Best Songs of 1972
For these year-end lists, I like to undertake the seemingly impossibly task of creating an hours-long mix. The order you see below represents that effort, which you can listen to via Spotify and Apple Music. Track notes to come eventually or maybe never.
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Walk on the Wild Side
Lou Reed
Transformer
Label
Notes
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Occapella
Van Dyke Parks
Discover America
Warner Bros.
Notes
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To Know You Is to Love You
Syreeta
Syreeta
MoWest
Notes
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Superstition
Stevie Wonder
Talking Book
Motown
Notes
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Use Me
Bill Withers
Still Bill
Label
Notes
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Bra
Cymande
Cymande
Janus
Notes
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Itch and Scratch
Rufus Thomas
Itch and Scratch 7"
Stax
Notes
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High Time We Went
Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
A&M
Notes
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I Gotcha
Joe Tex
I Gotcha 7"
Dial
Notes
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It’s Just Begun
The Jimmy Castor Bunch
It’s Just Begun
RCA
Notes
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Vitamin C
Can
Ege Bamyasi
Label
Notes
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Heart of Gold
Bettye LaVette
Heart of Gold / You’ll Wake Up Wiser 7"
Atco
Notes
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I’ll Take You There
The Staple Singers
Be Altitude: Respect Yourself
Label
Notes
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Blind Alley
Emotions
My Honey and Me
Volt
Notes
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Rock Steady
Aretha Franklin
Young, Gifted and Black
Atlantic
Notes
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Now That I’ve Found a Good Thing
Fontella Bass
Free
Paula
Notes
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Your Wonderful Sweet, Sweet Love
The Supremes
Floy Joy
Motown
Notes
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I Wanna Be Where You Are
Michael Jackson
Got to Be There
Label
Notes
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Ask Me What You Want
Millie Jackson
Millie Jackson
Spring
Notes
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I Am Woman
Helen Reddy
I Am Woman
Capitol
Notes
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Under the Falling Sky
Bonnie Raitt
Give It Up
Warner Bros.
Notes
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You Turn Me on I’m a Radio
Joni Mitchell
For the Roses
Asylum
Notes
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Happy Day
Bridget St. John
Thank You For…
Dandelion
Notes
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Pink Moon
Nick Drake
Pink Moon
Hannibal
Notes
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Lean on Me
Terry Callier
Occasional Rain
Cadet
Notes
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I Can See Clearly Now
Johnny Nash
I Can See Clearly Now
Epic
Notes
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The Harder They Come
Jimmy Cliff
The Harder They Come
Mango
Notes
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Stir It Up
Bob Marley & The Wailers
Catch a Fire
Label
Notes
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One Man Parade
James Taylor
One Man Dog
Warner Bros.
Notes
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Crazy Mama
J.J. Cale
Naturally
Polygram
Notes
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Someday Never Comes
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Mardi Gras
Fantasy
Notes
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Take It Easy
Eagles
Eagles
Asylum
Notes
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Doctor My Eyes
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Label
Notes
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Reelin’ in the Years
Steely Dan
Can’t Buy a Thrill
MCA
Notes
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Listen to the Music
The Doobie Brothers
Toulouse Street
Label
Notes
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Free Ride
Edgar Winter Group
They Only Come Out at Night
Epic
Notes
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Good Time Sally
Rare Earth
Willie Remembers
Rare Earth
Notes
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The Cisco Kid
War
The World Is a Ghetto
Label
Notes
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Black and White
Three Dog Night
Seven Separate Fools
ABC-Dunhill
Notes
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Sail Away
Randy Newman
Sail Away
Label
Notes
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Junko Partner
Dr. John
Dr. John’s Gumbo
Atco
Notes
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Drowning on Dry Land
O.V. Wright
The Soul of O.V. Wright
Label
Notes
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Tight Rope
Leon Russell
Signature Songs
Shelter
Notes
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Bessie That’s a Lie
Vince Matthews and Jim Casey
The Kingston Springs Suite
Delmore
Notes
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Pancho & Lefty
Townes Van Zandt
The Late Great Townes Van Zandt
Poppy
Notes
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You Don’t Know Me
Caetano Veloso
Transa
Philips
Notes
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Hello It’s Me
Todd Rundgren
Something/Anything?
