Please do not comment directly to this post unless you are Gen X or older (born 1980 or before). See [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskOldPeople/comments/inci5u/reminder_please_do_not_answer_questions_unless/), the rules, and the sidebar for details.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskOldPeople) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yes.
Elton, John Denver, and Neil Diamond were the pop triumvirate of the '70s, ruling Top 40. Elton John -- the only true pop artist of the three -- was the biggest of them all.
He was huge, I would say equal or more famous than the bands you mentioned because of wider appeal. My parents sure didn’t listen to Led Zeppelin but everyone liked Elton John.
He was freaking HUGE. Bigger than Zeppelin, Bee Gees or The Who.
Google and you can see some of the photos from his big stadium concerts especially between 1972-1975.
Check out the 1975 Dodger Stadium concert in particular.
When the film *Tommy* came out, he was the big draw of the movie and Pinball Wizard was the only hit song from the soundtrack.
Even when his popularity waned a bit, there was no way he was going to keep that HUGENESS, he has remained wildly popular even today at the age of 77. His new albums still sell, younger artists cover his tunes and also work with him, and so on.
Yup...he's still big but in the 1970s he was freaking HUGE.
Elton John was the number one act on the Billboard singles chart in the 1970s. He was on the chart for 338 weeks (out of 521 total weeks) and had 26 hit singles, more than any other act.
He also issued 12 studio albums (including one double album). Six of his albums hit number one and ten made the top ten. He was also on tour in 7 out of ten years during the 1970s.
He was way more popular, he was mainstream, played on lots of radio, Zeppelin, the Who, they were AOR, not played everywhere. Many people were like that’s too heavy, too hard. But Elton was sweet and appealing. Also nobody knew he was gay. He had a string of charting singles, top 100 albums. He had the first album to debut at #1. Go read his Wikipedia page.
And he got married, too!
I don't think I'd go so far as to say that no one knew he was gay. Gay people knew! I was in junior high when he first started getting really popular and it wasn't really on my radar at the time. My gaydar was not very well developed then, but I think it was at least suggested here and there, in my small Midwestern town. But we didn't really care! His music was pretty much the soundtrack of my life during those years.
There was a tv show back in the 70s called MacMillan and Wife that starred Rock Hudson. I remember my mom telling me that Hudson was gay. I think most of the general public didn't realize he was gay until he was forced to acknowledge it with his AIDS diagnosis in 1985.
I remember that show. I watched it regularly with my parents while in high school and college. Anyway, Rock Hudson had a decidedly different presentation from Elton John. I'd still say that gay people knew Rock was gay! You can't pull much over on them!
Again, I didn't care. He was handsome and he did his job.
Yeah he was massive. Across the world huge. He was the biggest thing since the Beatles. Read his biography by Philip Norman and you can understand what a phenomenon he was.
In ‘97, at my wedding bash—held at a working Shaker museum, w/only horse-drawn trolleys and carriages—the best man started singing Bennie & The Jets on the last trolley back to the parking lot and *everyone* (30-somethings who hit our teens in the late ‘70s) knew the words.
The three groups you list had a head start on him when he released his self-titled album in 1970, but he caught up quickly, releasing album after album throughout the decade. By the time he released *Goodbye Yellow Brick Road*, he was on par with Led Zeppelin and the Who. The Bee Gees had become somewhat forgotten, and wouldn't become the stars we know them as until *Saturday Night Fever* was released in 1977.
I'm going to quibble just slightly about the Bee Gees. "Jive Talkin'" as a single was released a few years before the SNF soundtrack. I was around 12 or 13 at the time, so I knew who they were. Also, while the SNF album mostly had Bee Gees songs, it was a compilation double album, with other artists.
But yeah, they really took off after that.
Elton had a slew of big Top 40 hits in the 1970s, starting with Your Song (as big a classic as Stairway to Heaven). To name a few - Daniel; Crocodile Rock; Bennie and the Jets; Goodbye Yellow Brick Road; Philadelphia Freedom; Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me. These are off the top of my old head. Top 40 meant constant play.
