Every year, one anthem

"I Can See Clearly Now" why these were the most-played songs of the '70s!

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The ’70s were an eclectic mix of flared pants, flower power, disco balls, and glam rock glitter—and the music was amazing! Each year of the decade produced incredible hits that could be heard everywhere. Today, we’re revisiting the #1 songs that defined the fabulous 1970s. Let's see if you still know the lyrics!

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The turn of the decade made 1970 a tumultuous year. The disco craze was beginning to heat up, with platform shoes and flared pants taking center stage. That year, the world was treated to hits like "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5, "Let It Be" by The Beatles, "Ain’t No Mountain High Enough" by Diana Ross, and "(They Long to Be) Close to You" by The Carpenters, among many others. But the song that stayed the longest at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 was "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon & Garfunkel. With its beautiful and heartwarming lyrics, it became a classic!

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In 1971, Rod Stewart stole the scene as a solo artist, winning widespread acclaim with "Maggie May" and "Reason to Believe." We also enjoyed top hits like "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" by Cher, "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" by the Bee Gees, "It’s Too Late" by Carole King, and "Brown Sugar" by The Rolling Stones. However, none of these stayed at #1 as long as "Joy to the World" by the American band Three Dog Night, which topped the chart for an incredible 5 weeks!

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In 1972, Don McLean captured hearts with his hit "American Pie," Bill Withers was catapulted to fame with "Lean On Me," and Three Dog Night scored another big hit with "Black and White." The Temptations delivered their unforgettable version of "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone," and Johnny Nash brought good vibes with "I Can See Clearly Now."

That year, two songs held the number-one spot for an incredible 6 weeks each! One was Roberta Flack’s unforgettable ballad "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," which also won the Grammy for Record of the Year. The other was perhaps one of the most melancholic songs of all time: Gilbert O’Sullivan’s "Alone Again (Naturally)," still played around the world today.

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1973 was the year of big voices! Stevie Wonder with the legendary "Superstition," Diana Ross with "Touch Me in the Morning," Elton John with "Crocodile Rock," Jim Croce with "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown," and Carly Simon with the iconic "You’re So Vain" are just a few examples.

But 1973 had even more treasures: Tony Orlando and Dawn rocked the charts with 4 consecutive weeks at number one with the catchy "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree," and Roberta Flack led again for 5 weeks straight with "Killing Me Softly with His Song." Nothing but anthems!

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The Watergate scandal may have made headlines in 1974, but it was also a big year for music, with hits from various genres topping the charts. Representing disco, Carl Douglas’s "Kung Fu Fighting" made us all dance. Reggae had its moment with Eric Clapton’s version of "I Shot the Sheriff," Terry Jacks brought a touch of sadness with his folk hit "Seasons in the Sun," and John Denver sang to love in "Annie's Song."

But guess what? The most played track was a ballad! Yes, we’re talking about Barbra Streisand’s "The Way We Were," the theme song for the movie of the same name.

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Maybe you were one of the lucky ones who caught the premiere of Jaws in cinemas. Do you remember that year? 1975 gave us all types of hits! Elton John was once again at the forefront, with "Philadelphia Freedom" playing in every American home. But he wasn’t the only one.

We also had the honor of listening to "Fame" by David Bowie, along with disco classics like "Lady Marmalade" by Labelle and "Get Down Tonight" by KC and the Sunshine Band. That year, a message of love and optimism won, with "Love Will Keep Us Together" by Captain & Tennille topping the charts for 4 weeks in a row.

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1976 wasn’t just about America turning 200; it was also a celebration in sound! That year gifted us unforgettable hits like Rod Stewart’s sensual "Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)," "Don’t Go Breaking My Heart" by Elton John & Kiki Dee, and "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" by Paul Simon.

But one track topped the charts longer than the others, and it was none other than "Silly Love Songs" by Paul McCartney & Wings. As its title suggests, this playful anthem was McCartney’s cheeky reply to critics who said he wrote too many romantic songs.

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The iconic Star Wars premiered in 1977, marking a turning point in science fiction and revolutionizing the film industry. But music also gave birth to amazing gems that year. For example, Barbra Streisand’s "Evergreen" (yes, the love theme from A Star Is Born), the unforgettable "Dancing Queen" by ABBA, "Hotel California" by the Eagles, and "How Deep Is Your Love" by the Bee Gees.

And while all of those became anthems, none stayed at the top as long as Debby Boone’s "You Light Up My Life," which was #1 for 10 weeks!

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1978 was the year we first heard the catchy "You’re the One That I Want" by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. But beyond that, other iconic songs also made history. Frankie Valli brought back 1950s nostalgia with "Grease," Donna Summer gave us her disco version of "MacArthur Park," and we enjoyed "Three Times a Lady" by the Commodores.

But if anyone had a great year, it was the Bee Gees, who released "Stayin' Alive" (number 1 for 4 weeks) and "Night Fever," which topped the charts for an impressive 8 weeks!

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Unfortunately, the decade came to an end, but 1979 was far from short on great songs. In fact, it gave us some of the most memorable hits of the decade! To name a few, we remember "Heart of Glass" by Blondie, "Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?" by Rod Stewart, "Ring My Bell" by Anita Ward, and the legendary "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor.

But the one that surprised everyone was definitely The Knack’s "My Sharona." As the band’s debut single, it held the top spot for 6 weeks and became an anthem for a whole generation.

