What happened in 1974

“The Way We Were”

Barbra Streisand · 3 weeks at #1 in 1974

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1. Jan 5Time In A BottleJim Croce1 wk
2. Jan 12The JokerThe Steve Miller Band1 wk
3. Jan 19Show And TellAl Wilson1 wk
4. Jan 26You're SixteenRingo Starr1 wk
5. Feb 2The Way We WereBarbra Streisand3 wks
6. Feb 9Love's ThemeLove Unlimited Orchestra1 wk
7. Mar 2Seasons In The SunTerry Jacks3 wks
8. Mar 23Dark LadyCher1 wk
9. Mar 30Sunshine On My ShouldersJohn Denver1 wk
10. Apr 6Hooked On A FeelingBlue Swede1 wk
11. Apr 13Bennie And The JetsElton John1 wk
12. Apr 20TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia)MFSB Featuring The Three Degrees2 wks
13. May 4The Loco-MotionGrand Funk2 wks
14. May 18The StreakRay Stevens3 wks
15. Jun 8Band On The RunPaul McCartney And Wings1 wk
16. Jun 15Billy, Don't Be A HeroBo Donaldson And The Heywoods2 wks
17. Jun 29SundownGordon Lightfoot1 wk
18. Jul 6Rock The BoatThe Hues Corporation1 wk
19. Jul 13Rock Your BabyGeorge McCrae2 wks
20. Jul 27Annie's SongJohn Denver2 wks
21. Aug 10Feel Like Makin' LoveRoberta Flack1 wk
22. Aug 17The Night Chicago DiedPaper Lace1 wk
23. Aug 24(You're) Having My BabyPaul Anka with Odia Coates3 wks
24. Sep 14I Shot The SheriffEric Clapton1 wk
25. Sep 21Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, BabeBarry White1 wk
26. Sep 28Rock Me GentlyAndy Kim1 wk
27. Oct 5I Honestly Love YouOlivia Newton-John2 wks
28. Oct 19Nothing From NothingBilly Preston1 wk
29. Oct 26Then Came YouDionne Warwicke & Spinners1 wk
30. Nov 2You Haven't Done NothinStevie Wonder1 wk
31. Nov 9You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet/Free Wheelin'Bachman-Turner Overdrive1 wk
32. Nov 16Whatever Gets You Thru The NightJohn Lennon With The Plastic Ono Nuclear Band1 wk
33. Nov 23I Can HelpBilly Swan2 wks
34. Dec 7Kung Fu FightingCarl Douglas2 wks
35. Dec 21Cat's In The CradleHarry Chapin1 wk
36. Dec 28Angie BabyHelen Reddy1 wk

Dates are the first chart week at #1 in 1974; weeks count only those in 1974.Find the #1 song on your birthday →

1. Jan 15American serial killer Dennis Rader, also known as the "BTK killer", murdered his first four victims.
2. Feb 4American newspaper heiress and socialite Patty Hearst was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, which she later joined.
3. Mar 1Watergate scandal: Seven are indicted for their role in the Watergate break-in and charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice.
4. Apr 3The Super Outbreak of 148 tornadoes began, killing at least 315 people and injuring 5,484 in 13 US states at the end of a very strong La Niña event.
5. Apr 6ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest representing Sweden with the song "Waterloo".
6. Apr 8Hank Aaron passes Babe Ruth as the all-time leader in career home runs by hitting his 715th home run off of Al Downing at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
7. Apr 29Watergate scandal: United States President Richard Nixon announces the release of edited transcripts of White House tape recordings relating to the scandal.
8. Jun 4Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians hosted Ten-Cent Beer Night, but had to forfeit the game to the Texas Rangers due to rioting by drunken fans.
9. Jun 27U.S. president Richard Nixon visits the Soviet Union.
10. Jul 30Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon releases subpoenaed White House recordings after being ordered to do so by the Supreme Court of the United States.
11. Aug 9On the verge of an impeachment and removal from office amid the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon became the first president of the United States to resign.
12. Sep 8Watergate scandal: U.S. president Gerald Ford gave his recently resigned predecessor Richard Nixon a controversial full and unconditional pardon for any crimes he committed while in office.
13. Dec 13Malta becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations.
14. Dec 19Nelson Rockefeller is sworn in as Vice President of the United States under President Gerald Ford under the provisions of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Event summaries from Wikipedia’s “On this day”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Each links to its article.

• U.S. President

  Richard Nixon → Gerald Ford

• UK Prime Minister

  Edward Heath → Harold Wilson

• Prime Minister of Canada

  Pierre Trudeau

• President of France

  Georges Pompidou → Alain Poher → Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

• German Chancellor

  Willy Brandt → Walter Scheel → Helmut Schmidt

• Prime Minister of Japan

  Kakuei Tanaka → Takeo Miki

• Soviet leader

  Leonid Brezhnev

Everyone who held the office at some point in 1974, from Wikidata.

A selection of the best-documented titles on Wikidata, by first release year; not a box-office ranking.

• Seth GreenAmerican actor, voice artist, comedian, producer, writer, and director · Feb 8
• Elizabeth BanksAmerican actress · Feb 10
• D'AngeloAmerican singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (died 2025) · Feb 11
• Alex JonesAmerican radio show host and conspiracy theorist · Feb 11
• Mahershala AliAmerican actor · Feb 16
• Jerry O'ConnellAmerican actor, director, and producer · Feb 17
• Jillian MichaelsAmerican personal trainer and television personality · Feb 18
• Mark-Paul GosselaarAmerican actor · Mar 1
• Eva MendesAmerican model and actress · Mar 5
• Jenna FischerAmerican actress · Mar 7

From Wikipedia’s “On this day”, CC BY-SA 4.0.