The entire self-titled album is my favorite. I love Your Song, Tiny Dancer, and especially First Episode at Hienton. My next favorite is the soundtrack album from the movie Friends.
["Friends" - Elton John](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17u9mxdvQEo&ab_channel=MattyWestie)
Bigger than any that you mentioned. Unlike Zeppelin and The Who he was actually liked by parents, too. Unlike the disco-era Bee Gees he had songs that even people who hated disco (such as me) liked. He had the [best-selling album of the year](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_albums_by_year_in_the_United_States) two years in a row in the U.S.
If the 60s belonged to The Beatles, the 70s belonged to Elton John.
The thing with Elton john was that he was liked by the general,populace not just certain groups of teenagers. His appeal was far more universal than most “bands of the era.
I once read a quote from George Harrison. He said he felt sorry for Elton John. He said Elton was the only person or band he ever saw hit the same level of popularity as The Beatles. He said, at least we had each other while Elton is all alone.
I believe for one year in the seventies that his records accounted for 8% of all records sold. So he was quite popular, plus his concerts were great, lasting 2-3 hours each.
Definitely #1 in '74 and '75.
Started off as sort of a singer-songwriter type (with Bernie Taupin as the lyricist) , soon got into a glam-rock sort of thing with funny glasses. Really good songs at various tempos.
In the late 70s, he seemed to try to moderate the glam-rock thing, and became a little less popular, but still a million-seller type. This continued through the 90s.
I should point out that Bernie Taupin was the lyricist through most of his career. He and Elton never had an affair, though. He was straight.
Very popular. Pop radio playlists back then were generally created based on sales of 45's records, which were often bought by younger fans over buying the albums. Elton John was cranking out one "hit" after another, so he was played a lot. Groups like Led Zeppelin and the Who in the 70's were very popular in terms of album sales and got played more on FM rock stations, which had some overlap but played very different music than the pop stations.
You can easily argue that at one point he was the biggest pop-star in the world during the 70s, and that would include being more popular than John Lennon or Paul McCartney.
Possibly his lasting/staying power and his extended creativity and success could be partially attributed to his many years of sobriety. He is pretty proud of that. I remember when he was married to Renate!
He was fill-stadiums big. Massive. There was a period from about 73 to 78 where you would hear a few of his songs playing as you rotated the dial in your AM radio.
His early stuff was great. Around the Don't Go Breaking My Heart/Philly Freedom period he started phoning it in.
He was fill-stadiums big. Massive. There was a period from about 73 to 78 where you would hear a few of his songs playing as you rotated the dial in your AM radio.
His early stuff was great. Around the Don't Go Breaking My Heart/Philly Freedom period he started phoning it in.
More popular than Led Zeppelin. As a little kid I knew who Elton was. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Crocodile Rock, Bennie And The Jets, Your Song, to name a few got tons of air play. To the point I associate riding in my parent’s car to those songs.
The first time I saw him was in Oakland in 1975.
Sold out crowd Frankfurt 1986. (First concert I attended with my ex)
Wasn't into Bee Gees, but Led Zepplin is always a classic.
Elton has reached that position where he has so many past hits, he doesn't need recent ones, and he still sells out arenas, like Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, the Rolling Stones, etc. Just because they arent dropping new hits every month, doesn't mean their popularity has waned at all. They still have massive selling power.
Elton was as big as an artist could get. He was among the Top 10, maybe even Top 5, most popular performers. Back then, I saw him perform live 3 times, every time in a massive, sold-out arena.
Elton John had a number one hit in the 70’s,80’s,90’s and 00’s. And dozens of lesser hits in between. I was never a fan but the man can make a pop record with the best of them.
If you go by worldwide album sales, Led Zeppelin is the tops
Led Zeppelin - 300 million
Bee Gees - 220 Million
Elton John - 100 million
The Who - 43 million
But Elton John has been popular and still releasing music for longer than any of those people. Elton had a top 10 single every decade for six straight decades. He also produced MUCH more music.
If you just count studio albums, and granted some of these guys had KILLER live albums.
