These legendary artists dominated the charts and left an indelible mark on music history with their incredible vocals, memorable songs, and undeniable stage presence.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the lives and careers of some of the most iconic Black male solo singers of the 1970s, exploring their greatest hits, awards, and lasting impact on popular culture.
Join us as we celebrate the musical genius of these unforgettable artists and discover what made them true icons of their time.
Get ready to be inspired by their incredible stories and timeless music.
Top Influential Black Singers of The 70s
1. Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder is a singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist.
He is considered one of the most creative musical figures of the late 20th century.
Some of his most famous songs include “Superstition,” “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” and “I Just Called to Say I Love You.”
Wonder has won 25 Grammy Awards and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
- Famous Songs: “Superstition,” “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” and “I Just Called to Say I Love You
- “Awards: 25 Grammy Awards and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame
- Years Active: 1961-present
2. Al Green
Al Green is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and pastor.
He was one of the biggest soul stars of the 1970s, recording a series of hit singles, including “Let’s Stay Together,” “I’m Still in Love With You,” and “You Ought to Be With Me.”
Green has won 11 Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.
- Famous Songs: “Let’s Stay Together,” “I’m Still in Love With You,” and “You Ought to Be With Me”
- Awards: 11 Grammy Awards and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- Years Active: 1967-present
3. Barry White
Barry White was an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and composer.
He was known for his distinctive bass voice and romantic image.
His most famous songs include “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe,” “You’re the First, the Last, My Everything,” and “Practice What You Preach.”
White won two Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.
- Famous Songs: “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe,” “You’re the First, the Last, My Everything,” and “Practice What You Preach”
- Awards: 2 Grammy Awards and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- Years Active: 1960s-2003
4. Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Mayfield was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer who was highly influential in developing soul music.
He is best known for his anthemic music with Superfly and his solo work.
Some of his most famous songs include “Freddie’s Dead,” “Superfly,” and “Move On Up.”
Mayfield was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999.
- Famous Songs: “Freddie’s Dead,” “Superfly,” and “Move On Up”
- Awards: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- Years Active: 1956-1999
5. Isaac Hayes
Isaac Hayes was an American singer, songwriter, actor, and producer.
He was one of the main creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records.
His most famous songs include the “Theme from Shaft,” “Walk On By,” and “I’ll Take You There.”
Hayes won two Grammy Awards and an Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Theme from Shaft.”
- Famous Songs: “Theme from Shaft,” “Walk On By,” and “I’ll Take You There”
- Awards: 2 Grammy Awards and Academy Award for Best Original Song
- Years Active: 1962-2008
6. Teddy Pendergrass
Teddy Pendergrass was an American singer who became famous in the 1970s as the lead singer of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes.
As a solo artist, his most famous songs include “Close the Door,” “Turn Off the Lights,” and “Love T.K.O.” Pendergrass was known for his romantic image and powerful vocals.
He won several awards, including a Soul Train Music Award.
- Famous Songs: “Close the Door,” “Turn Off the Lights,” and “Love T.K.O.”
- Awards: Soul Train Music Award
- Years Active: 1972-2009
7. Bill Withers
Bill Withers was an American singer-songwriter who performed and recorded from the late 1960s until the mid-1980s.
His most famous songs include “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Lean on Me,” and “Use Me.”
Withers won three Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.
- Famous Songs: “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Lean on Me,” and “Use Me”
- Awards: 3 Grammy Awards and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- Years Active: 1970-1985
8. Donny Hathaway
Donny Hathaway was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer.
He is remembered for his successful soul albums of the 1970s and his duets with Roberta Flack.
Some of his most famous songs include “This Christmas,” “Where Is the Love,” and “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know.”
Hathaway won two Grammy Awards.
- Famous Songs: “This Christmas,” “Where Is the Love,” and “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know”
- Awards: 2 Grammy Awards
- Years Active: 1969-1979
9. Smokey Robinson
Smokey Robinson is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former co-vice president of Motown Records.
He led the vocal group The Miracles before pursuing a solo career. His most famous songs include “The Tracks of My Tears,” “Tears of a Clown,” and “Being with You.”
