  Only seven live albums released during the 1970s reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard music charts.Â
   The Beach Boys In Concert holds the distinction of the first Live Album to reach the top of any pop music charts when it hit #1 in 1964. After the Billboard Magazine charts were reconfigured and the the top Billboard chart expanded to 200 in 1967, only one live album in the sixties (Johnny Cash - At San Quentin, 1969), and seven during the 1970s reached number one. Here are the 7 from the 70s.
Crosby Stills Nash and Young - 4 Way Street (1971)
  CSN&Y were introduced to the music universe at the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969 and quickly ascended to one of the most popular acts of the post Woodstock period. The groups first live album (and second overall), 4 Way Street reached #1 shortly after its release on April 7, 1971. The double LP contains recordings from three different stops along their 1970 tour and has been certified 4x Platinum by the RIAA.
Elvis Presley - Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite (1973) Â Â Â
   The King reemerges with this classic double-LP performance recorded at the Honolulu International Center and also broadcast live via satellite to audiences around the world on January 14, 1973. Aloha From Hawaii was certified gold within a month of its release on RCA Records and was Elvis’ last chart topping album going 5x Platinum in the United States.
Earth Wind & Fire - Gratitude (1975) Â Â Â Â
  Earth Wind & Fires 1975 live double-LP consists of both live material and a few newly recorded tracks led by two hit singles including the #1 “Sing a Song,” and the Grammy nominated “Can’t Hide Love.” The album hit #1 on the Billboard 200 charts and Billboards Top R&B albums chart in 1976 and has been certified triple-Platinum.Â
Peter Frampton - Frampton Comes Alive! (1976)Â Â Â Â
   Of course, a given in the pantheon of pop/rock live albums and a loss of credibility to those who don’t include it! Recorded at multiple locations during the summer and fall of 1975 and released in January of 1976 the LP hit #1 on three different Billboard charts. It was voted album of the year by readers of Rolling Stone Magazine, and remains the gold standard of Live albums. Frampton Comes Alive! was induced into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2020.Â
Paul McCartney & Wings - Wings Over America (1976) Â Â Â
   The only former Beatle to release a number one live album as a soloist, Wings Over America  showcases one of the great songwriters of all-time in his post-Beatles element. The triple-LP was recorded during the US portion of the Wings 1975 tour and released in December 1976 to critical acclaim. The certified Platinum album features Wings songs as well as five Beatles classics and hit #1 on the US Billboard 200 charts in 1977.
Barry Manilow - Barry Manilow Live (1977)Â Â Â Â
   Barry Manilow’s fifth album release Barry Manilow Live became his first #1 album. Released in 1977 the double-LP has been certified 3x Platinum and captures Manilow during a run of shows at the Uris Theatre in New York City in late 1976 and early 1977. The album contains a medley of commercial jingles Manilow was involved with, either as a writer or performer, before he became a recording artist.  It remains one of Manilow’s top selling albums.
Donna Summer - Live And More (1978) Â Â Â
   Music was changing in the later half of the 1970s and the popular but short-lived disco scene left it’s sonic imprint on nearly aspect of pop culture. Live And More was Donna Summer’s second double album and first live album. Recorded at Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles, California on June 17, 1978, and released in August, the album contains Summer’s first #1 Billboard single, “MacArthur Park.” The album reached #1 the Billboard 200 chart and is certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.Â
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