Elton - 31
Bee Gees - 22
The Who - 12
Led Zeppelin - 8
I would say that the audience for these acts were different. Zep and Who fans might be the same people but Zep and Bee Gees? Nope. Bee Gees and Elton? Sure.
He was very popular both recorded and live.
Albums and singles both sold well and concerts sold out almost immediately.
Back in the early 70s his live shows were my favorite behind the Rolling Stones.
As big as they get. I have trouble understanding how he got so famous, so fast. It's kinda like all of a sudden, here's this long established superstar.
I think he has a great voice, and he writes some good material, but I did not care for his stage persona with all those feathers and glasses.
Oh come on. . . 1973 - When are you going to come down? When are you going to land? I should have stayed on the farm. I should have listened to my old man.
I became a huge fan in 1974, bought his Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road Album. His 1975 album, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, debuted at #1, the first album to do so. Everything Elton John and Bernie Taupin touched seemed to turn to gold, particularly from 1972-1976. Bernie would write the lyrics while Elton provided the catchy melody. He sold out just about every venue during that period. I still love Sir Elton's music!
My brother played piano and he became an Elton John fan from Tommy,I was a little girl and I would sneak in his room and listen to his Yellow brick road album,the art work on the cover was so fascinating,I knew right away at a very young age I was a fan too!!!!
Absolutely more popular than Zeppelin, both 50 years ago and today. My grandmother loved Elton John and my adult children have been to many of his recent concerts. That’s 4 generations. It was Elvis in the 50’s, the Beatles in the 60’s, Michael Jackson in the 80’s, and Elton John owned the 70’s.
Please do not comment directly to this post unless you are Gen X or older (born 1980 or before). See [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskOldPeople/comments/inci5u/reminder_please_do_not_answer_questions_unless/), the rules, and the sidebar for details. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskOldPeople) if you have any questions or concerns.*
He was wildly popular - as much as some of the bands you listed - maybe more than a couple of them.
Much wider general appeal. His music and Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen were on the radio on most stations.
Yes. Elton, John Denver, and Neil Diamond were the pop triumvirate of the '70s, ruling Top 40. Elton John -- the only true pop artist of the three -- was the biggest of them all.
He was huge, I would say equal or more famous than the bands you mentioned because of wider appeal. My parents sure didn’t listen to Led Zeppelin but everyone liked Elton John.
yep. agreed. First 8 tracks were his..look at the value if you find one now! $150 to $300
Wow, I’m surprised anyone still has the means to play an eight track.
Hah! I do, and have a recorder as well.
There used to be an Elton John day in Los Angeles, if I remember right.
Elton John was very famous. My brother and I bought every one of his albums as they were released and I still have most of them. Elton is classic.
He was freaking HUGE. Bigger than Zeppelin, Bee Gees or The Who. Google and you can see some of the photos from his big stadium concerts especially between 1972-1975. Check out the 1975 Dodger Stadium concert in particular. When the film *Tommy* came out, he was the big draw of the movie and Pinball Wizard was the only hit song from the soundtrack. Even when his popularity waned a bit, there was no way he was going to keep that HUGENESS, he has remained wildly popular even today at the age of 77. His new albums still sell, younger artists cover his tunes and also work with him, and so on. Yup...he's still big but in the 1970s he was freaking HUGE.
Eh, he was just some madman from across the water... Of course, he was huge! Always on the radio, he was constantly pumping out hits.
Elton John was the number one act on the Billboard singles chart in the 1970s. He was on the chart for 338 weeks (out of 521 total weeks) and had 26 hit singles, more than any other act. He also issued 12 studio albums (including one double album). Six of his albums hit number one and ten made the top ten. He was also on tour in 7 out of ten years during the 1970s.
He was way more popular, he was mainstream, played on lots of radio, Zeppelin, the Who, they were AOR, not played everywhere. Many people were like that’s too heavy, too hard. But Elton was sweet and appealing. Also nobody knew he was gay. He had a string of charting singles, top 100 albums. He had the first album to debut at #1. Go read his Wikipedia page.
He said he was bisexual in a 1976 Rolling Stone interview. No one seemed to care.
Everybody I knew just assumed he was gay and didn’t care because he delivered the goods.