Robinson has won multiple Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
- Famous Songs: “The Tracks of My Tears,” “Tears of a Clown,” and “Being with You”
- Awards: Multiple Grammy Awards and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- Years Active: 1955-present
10. Luther Ingram
Luther Ingram was an American soul singer and songwriter.
He is best known for his 1972 hit “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right.” Ingram wrote songs for other artists and won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song in 1973.
- Famous Songs: “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right”
- Awards: Grammy Award for Best R&B Song
- Years Active: 1960s-2007
11. Bobby Womack
Bobby Womack was an American singer-songwriter and musician.
He started his career in the early 1960s as the lead singer of The Valentinos and as a session guitarist for Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone.
His most famous songs include “Across 110th Street,” “That’s the Way I Feel About Cha,” and “If You Think You’re Lonely Now.”
Womack was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.
- Famous Songs: “Across 110th Street,” “That’s the Way I Feel About Cha,” and “If You Think You’re Lonely Now.”
- Awards: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- Years Active: 1954-2014
12. Wilson Pickett
Wilson Pickett was an American R&B, soul, and rock and roll singer and songwriter.
He was known as the “Wicked” Wilson Pickett. His most famous songs include “In the Midnight Hour,” “Mustang Sally,” and “Land of 1,000 Dances.”
Pickett was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.
- Famous Songs: “In the Midnight Hour,” “Mustang Sally,” and “Land of 1,000 Dances”
- Awards: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- Years Active: 1955-2006
13. Eddie Kendricks
Eddie Kendricks was an American singer and songwriter.
He was an original member and lead singer of the Motown vocal group The Temptations.
As a solo artist, his most famous songs include “Keep On Truckin'” and “Boogie Down.”
Kendricks was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Temptations in 1989.
- Famous Songs: “Keep On Truckin'” and “Boogie Down”
- Awards: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of The Temptations)
- Years Active: 1957-1992
14. Gil Scott-Heron
Gil Scott-Heron was an American soul and jazz poet, musician, and author known for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s.
He is considered one of the first artists to use “rap” to describe his musical style.
His famous songs include “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” and “Johannesburg.”
Scott-Heron won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.
- Famous Songs: “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” and “Johannesburg”
- Awards: Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
- Years Active: 1970-2011
15. Johnny Nash
Johnny Nash was an American singer-songwriter best known for the 1972 hit “I Can See Clearly Now.”
The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Nash also succeeded with songs like “Hold Me Tight” and “Stir It Up.”
He was one of the first non-Jamaican singers to record reggae music.
- Famous Songs: “I Can See Now” and “Hold Me Tight” and “Stir It Up”
- Awards: None listed
- Years Active: 1957-2020
16. Lou Rawls
Lou Rawls was an American singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer.
He was known for his smooth vocal style and hits like “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine,” “Lady Love,” and “See You When I Git There.”
Rawls won three Grammy Awards and was nominated for 11 others.
- Famous Songs: “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine,” “Lady Love,” and “See You When I Git There”
- Awards: 3 Grammy Awards and 11 Grammy nominations
- Years Active: 1962-2006
17. Major Harris
Major Harris was an American singer best known as a member of the R&B vocal group The Delfonics in the late 1960s.
As a solo artist, his biggest hit was “Love Won’t Let Me Wait” in 1975.
The song reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
- Famous Songs: “Love Won’t Let Me Wait”
- Awards: None listed
- Years Active: 1960s-1990s
18. David Ruffin
David Ruffin was an American soul singer most famous for his work as the lead vocalist on many of The Temptations’ biggest hits in the 1960s.
As a solo artist, his most successful song was “Walk Away From Love” in 1975.
Ruffin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Temptations in 1989.
- Famous Songs: “Walk Away From Love”
- Awards: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of The Temptations)
- Years Active: 1950s-1991
19. Harold Melvin
Harold Melvin was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the founder and leader of the soul/R&B group Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes.
The group’s biggest hits included “If You Ask Me To,” “I Miss You,” and “Wake Up Everybody.”
Melvin was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
- Famous Songs: “If You Ask Me To,” and “I Miss You,” and “Wake Up Everybody”
- Awards: Grammy Hall of Fame
- Years Active: 1954-1997
20. Ray Charles
Ray Charles was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer who was considered one of the pioneers of soul music, integrating R&B, gospel, pop, rock, and country music styles.
