – Gilbert O’sullivan
  • “How Can I Tell Her” – Lobo
  • “I Believe In You” – Johnnie Taylor
  • “If You Want Me To Stay” – Sly And The Family Stone
  • “Misdemeanour” – Foster Sylvers
  • “The Morning After” – Maureen Mcgovern
  • “Touch Me In The Morning” – Diana Ross
  • “Where Peaceful Waters Flow” – Gladys Knight And The Pips

Leave ’em

  • “Satin Sheets” – Jeanne Pruett
  • “Uneasy Rider” – Charlie Daniels

Now go listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

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