Bearsville
Notes
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Let’s Stay Together
Al Green
Let’s Stay Together
Right Stuff
Notes
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Me and Mrs. Jones
Billy Paul
360 Degrees of Billy Paul
Philadelphia International
Notes
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Where Is the Love
Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway
Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway
Atlantic
Notes
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Because of You
Jackie Wilson
Beautiful Day
Brunswick
Notes
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Use Me
Esther Phillips
Alone Again, Naturally
Kudo
Notes
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Trouble Man
Marvin Gaye
Trouble Man
Label
Notes
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Everybody Plays the Fool
The Main Ingredient
Bitter Sweet
RCA
Notes
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Girl You Need a Change of Mind
Eddie Kendricks
People… Hold On
Tamla
Notes
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Saturday in the Park
Chicago
Chicago V
Label
Notes
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It Never Rains in Southern California
Albert Hammond
It Never Rains in Southern California
Label
Notes
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Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)
Looking Glass
Looking Glass
Epic
Notes
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Ventura Highway
America
Homecoming
Warner Bros.
Notes
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Easy to Slip
Little Feat
Sailin’ Shoes
Warner Bros.
Notes
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Johnny’s Garden
Stephen Stills
Manassas
Atlantic
Notes
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Heart of Gold
Neil Young
Harvest
Reprise
Notes
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Girl to Be on My Mind
Crosby & Nash
Graham Nash David Crosby
Atlantic
Notes
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You’re So Vain
Carly Simon
No Secrets
Elektra
Notes
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Tumbling Dice
The Rolling Stones
Exile on Main Street
Label
Notes
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Italian Girls
Rod Stewart
Never a Dull Moment
Label
Notes
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All the Young Dudes
Mott the Hoople
All the Young Dudes
Label
Notes
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Ziggy Stardust
David Bowie
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
Label
Notes
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Metal Guru
T. Rex
The Slider
Reprise
Notes
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School’s Out
Alice Cooper
School’s Out
Warner Bros.
Notes
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Funky to the Bone
Freddi / Henchi & The Soulsetters
Funky to the Bone / I Want to Dance, Dance, Dance 7"
Reprise
Notes
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Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone
The Temptations
All Directions
Label
Notes
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Superfly
Curtis Mayfield
Superfly
Label
Notes
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Across 110th Street
Bobby Womack
Across 110th Street
MGM
Notes
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Love Train
The O’Jays
Back Stabbers
Label
Notes
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Oh Girl
The Chi-Lites
A Lonely Man
Brunswick
Notes
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Didn’t I
Darondo
Let My People Go
Label
1972 recording released in 2006
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Tomorrow
We All Together
We All Together
Mag
Notes
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Happy the Man
Genesis
Happy the Man 7"
Atco
Notes
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Listen to the Lion
Van Morrison
Saint Dominic’s Preview
Warner Bros.
Notes
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Rocket Man
Elton John
Honky Chateau
Label
Notes
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Rocky Mountain High
John Denver
Rocky Mountain High
RCA
Notes
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Melissa
The Allman Brothers Band
Eat a Peach
Label
Notes
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Summer Breeze
Seals & Crofts
Summer Breeze
Warner Bros.
Notes
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Only Love Can Break Your Heart
Jackie DeShannon
Jackie
Atlantic
Notes
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Song Sung Blue
Neil Diamond
Moods
Label
Notes
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Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress
The Hollies
Distant Light
Epic
Notes
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Hold Your Head Up
Argent
All Together Now
Epic
Notes
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Go All the Way
Raspberries
Raspberries
Capitol
Notes
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When My Baby’s Beside Me
Big Star
#1 Record
Ardent
Notes
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Stuck in the Middle With You
Stealers Wheel
Stealers Wheel
A&M
Notes
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Mother and Child Reunion
Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Label
Notes
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Angelsea
Cat Stevens
Catch a Bull at Four
Label
Notes
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Say That You Love Me
Loudon Wainwright III
Album III
Columbia
Notes
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Get on Top
Tim Buckley
Greetings From L.A.
Warner Bros.
Notes
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If I Could Only Be Sure
Nolan Porter
Nolan
ABC
Notes
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Your Mama Don’t Dance
Loggins and Messina
Loggins and Messina
Columbia
Notes
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Smoke on the Water
Deep Purple
Machine Head
Warner Bros.
Notes
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The Guitar Man
Bread
Guitar Man
Elektra
Notes
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Whiskey in the Jar
Thin Lizzy
Whiskey in the Jar 7"
London
Notes