His most famous songs include “Georgia on My Mind,” “Hit the Road Jack,” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You.”
Charles won 17 Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.
- Famous Songs: “Georgia on My Mind,” “Hit the Road Jack,” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You”
- Awards: 17 Grammy Awards and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- Years Active: 1949-2004
21. Solomon Burke
Solomon Burke was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer.
He was called “King of Rock and Soul.”
His most famous songs include “Cry to Me,” “If You Need Me,” and “Tonight’s the Night.”
Burke was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.
- Famous Songs: “Cry to Me,” “If You Need Me,” and “Tonight’s the Night”
- Awards: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- Years Active: 1955-2010
22. Ben E. King
Ben E. King was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer, best known as the singer of the 1961 song “Stand by Me.”
The Recording Industry Association of America later chose the song as one of its Songs of the Century.
King also had success with songs like “Spanish Harlem” and “I (Who Have Nothing).”
- Famous Songs: “Stand by Me,” “Spanish Harlem,” and “I (Who Have Nothing)”
- Awards: None listed
- Years Active: 1958-2016
23. Johnnie Taylor
Johnnie Taylor was an American singer who performed Southern Soul, Quiet Storm, and Urban Contemporary Music.
His biggest hit was “Disco Lady” in 1976, which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Other famous songs include “I Believe in You (You Believe in Me)” and “Last Two Dollars.”
- Famous Songs: “Disco Lady” and “I Believe in You (You Believe in Me)” and “Last Two Dollars”
- Awards: None listed
- Years Active:1954-2000
24. Joe Simon
Joe Simon was an American soul singer and songwriter.
He had a string of hits on the R&B and pop charts in the late 1960s and 1970s, including “The Chokin’ Kind,” “Drowning in the Sea of Love,” and “Before the Night is Over.”
Simon won a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 1975.
- Famous Songs: “The Chokin’ Kind,” “Drowning in the Sea of Love,” and “Before the Night is Over”
- Awards: Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
- Years Active: 1964-1988
25. William Bell
William Bell is an American singer and songwriter.
He is best known for his 1961 hit “You Don’t Miss Your Water” and his 1976 song “Tryin’ to Love Two.”
Bell was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021.
- Famous Songs: “You Don’t Miss Your Water” and “Tryin’ to Love Two”
- Awards: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- Years Active:1950s-present
26. Billy Paul
Billy Paul was an American soul singer best known for his 1972 hit “Me and Mrs. Jones.”
The song won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year.
Paul also succeeded with songs like “Thanks for Saving My Life” and “Let’s Make a Baby.”
- Famous Songs: “Me and Mrs. Jones,” “Thanks for Saving My Life,” and “Let’s Make a Baby”
- Awards: Grammy Award for Record of the Year
- Years Active: 1952-2016
27. Percy Sledge
Percy Sledge was an American R&B, soul, and gospel singer.
He is best known for his 1966 song “When a Man Loves a Woman.”
The song reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and won a Grammy Hall of Fame Award. Sledge was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.
- Famous Songs: “When a Man Loves a Woman”
- Awards: Grammy Hall of Fame Award and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- Years Active: 1966-2015
28. George Benson
George Benson is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter.
He began his professional career as a jazz guitarist at 19.
- Famous Songs: “Theme from Good King Bad
- Awards: 10 Grammy Awards and NEA Jazz MasterStar on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
- Years Active: 1964-present
Conclusion
The legendary Black male solo singers of the 1970s left an indelible mark on music and culture that continues to resonate today.
From Marvin Gaye’s smooth soul to James Brown’s funk-infused hits, these artists created a soundtrack for a generation and inspired countless musicians who followed in their footsteps.
Their impact can still be felt in the work of contemporary artists across multiple genres, and their classic songs remain beloved by fans, old and new.
So, what can we learn from these iconic singers?
Their success shows us the power of staying true to your artistic vision, pushing boundaries, and using your platform to speak out on important issues.
Celebrating their legacy, let’s be inspired to create music that moves hearts and minds.