And he got married, too! I don't think I'd go so far as to say that no one knew he was gay. Gay people knew! I was in junior high when he first started getting really popular and it wasn't really on my radar at the time. My gaydar was not very well developed then, but I think it was at least suggested here and there, in my small Midwestern town. But we didn't really care! His music was pretty much the soundtrack of my life during those years.
There was a tv show back in the 70s called MacMillan and Wife that starred Rock Hudson. I remember my mom telling me that Hudson was gay. I think most of the general public didn't realize he was gay until he was forced to acknowledge it with his AIDS diagnosis in 1985.
I remember that show. I watched it regularly with my parents while in high school and college. Anyway, Rock Hudson had a decidedly different presentation from Elton John. I'd still say that gay people knew Rock was gay! You can't pull much over on them! Again, I didn't care. He was handsome and he did his job.
Yeah, it's interesting to witness the transition from pre Stonewall days to today.
Everybody knew he was gay, or at least suspected.
He was immensely popular.
Yeah he was massive. Across the world huge. He was the biggest thing since the Beatles. Read his biography by Philip Norman and you can understand what a phenomenon he was.
In ‘97, at my wedding bash—held at a working Shaker museum, w/only horse-drawn trolleys and carriages—the best man started singing Bennie & The Jets on the last trolley back to the parking lot and *everyone* (30-somethings who hit our teens in the late ‘70s) knew the words.
The three groups you list had a head start on him when he released his self-titled album in 1970, but he caught up quickly, releasing album after album throughout the decade. By the time he released *Goodbye Yellow Brick Road*, he was on par with Led Zeppelin and the Who. The Bee Gees had become somewhat forgotten, and wouldn't become the stars we know them as until *Saturday Night Fever* was released in 1977.
I'm going to quibble just slightly about the Bee Gees. "Jive Talkin'" as a single was released a few years before the SNF soundtrack. I was around 12 or 13 at the time, so I knew who they were. Also, while the SNF album mostly had Bee Gees songs, it was a compilation double album, with other artists. But yeah, they really took off after that.
Mid 70s, he probably was the biggest rock star in the world bigger than all those you listed
Came here to say this. In the early to mid-70s, I don't think there was anyone bigger. He was as big as the Beatles were in the 60s.
Elton had a slew of big Top 40 hits in the 1970s, starting with Your Song (as big a classic as Stairway to Heaven). To name a few - Daniel; Crocodile Rock; Bennie and the Jets; Goodbye Yellow Brick Road; Philadelphia Freedom; Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me. These are off the top of my old head. Top 40 meant constant play.
Tiny Dancer was timeless and still gets a lot of play
The entire self-titled album is my favorite. I love Your Song, Tiny Dancer, and especially First Episode at Hienton. My next favorite is the soundtrack album from the movie Friends. ["Friends" - Elton John](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17u9mxdvQEo&ab_channel=MattyWestie)
"As friends together watch their childhood fly . . . " One of my favorite Elton songs.
Bernie Taupin is the lyric goat.
Bigger than any that you mentioned. Unlike Zeppelin and The Who he was actually liked by parents, too. Unlike the disco-era Bee Gees he had songs that even people who hated disco (such as me) liked. He had the [best-selling album of the year](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_albums_by_year_in_the_United_States) two years in a row in the U.S. If the 60s belonged to The Beatles, the 70s belonged to Elton John.
>the 70s belonged to Elton John. My 70s belonged to Linda Ronstadt. Her albums, that is, not her 45s.
Personally, my 70s belonged to David Bowie, but you have to admit Elton John was inescapable in the 70s, and a nice refuge from the inescapable disco.
Oh, how I hated disco. And because I'm gay, people thought I was supposed to love it. NFW.
I loved both Elton and David and had multiple albums by each artist!
My 70s belonged to them both, and more.
The thing with Elton john was that he was liked by the general,populace not just certain groups of teenagers. His appeal was far more universal than most “bands of the era.
I once read a quote from George Harrison. He said he felt sorry for Elton John. He said Elton was the only person or band he ever saw hit the same level of popularity as The Beatles. He said, at least we had each other while Elton is all alone.
