31 Best 70s Love Songs

The love songs of the 70s sound so different from each other because the decade saw a blend of musical styles. Disco, rock, folk, pop, and R&B shared radio time and created a diverse and rich musical era.

Here are some of the best 70s love songs spanning several musical genres.

“Love Hangover” by Diana Ross

Song Year: 1976

Diana Ross doesn't want a cure for her love hangover in this disco hit that reached #1 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 and Hot-Selling Soul Singles charts.

She earned a Grammy Award nomination for the song and, with its success, became the female vocalist with the most #1 hits until Whitney Houston knocked her out of the top spot 12 years later.

“I'd Really Love to See You Tonight” by England Dan and John Ford Coley

Song Year: 1976

This hit was one of the best 70s love songs that pretended it wasn't about love. John Ford Coley and Dan Seals (England Dan) make it clear they're not asking for a lifetime commitment when they ask the object of their affection for a date.

All the assurances that they don't want something permanent hint that they're hoping for that exact thing.

“I Think I Love You” by The Partridge Family

Song Year:1970

The Partridge Family was a TV series from 1970 to 1974 about a family musical group. The show and its lead singer, David Cassidy, became so popular that the music written for it became real-life hits.

This pop song was their first single, and when it shot to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, it made the show and the fictional Partridge Family band a worldwide hit.

“Love Will Keep Us Together” by Captain and Tennille

Song Year: 1975

Daryl Dragon and Toni Tennille were a married couple with several hit songs and a variety-style television series in 1977. Their heyday was during the 70s, but they continued to record and perform into the 2000s

This tune was their first #1 hit and earned them a Record of the Year Grammy Award.

“My Love” by Paul McCartney & Wings

Song Year: 1973

This tune was a love song Paul McCartney wrote for his wife and bandmate Linda McCartney. He formed the band Paul McCartney & Wings as his first post-Beatles group, and this beautiful song was their first #1 hit.

Paul and Linda McCartney stayed married for 29 years until her death in 1998, giving the lyrics extra meaning.

“Best of My Love” by The Emotions

Song Year: 1977

The Emotions were a girl group that started in the 60s singing gospel but made a name for themselves in the 70s and 80s singing disco and R&B. They became one of the most successful girl groups of all time.

This disco hit won the group a Grammy and an American Music Award.

“How Deep Is Your Love by Bee Gees

Song Year: 1972

The Bee Gees consisted of brothers Maurice, Robin, and Barry Gibb. Barry's signature falsetto and their mix of soft rock and disco sounds made them one of the superstar groups of the 1970s.

This hit song was one of the three Bee Gees songs on the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.

“Let's Stay Together” by Al Green

Song Year: 1972

In soul singer Al Green's signature song, he wants the woman he loves to stay with him because he can't imagine life without her. This tune was one of the best 70s love songs and Green's biggest hit.

Green earned 11 Grammy Awards for his multiple soul hits and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to music.

“If You Leave Me Now” by Chicago

Song Year: 1976

Peter Cetera's clear, soulful voice helped this song become the first #1 hit for Chicago on the Billboard Hot 100. It's an easy-listening tune where the singer begs his love to stay because life won't be good without her.

The song also earned Chicago, a group known for some of the best love songs of the 70s, a Grammy Award.

“Can't Smile Without You” by Barry Manilow

Song Year: 1978

Barry Manilow has been singing love songs for over 70 years and is one of the best-selling musical artists in history. He's had over 50 Top 40 hits and has sold over 85 million albums worldwide.

Despite several other artists recording this pop song about being unhappy when separated from a lover, Manilow's version is the most popular. He's also a philanthropist who founded the Manilow Music Project to help students cover costs when studying music.

“Babe” by Styx

Song Year: 1979

“Babe” was the only #1 hit for the superstar rock group Styx despite their previous two albums reaching platinum status.

The sweet earnestness of the song, written and sung by lead Dennis DeYoung as a gift for his wife, now married for 52 years, makes it one of the most enduring love songs of the 1970s.

“I Honestly Love You” by Olivia Newton-John

Song Year: 1974

This pop song became Olivia Newton John's first #1 hit in Canada and the US. It won two Grammy Awards in 1975 and helped make her one of the best-selling artists of the 70s and 80s.

It's hard to find a sweeter love song than one that declares “I honestly love you” repeatedly, making it great music for a wedding first dance or anniversary theme.

“You Light Up My Life” by Debby Boone

Song Year: 1977

This song sat at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts for ten weeks and earned Debby Boone the Best New Artist Grammy Award in 1978. It became her signature song.

Debby Boone is the daughter of Pat Boone, a pop singer who sold 45 million albums in the last half of the 1900s. Many artists recorded this song, but no version was more popular than Boone's.

“Just the Way You Are” by Billy Joel

Song Year: 1977

What's more romantic than being told not to change because someone loves you just the way you are? Because of that sentiment, this hit is one of the best 70s love songs.

Joel won two Grammy Awards for the breakout hit, which appeared on his album The Stranger.

“Easy” by The Commodores

Song Year: 1977

This soulful pop song has a beautiful melody and Lionel Richie's smooth voice, but it's a song about a love gone wrong and the need to move on from it.

The song was one of The Commodores' earliest and biggest hits. The tune won a Grammy Award and helped establish Lionel Richie as one of the best voices in music.

“I'm Not in Love” by 10cc

Song Year: 1975

As the singer insists he's not in love and provides the evidence, it seems he's madly in love but doesn't want to admit it.

