Of the #1 hits of 1974 on this half of the charts, quite a few are Beatles-adjacent. All of these songs were all #1 pop for a single week. All went gold except the ones by Stevie Wonder and John Lennon.
You Haven’t Done Nothin’ -Stevie Wonder (Tamla), featuring the Jackson Five. His Beatles connection, besides his great cover of We Can Work It Out, is his appearance on the 1982 Paul McCartney album Tug Of War, performing on What’s That You’re Doing? and Ebony and Ivory.
Nothing From Nothing – Billy Preston (A&M). His Beatles connection was heavy, especially the Get Back/Let It Be sessions. He also played on Abbey Road, several Harrison albums, including the Concert for Bangladesh, and albums for Lennon and Starr. Harrison produced one of his albums and co-produced another. Billy appeared in the Sgt. Pepper movie and sang Get Back.
Hooked On A Feeling – Blue Swede (EMI). The TV show Ally McBeal may have ruined this song for me with the dancing baby.
Sunshine On My Shoulders – John Denver (RCA Victor). Beatles connection: Here are his Beatles covers on Spotify.
Macca
Band On The Run – Paul McCartney and Wings (Apple). Beatles connection: Paul, Linda, and Denny Laine in Nigeria created Paul’s best-reviewed post-Fab album; this is the title track.
You’re Sixteen – Ringo Starr (Apple). Beatles connection: all three other Beatles appeared on the Ringo album, writing songs for the drummer. On this track, Paul sings a kazoo-like solo. Ringo performed on Lennon and Harrison’s solo tracks.
Sundown – Gordon Lightfoot (Reprise).
Rock Me Gently – Andy Kim (Capitol). Beatles connection: on the Stars on 45 song from 1981, Sugar Sugar, the Archies hit written by Kim and Jeff Barry, segues into eight Beatles songs.
Angie Baby– Helen Reddy (Capitol). “All This and World War II is a 1976 musical documentary directed by Susan Winslow. It juxtaposes Beatles songs covered by a variety of musicians with World War II newsreel footage and 20th Century Fox films.” Reddy, who was on Capitol, the Beatles’ label during Beatlemania, covered Fool on the Hill.
Feel Like Makin’ Love – Roberta Flack (Atlantic). Beatles connection: she lived in the Dakota in NYC across the hall from John and Yoko. She recorded a Beatles cover album in 2012.
Cat’s In The Cradle – Harry Chapin (Elektra)
Dark Lady – Cher (MCA). Beatles connection: as Bonnie Jo Mason, Cher released a song called Ringo, I Love You in 1964.
The Night Chicago Died – Paper Lace (Mercury) in 1964.
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You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet – Bachman-Turner Overdrive (Mercury), Beatles connection: Google Randy Bachman and you’ll find out about his knowledge of and appreciation for the Beatles, such as here, here, and here. He was a member of Ringo’s All-Starr Band.
Rock The Boat – The Hues Corporation (RCA Victor)
I Shot The Sheriff – Eric Clapton (RSO). The cover of the Bob Marley song introduced reggae to the American masses. His Beatles connections: his guitar solo on While My Guitar Gently Weeps, his playing on early Lennon recordings such as Live Peace in Toronto, and his long friendship with George despite him falling in love with George’s wife Patti Boyd and eventually marrying her. Eric was the musical director for the Concert for George in 2002.
Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe – Barry White (20th Century)
Whatever Gets You Through The Night – John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (Apple). This features Elton John on vocals and keyboards. Beatles connection: Elton famously got Lennon to agree to a wager. If the single reached #1 on the charts, JL had to promise to appear with EJ at one of his shows. John showed up at Elton’s 11/28/74 Thanksgiving show at Madison Square Garden. They sang this song, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (soon a #1 hit for EJ, featuring JL), and I Saw Her Standing There. Lennon’s only #1 after this was the posthumous (Just Like) Starting Over.