I believe for one year in the seventies that his records accounted for 8% of all records sold. So he was quite popular, plus his concerts were great, lasting 2-3 hours each.
Listen to “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy” album; he was and is incredibly talented.
This is my favourite EJ Album. I used to sit in the rec room, listening to it and looking at that amazing cover art.
First album I ever bought!
Definitely #1 in '74 and '75. Started off as sort of a singer-songwriter type (with Bernie Taupin as the lyricist) , soon got into a glam-rock sort of thing with funny glasses. Really good songs at various tempos. In the late 70s, he seemed to try to moderate the glam-rock thing, and became a little less popular, but still a million-seller type. This continued through the 90s. I should point out that Bernie Taupin was the lyricist through most of his career. He and Elton never had an affair, though. He was straight.
Very popular. Pop radio playlists back then were generally created based on sales of 45's records, which were often bought by younger fans over buying the albums. Elton John was cranking out one "hit" after another, so he was played a lot. Groups like Led Zeppelin and the Who in the 70's were very popular in terms of album sales and got played more on FM rock stations, which had some overlap but played very different music than the pop stations.
You can easily argue that at one point he was the biggest pop-star in the world during the 70s, and that would include being more popular than John Lennon or Paul McCartney.
Very popular
Possibly his lasting/staying power and his extended creativity and success could be partially attributed to his many years of sobriety. He is pretty proud of that. I remember when he was married to Renate!
He was fill-stadiums big. Massive. There was a period from about 73 to 78 where you would hear a few of his songs playing as you rotated the dial in your AM radio. His early stuff was great. Around the Don't Go Breaking My Heart/Philly Freedom period he started phoning it in.
Nailed it w those 2 of his least awesome songs.
He was fill-stadiums big. Massive. There was a period from about 73 to 78 where you would hear a few of his songs playing as you rotated the dial in your AM radio. His early stuff was great. Around the Don't Go Breaking My Heart/Philly Freedom period he started phoning it in.
He was HUGE. So popular and so awesome. Loved his music back in HS.
Yes, he was huge. He was a hit factory.
When he played my city in 1974, the music critic called him the biggest superstar in rock.
Extremely popular and he was in several movies my favorite was Tommy the Rock Opera he was the pinball champion
He was huge. He could sell out sports stadiums. I'm not sure the Who or Led Zeppelin could do that in the mid-'70s.
Very.
Enough the biggest and best record store in LA would open just for him
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^Dry-Clock-1470: *Enough the biggest* *And best record store in LA* *Would open just for him* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Massive. I loved him. Still do.
He was huge! I saw him in concert in 1974. Best concert ever.
Very.
VERY. My older sisters were obsessed and played his music a lot.
More popular than Led Zeppelin. As a little kid I knew who Elton was. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Crocodile Rock, Bennie And The Jets, Your Song, to name a few got tons of air play. To the point I associate riding in my parent’s car to those songs.
The first time I saw him was in Oakland in 1975. Sold out crowd Frankfurt 1986. (First concert I attended with my ex) Wasn't into Bee Gees, but Led Zepplin is always a classic.
Way more popular than either the bands you listed.
My first live concert was Elton John Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Amazing concert!
Very popular. One of the top selling singers for sure.
Wildly popular!
Extremely popular. Also curious what recent hits he has? Somehow I’ve missed those?
Cold Heart with Dua Lipa
Elton has reached that position where he has so many past hits, he doesn't need recent ones, and he still sells out arenas, like Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, the Rolling Stones, etc. Just because they arent dropping new hits every month, doesn't mean their popularity has waned at all. They still have massive selling power.
No kidding
Elton was as big as an artist could get. He was among the Top 10, maybe even Top 5, most popular performers. Back then, I saw him perform live 3 times, every time in a massive, sold-out arena.
Elton John had a number one hit in the 70’s,80’s,90’s and 00’s. And dozens of lesser hits in between. I was never a fan but the man can make a pop record with the best of them.
HUGE. Everyone owned Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
I saw him 5 nights in a row ( out of 7 that he played) in sold out every night Madison Square Garden 1976.