The song was British pop group 10cc's breakout hit outside the UK, where they'd already had a few #1 singles. “I'm Not in Love” remains their most popular song, despite having five albums hit the top ten in the UK during the 70s. 

“Time in a Bottle” by Jim Croce

Song Year: 1973

This song became one of the best 70s love songs and one of Jim Croce's biggest hits. Sadly, it hit #1 after his tragic and untimely death in 1973 when his plane crashed on takeoff.

Croce wrote this song about stopping time to savor the beautiful moments in life after his wife told him she was pregnant three years earlier.

“Don't Give Up on Us” by David Soul

Song Year: 1977

After success on the TV show Starsky & Hutch, David Soul reinvented himself as a pop singer. This song was a worldwide hit, reaching #1 in the US, UK, and several other countries.

Though he continued to record and release music, this love song about not giving up and making a relationship work was his only Top 40 hit.

“Sometimes When We Touch” by Dan Hill

Song Year: 1977

Dan Hill's love ballad about a love so intense that it's almost too much to stand was his biggest hit, reaching the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts.

Few songs express how overwhelming and confusing love can be than this one. The lyrics represent someone who feels so passionately toward his lover that he doesn't know what to do or say.

“Lady” by Styx

Song Year: 1973

This love song from Chicago-based Styx was popular locally after its initial release but achieved nationwide popularity after its re-release in 1974.

Styx's power ballad is one of the many love songs of the 70s they released and the first love song of many Dennis DeYoung wrote for his wife.

“Three Times a Lady” by The Commodores

Song Year: 1978

Lionel Richie sings this beautiful song directly to the object of his love. He wrote the tune, which became the group's first Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit. It also hit #1 on the soul and contemporary charts.

This breakout hit song earned two Grammy nominations and led Billboard to name them #3 on their 1978 list of the best pop groups of the year. 

“The Air That I Breathe” by The Hollies

Song Year: 1974

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group The Hollies formed in the 1960s and still perform today. The rock group achieved 22 Top 100 songs in the US and over 30 hits in the UK, including this song.

This tune is one of the best 70s love songs for a pure declaration of love. The group insists that all they need is air and to love the person they're serenading.

“You Are the Sunshine of My Life” by Stevie Wonder

Song Year: 1973

This open-hearted love song is one of the most romantic love songs of the 1970s by an artist who sold over 100 million albums during his career.

His first #1 hit was “Fingertips” in 1963, but this song remains one of his most enduring. Stevie Wonder has earned 25 Grammy Awards, including one for this track.

“She Believes in Me” by Kenny Rogers

Song Year: 1978

Country superstar Kenny Rogers hit #1 on the country chart with this love song about a woman who believes in her man even when he's unsure of what she sees in him.

The song comes from one of Rogers' biggest hit albums, The Gambler, and also hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. His career lasted six decades, and this song remains one of his best 70s love songs.

“We've Only Just Begun” by The Carpenters

Song Year: 1970

This song is one of the best for newly married couples, as it talks about how their love is only getting started and how they have so much more to experience and enjoy over the coming years.

The Carpenters were a brother and sister duo with ten albums and numerous hits during their 14-year partnership. They're among the best-selling musical acts in history, with over 90 million record sales worldwide.

“The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Roberta Flack

Song Year: 1972

This tune is one of the best love songs of the 70s, with Roberta Flack singing about seeing someone's face for the first time and describing its beauty in epic ways. She's singing about her son, but the songwriter wrote it about a lover.

This #1 song earned Flack her first Grammy. She followed it up with another Grammy-winning #1 song in 1974, making her the first artist to win back-to-back Record of the Year Awards.

“Make It With You” by Bread

Song Year: 1970

This soft rock song is about making a relationship work with the one you love. It became the only #1 hit for Bread, a group that had 13 hit songs in the 70s.

Though you can interpret “make it” to mean having sex, as that was a popular phrase in the 70s, the other lyrics show that it's also about making it as a couple and enjoying life. 

“Without You” by Harry Nilsson

Song Year: 1971

The singer can't go on without his lover in this song from the album Nilsson Schmilsson. It was one of the top ten songs from the album and became an international best-seller, winning Nilsson a Grammy Award.

Over 180 other artists have recorded this tune, with some others becoming best-sellers, like the version by Mariah Carey in 1994.

“Ain't No Sunshine” by Bill Withers

Song Year: 1971

Ironically, R&B singer Withers wrote this, one of the most beautiful 70s love songs, after seeing the 1962 film Days of Wine and Roses, a tragic story of love, alcoholism, and obsession. 

The song became Withers' breakthrough hit, hitting #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #6 on the R&B chart.

“Your Song” by Elton John

Song Year: 1970

Among Elton John's 31 albums over his 52-year career, “Your Song” is one of the most beautiful songs he released.

The tune is one of the best love songs of the 1970s and is about someone who can't afford to give anything but a song to the person he cherishes most in the world.

“When I Need You” by Leo Sayer

Song Year: 1977

This heartfelt love song about a lover who provided everything he needed became one of Leo Sayer's biggest worldwide hits, along with the Grammy-winning single, “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing.”

Sayer's first seven songs all achieved top-ten status in the UK, but these two songs are the ones most people remember and still listen to today.

Top 70s Love Songs, Final Thoughts

The 70s pop and rock sound, along with R&B and pop tunes, all made hits of some of these love songs you can still hear on the radio today.

Whether you want a pure, sweet love song with straightforward lyrics or a ballad about a lost love that stays on your mind, we hope you've enjoyed these picks of the best 70s love songs.