A case of spelling ability and sheer luck

Is "muzjiks" a word? 10 Scrabble opening plays to win big

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We all know that the letters that score the most points in Scrabble are J and X (8 points), and Q and Z (10 points). But the most popular word game in the world is also about being able to combine all the lettered tiles that luck has handed you, even when they don't seem to have anything in common. One of the first things Scrabble players should learn is new and different words to help them win the game. In this article, we have compiled 10 words that—if the conditions are right—will make you score the most points in an opening play. Come join us!

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The highest-scoring possible play in Scrabble is a seven-letter opening move formed with the letters IJKMSUZ. Looks unpromising, right? To everyone's surprise, however, there's one word that's perfect for that hand: muzjiks. It's a pluralized, alternative spelling of the word muzhik, meaning a Russian peasant from the times before the Russian Revolution of 1917. Muzhik came into English thanks in large part to Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. Today, muzhik is used in Russian as the equivalent of "guy" or "dude."

Placing the Z on the Double Letter Score in this opening move would bring in 128 points. The odds of drawing these tiles are about 1 in 55 million, and, to be honest, the play has never been recorded in sanctioned play. However, in 2008, a man from South Carolina managed to open a game at the National Scrabble Championships with muzjiks, using a blank tile for the U, setting a record with a 126-point opening move.

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The second-highest opening move ever recorded in an American Scrabble tournament, for a wonderful 124 points, is bezique. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, bezique is "a card game similar to pinochle that is played with a pack of 64 cards."

Bezique originated in France in the 19th century and was later imported into Britain, where Winston Churchill was one of the game’s most prominent enthusiasts. Unfortunately, by the early 20th century, bezique declined in popularity, but at least it left us an excellent word for another great game: Scrabble.

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You are probably familiar with the word cacique, which refers to a native Indian chief in areas dominated primarily by Spanish cultures. Although it would be a good starting move, if instead of a second C you were lucky enough to get a Z, you could score a solid 124 points, and your chances of winning the game would be even greater.

Some dictionaries accept cazique as a variant of cacique. However, cazique has its own meaning: it refers to black-and-red or black-and-yellow orioles of the American tropics. Best of all, it is an accepted word in the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary (OSPD)!

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Another great opening play for up to 124 points is mezquit. Here's another spelling variation of a word you probably already know, mesquite. According to Merriam-Webster, mesquite refers to "any of several spiny leguminous trees or shrubs, chiefly of the southwestern U.S., that often form extensive thickets and have sweet pods eaten by livestock."

To be fair, the word mesquite is an Anglicism of the Spanish word mezquite, which in turn was borrowed from the Nahuatl term mizquitl. So, it makes perfect sense that mezquit is an accepted word in Scrabble—and one of the good ones too!

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We are out of 124-point opening plays, so the next best thing is 122 points. And for that, we have a handful of good options. The first one is zombify, and as you can imagine, it has to do with zombies.

Believe it or not, this is an accepted word in Scrabble. Although zombies have been invading popular culture in recent years, the word zombify, meaning "to turn a person into a zombie," has been in our vocabulary for a long time. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word first appeared in The New York Times in the 1950s. So, the next time you are blessed with these promising tiles, don't miss the opportunity to kick-start the board with zombify.

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If you happen to draw the Z and Q tiles on your first play, you know you're up to big things. However, having those tricky consonants staring back at you can be a little intimidating. That's why it's nice to have some rare or unusual words up your sleeve to surprise even the most experienced players.

Quetzal is a strikingly colored bird commonly found in the humid forests of Central and South America. Interestingly, the quetzal has also been the currency of Guatemala since 1925. It was named after the bird, which is the national bird of the country. Now you know a new word and have a way to justify its use in your next Scrabble game!

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Okay, to present this word in an opening play of Scrabble, you should be lucky enough to draw the only two F's available up front. But even though it’s a one-in-a-million chance, knowing that this word exists can come in handy. Plus, it will give you up to 122 points — a good head start.

Squiffy means "intoxicated or drunk" and originated as a slang word in England at the end of the 19th century. The term probably derives from skew-whiff, which means "crooked or askew," or from swipey, meaning "tipsy."

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If you want to impress your friends with another rare Russian word accepted by the OSPD — and earn a well-deserved 122 inaugural points — then sovkhoz may be the way to go. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, a sovkhoz is a "state-operated agricultural estate in the U.S.S.R. organized according to industrial principles for specialized large-scale production."

Sovkhoz is short for sovetskoe khozyaĭstvo, meaning "soviet farm." These large state farms began to be created in 1918, and the term first appeared in 1921 in the Russian Economist. By 1990, there were 23,500 sovkhozy, and although they were eventually disbanded with the fall of the Soviet Union, the term is still there for us to play in Scrabble.

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If we say zymurgy, do you know what we are talking about? Perhaps you know this practice better as zymology, but zymurgy is also accepted and will give you more points in an opening play of Scrabble.

Zymurgy is a branch of applied chemistry that studies fermentation processes, especially those related to winemaking and brewing. The term was coined in the 19th century and derives from the Greek zymo, which means "leaven," combined with the suffix urgy, meaning "work." Fun fact: zymurgy is the last word in many English language dictionaries!

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Scrabble is not just about odd and difficult words. There are a bunch of regularly used words in the English language that will earn you up to 122 points at the start of a game — that is, if you are lucky enough to get the correct letters, of course!

Squeeze ("to hold tightly") and quickly ("in a short time") are two good words that any Scrabble player should always keep in mind. Jukebox (a machine that plays recorded music for money), on the other hand, is an excellent and recognizable word that any opponent will accept as correct without needing to check the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary.