This is what I heard on AM radio. Some of this music is not in the rotation on the oldies stations and fall into the category of you had to have been there to know these. I don’t have much r&b here because most of the songs out then are still being played today (Marvin, Al, Stevie Gamble & Huff etc). What is amazing is that R&B and Pop were played side by side.

This is a sample of the pop I heard on AM radio circa 1969-1972 on WABC NYC. Shout outs to my fave Dan Ingram. To put you in the right mood here are some of the jingles they used
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g63ZjTVP_TM

Emitt Rhodes- “Somewhere Someone” A lost song. The album has maybe two or three songs on it that are good but this one is magic, sounding like Paul McCartney on his first album and ironically it was recorded around the same time (1970) and Emitt played all the instruments like Paul did on his http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKux8DLxF0A

Jake Holmes – “So Close” Just like Emitt Rhodes this is a forgotten gem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP-P8OaqKdQ

Mike Nesmith –“Joanne” Yes the dude from The Monkees released this haunting track
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_pu6V6_BEA

Ricky Nelson – “Garden Party” A song in which Ricky responded to the audience only wanting to hear his oldies and not his new songs He is essentially telling them FU LOL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PECmjB9df0w

Lee Michaels – “Do You Know What I Mean” One of the most soulful records out at that time. Great keyboard work. I bought the album years later but nothing stood out like this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NvZEXZTqLg&feature=fvwrel

Timmy Thomas –“Why Can’t We Live Together” The track that Sade covered complete with the sultry organ and passionate vocals
Studio http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeC3I-gWd5k&feature=related
Live Dig him playing the bass pedals on the organ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz1yjKMIfD0

The Jaggerz – “The Rapper” It’s a wonder no one sampled the chorus that I know of LOL The fuzz guitar is awesome
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaCVyLHYgWs&feature=related

Neil Diamond – “Soolaimon” Say what you will about his post Jonathan Livingston Seagull MOR work Neil was an excellent songwriting This track is part of side long suite called “African Trilogy.” This track features tricky time signatures and a compelling melody I’ve listed he whole suite
“Childsong” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq0JyEkYZ-c
“I Am The Lion” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13Ls7gemgQE
“Madrigal” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFlIlEB2kPY&feature=relmfu
“Soolaimon” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAGI5d4iUCs
“Missa” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I-yKCBWQ0A
“African Trilogy” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFw6ST81-FU&feature=plcp
“Childsong(Reprise)” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUgzT4Zu1EY&feature=plcp
Mouth and McNeal – “How Do You Do” A novelty track sort of a pre Come On Eileen type song with a catchy melody
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf5IzB0uIZo
Live http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QXyqk9flwk&feature=related

Kenny Rogers – “Ruby” The song chronicles a paralyzed returning vet who’s woman cheats on him in front of him and he would shoot her if he could move and put her in the ground I love the haunting vocals in the chorus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs9cQ7MltwU&ob=av2n
Live (when he had black hair LOL) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2ldtuSfm9g

“Tell It All” – Another inspirational single which was prevalent at the time I like the drum/clap in the chorus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpPcoVrmDHY

Three Dog Night (TDN)- I liked this group at the time and still do. They were heard 24/7 and usually had or two or three hits a year. I later found out that most of their recordings were covers. In most cases they surpassed, or at the least matched the original, which was a testament to their producer/arranger. Their most popular song is still played today “Joy To the World” but they had many other hits as well:

“Liar”- Originally performed by Argent. The original version was more laid back but TDN made it a powerful anthem as they did with most of their covers, they amplified the melody and made it harder due to the powerful vocals.
TDN version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMzNf5MehK4
Argent original - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9az6MMNZJl8

“Eli’s Coming” – This is a masterpiece of songwriting, Written by legendary singer/songwriter Laura Nyro TDN matched the intensity of the original and took it to new heights
TDN Version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA4gAYix6S0&feature=fvst
Laura Nyro original http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX5AanHQS1g

“One” – Written by Harry Nilsson, it was one of his earlier songs. While he was known for his vocal pyrotechnics (ie Jump Into A Fire) he was subdued and restrained on his recording while TDN totally ate up the vocals
TDN Version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiKcd7yPLdU
Nilson version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nB5VxPOoio

