Manuel Orantes Corral is a former tennis player from Spain who was active in the 1970s and 1980s. He won the US Open men's singles in 1975, beating defending champion Jimmy Connors in the final. Orantes reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 2.
The ATP Finals is the second highest tier of annual men's tennis tournament after the four Grand Slam tournaments.
"Lady Marmalade" is a song written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan. The song is famous for its sexually suggestive chorus of "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ?", which translates into English as "Do you want to sleep with me (tonight)?". The song first became a popular hit when it was recorded in 1974 by the American girl group Labelle. Labelle held the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week, and also topped the Canadian RPM national singles chart.
"I Will Always Love You" is a song originally written and recorded in 1973 by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Her country version of the track was released in 1974 as a single and was written as a farewell to her one-time partner and mentor of seven years, Porter Wagoner, following Parton's decision to pursue a solo career.
"Kung Fu Fighting" is a disco song by Jamaican vocalist Carl Douglas, with production by British-Indian musician Biddu. It was released as a single in 1974 on the cusp of a chopsocky film craze and rose to the top of the British, Australian, Canadian and American charts, in addition to reaching the top of the Soul Singles chart. It received a Gold certification from the RIAA in 1974 and popularized disco music. It eventually went on to sell eleven million records worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. The song uses the quintessential Oriental riff, a short musical phrase that is used to signify Chinese culture.
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the official Australian music chart in June 1988, succeeding the Kent Music Report which had been Australia's national charts since 1974.
"Knock On Wood" is a 1966 hit song written by Eddie Floyd and Steve Cropper and originally performed by Floyd. His recording peaked at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent one week at number 1 on the Soul Singles chart. The song was written in the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Steve Cropper has stated in interviews that there was a lightning storm the night that he and Eddie wrote the song, hence the lyrics 'It's like thunder and lightning, The way you love me is frightening'.
"The Way We Were" is a song recorded by American vocalist Barbra Streisand for her fifteenth studio album, The Way We Were (1974). It was physically released as the record's lead single on September 27, 1973 through Columbia Records. The 7" single was distributed in two different formats, with the standard edition featuring B-side track "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" and the Mexico release including an instrumental B-side instead. The recording was written by Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman and Marvin Hamlisch, while production was solely handled by Marty Paich. "The Way We Were" was specifically produced for the record, in addition to three other tracks, including her then-upcoming single "All in Love Is Fair" (1974).
Marty Riessen played amateur and professional tennis in the 1960s and 1970s. He was ranked as high as No. 11 in the world in singles on the ATP Rankings in September 1974, though was ranked as high as World No. 8 by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph in 1971, before the computer rankings. Renowned for his doubles play, Riessen was also a regular doubles partner of Australian tennis great Margaret Court, winning six of his seven major mixed titles and a career grand slam alongside her. Additionally a winner of two men's doubles grand slams, his highest doubles ranking was No. 3 on March 3, 1980.
"Until You Come Back to Me " is a song written by Morris Broadnax, Clarence Paul, and Stevie Wonder. The song was originally recorded by Stevie Wonder in 1967, but his version was not released as a single and did not appear on an album until 1977's anthology Looking Back. The most well-known version of this song is the 1973 release by Aretha Franklin, who had a million-selling top 10 hit on Billboard charts. The song reached no. 1 on the R&B chart and no. 3 on the Hot 100 chart in 1974. It became an RIAA gold record.
Jan Kodeš was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Jimmy Connors.
"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" is a song written by English singer Elton John and his lyricist Bernie Taupin. It was originally recorded in 1974 by Elton John for his studio album Caribou and was released as a single that peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart. The song found further success in 1991 in a live cover version recorded as a duet between John and George Michael, which reached number one in the UK and US.
"Love Me for a Reason" is a song by Johnny Bristol covered by The Osmonds, and released in 1974. Twenty years later, Boyzone covered the song. Both versions were successful, reaching the top ten of the charts in many countries.
Helen Elizabeth "Betsy" Nagelsen McCormack is an American former professional tennis player.
"Feel Like Makin' Love" is a song composed by singer-songwriter Eugene McDaniels, and recorded originally by soul singer-songwriter Roberta Flack. The song has been covered by several R&B and jazz artists.
"Just One Look" is a song co-written by American R&B singers Doris Troy and Gregory Carroll. The recording by Doris Troy was a hit in 1963. The Hollies, Anne Murray and Linda Ronstadt recorded hit versions of their own. There have also been many other versions of this song.
This is a list of Billboard magazine's Top Hot 100 singles of 1974.
Dianne Evers is a retired female tennis player from Australia.