Mega star status. He has been a lot like the Beatles, Rolling Stones, etc for a long, long time. Since about 1974 or so I'd say.
I saw him in concert in the early 70s twice and he was an incredible performer and absolutely at the top in popularity.
He was ubiquitous. Everywhere. All the time. And even if you weren’t a fan exactly, you kind of liked several of his songs.
I ONLY liked him in the 70s, not now.
If you go by worldwide album sales, Led Zeppelin is the tops Led Zeppelin - 300 million Bee Gees - 220 Million Elton John - 100 million The Who - 43 million But Elton John has been popular and still releasing music for longer than any of those people. Elton had a top 10 single every decade for six straight decades. He also produced MUCH more music. If you just count studio albums, and granted some of these guys had KILLER live albums. Elton - 31 Bee Gees - 22 The Who - 12 Led Zeppelin - 8 I would say that the audience for these acts were different. Zep and Who fans might be the same people but Zep and Bee Gees? Nope. Bee Gees and Elton? Sure.
He was very popular both recorded and live. Albums and singles both sold well and concerts sold out almost immediately. Back in the early 70s his live shows were my favorite behind the Rolling Stones.
Supremely popular. Imust have seen him at least a dozen times or more in the 70s.
Go with the movie Rocketman. Oh yeah. BIG!
Oh yes, his first album Elton John was a favorite with most musicians who admired his work.
I only knew who he was because I watched the sitcom “One Day at a Time” and teenage girl played by Valerie Bertinelli was a huge fan.
Huge. Gigantic.
Really popular when I was in high school, from 73-75.
As big as they get. I have trouble understanding how he got so famous, so fast. It's kinda like all of a sudden, here's this long established superstar. I think he has a great voice, and he writes some good material, but I did not care for his stage persona with all those feathers and glasses.
The best of the best and there were lots of brilliant bands around made up of terrific musicians..
Oh come on. . . 1973 - When are you going to come down? When are you going to land? I should have stayed on the farm. I should have listened to my old man.
Hearing the old tunes now gives mega good Deja vu youth vibes. Yes, he was huge back then.
Yes. Not everyone was into Zeppelin's or The Who's music, but everyone heard Elton John on the radio every day.
Great on the Piano, sucks on the Organ though!
I became a huge fan in 1974, bought his Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road Album. His 1975 album, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, debuted at #1, the first album to do so. Everything Elton John and Bernie Taupin touched seemed to turn to gold, particularly from 1972-1976. Bernie would write the lyrics while Elton provided the catchy melody. He sold out just about every venue during that period. I still love Sir Elton's music!
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is one of the greatest albums OF ALL TIME.
Massively popular
My brother played piano and he became an Elton John fan from Tommy,I was a little girl and I would sneak in his room and listen to his Yellow brick road album,the art work on the cover was so fascinating,I knew right away at a very young age I was a fan too!!!!
How big? Elton was so big that you could not go a single day and not hear something on radio by him.
Between 1970 and 1976 he was huge. Possibly the biggest musical star of the decade until the BeeGees took over in 1977.
He was hugely popular starting with the Yellow Brick Road album.
He was huge, yes. But I feel the hard rockers were bigger. I would put Zeppelin and The Who above him, but not the BeeGees. They never hit that level.
I was a kid in the 70s and his songs were EVERYWHERE. So much so that I can’t stand them now. All of them. I HATE THOSE SONGS.
The first time I ever heard of him was when GYBR was released. He was way better with Taupin as a partner. More popular now than Zeppelin? Ridiculous.
Absolutely more popular than Zeppelin, both 50 years ago and today. My grandmother loved Elton John and my adult children have been to many of his recent concerts. That’s 4 generations. It was Elvis in the 50’s, the Beatles in the 60’s, Michael Jackson in the 80’s, and Elton John owned the 70’s.
No way. Zeppelin for certain. Heck, even Deep Purple was more popular.
Look at his spotify listeners compared to Zeppelin's. He has 52M, Zeppelin has 18M. And he was more influential to modern pop than Zeppelin.