“Mama Told Me Not To Come” – Written by Randy Newman. Now it is not hard to rival Newman’s vocals so I won’t go there. TDN added an electric piano and let it loose on the vocals
TDN album version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLQYkbzSz5s
TDN live version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKaQzQAlNn4
Randy Newman original http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUmLAGEHB0U

“Black & White” This (according to Wikipedia) is a cover of a cover of a cover LOL. Written as a response to Brown vs The Board of Education in 1956, it was originally recorded by Pete Seeger and Sammy Davis Jr. In the early 70’s it was recorded by The Maytones and Greyhound which is who TDN modeled their version after. This is one of the songs that send chills through me. It is great period.
TDN http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e4kDXsM6lk
Greyhound http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4L2vMJnLU4
The Maytones http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xbn0Glv-bs

“Out In The Country” Written by Roger Nichols and Paul Williams (Rainy Days and Mondays, We’ve Only Just Begun etc) This I think is not a cover. I always liked the haunting organ in the chorus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ1tF6LgB40

Oliver – “Good Morning Starshine” One of the many hits from the Broadway play Hair
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hw3oxJvSRj0

Mungo Jerry – “In The Summertime” A great summer anthem. The guy has the meanest sideburns this side of Sly Stone LOL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvUQcnfwUUM

The Stampeders – “Sweet City Woman” very similar to Mungo Jerry’s track another great summer time driving track
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IRjl3SWC2U

Norman Greenbaum – Spirit In The Sky I loved the fuzz and wah wah guitars. There were many secular songs in the top 40. This was one of the best
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6TFW1F6oY0&feature=related

Hot Butter – “Popcorn” Back in the day you could count on three or four instrumentals to crack the top 40. This track I recently learned is a cover version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBYjZTdrJlA

Billy Preston – “Space Race” Nice ARP synths and he made em funky
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBtj0EBhj3Q

Gilbert O’Sullivan –“ Clair” Known mainly for “Alone Again Naturally,” this follow up hit was just as good. It was written about his niece.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoxSHYfwXeA
“Get Down” After writing a song for his niece he then wrote one for his dog as well
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXl5P2xO9-o

The Guess Who – “Undun” While known for “American Woman” and These Eyes, these tracks are just as good
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV5lkM6pJB8&feature=related
“Laughing” Live http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUcuxvRkybo
“Laughing” studio (better audio) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVlWU6M8krY

Joan Baez – “The Night The Drove Old Dixie Down” This is a cover written by Robbie Robertson of The Band. I like this version better Maybe because I heard it first.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_ksYL26lZE
The Band http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceRg_rxXQ_E

The Band – “Up On Cripple Creek” When this was out I never paid attention to the lyrics because I couldn’t really discern them. When I finally found out what they were I was rothflmao
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EisXJSsULGM&feature=related

The Bee Gees – “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” Before Saturday Night Fever, they were crafting some great songs as well. They sound like they are singing live over a backing track.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv1ZKJU6-rc

Bread – “It Don’t Matter To Me” A good representation of the “soft rock” (which included The Carpenters) at the time. This song has a harder kick to it though. The “empty room” part is amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvFf6yDwIrw

Paul McCartney –“Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” This was my introduction to Paul. Yeah I knew about The Beatles but to me this song was the shit. Nothing at the time sounded like this. I loved the tempo changes and shifts in the melody. The problem with Paul’s post Beatle work is his lyrics, which leave a lot to be desired but the music is still top notch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utmKUyMkttg

“Another Day” – Another great song and this time the lyrics are just as potent as the music. This was never put on an album
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFzEA7ZAfZQ

Badfinger – “Day After Day” featuring George Harrison on guitar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XonFZjuyc6E
“Come and Get It” Written by Paul McCartney
Studio http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3TOcw7taBo
Live http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tOnbeNAxdU&ob=av2n

Ringo Starr –“It Don’t Come Easy” Written by George Harrison
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZfAik7wP8U
George Harrison demo surprisingly Ringo sings it better http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjd7vQOcuQI

“Back Off Boogaloo” Great drumming I believe Jim Keltner is drumming on this track as well as Ringo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXg1AxBXN5g&ob=av2e

Last and least is a song that I was brain washed into liking I have a love hate history with this song. They played this song it seemed like 20 times a day.

Hamilton Joe Frank and Reynolds – “Don’t Pull Your Love Out”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_3QqzI23sE