I was born 1983 but when I hear songs from the songbirds of the 70's, it reminds me of my dear dear mom and my aunts :).they listen to these songs especially when they get together on weekends...but hey, i love listening to those songs as well as a matter of fact i've been collecting some...here's my mp3 list of 'em... :)
fallin', it takes a man & a woman, aint nothing gonna keep me from you(teri desario)..moment by moment, love me please,if i can't have u(yvonne elliman)the trouble with hello, bridges, waiting for love(sergio mendes) no walls no ceilings no floors(orsa lia) love is blind, at 17(janis ian) carrie's theme(kathie irving)...etc.
and since i work as a singer, nothing beats the 70's ..great materials, great artists.. :)

True. There was a lot of good songs from female artists in the '70s.
Some of my favorites

Got To Be Real -- Cheryl Lynn
Do You Want To Dance? -- Bette Midler
Help Me -- Joni Mitchell
I Try -- Angela Bofill
Our Love + This Will Be -- Natalie Cole
Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do) -- Aretha Franklin
Young Blood -- Rickie Lee Jones
It's Too Late + Jazz Man -- Carol King
If I Were Your Woman & Neither One Of Us -- Gladys Knight & the Pips
Joy to Have Your Love -- Patti LaBelle
Free -- Deniece Williams
Sweet Thing -- Chaka Khan & Rufus
Memory Lane + Lovin' You-- Minnie Riperton
Someone to Lay Down Beside Me -- Linda Ronstadt

:)

Carole King
Stevie Nicks
Ann Wilson {of Heart}

What about Olivia Newton-John, Helen Reddy and Carly Simon - all were huge in the 70's.

Linda Ronstadt, Diana Ross, Gladys Knight, Karen Carpenter

In Canada, we had Shirley Eikhard who had a massive nationwide hit with a cover of Fleetwood Mac's 'Say You Love Me'.  So popular it was, that there are still many today who don't know it was originally by Fleetwood Mac

As a singer, Shirley never rose to fame in America, though she did write the smash hit 'Something to Talk About' by Bonnie Raitt

There were really several different kinds of pop divas in the '70s.
First, you had some '60s holdovers like Aretha Franklin charting through '74 which was a good soulful voice of this era. As Aretha faded around 1975, Natalie Cole hit it big with "This Will Be". Pop divas didn't consistantly chart high like they did in the '90s due to the stronger rock culture presence.
Barbra Streisand actually had her best commercial success in the '70s even though she didn't tour much then. Cher, still paired with Sonny in the early '70s, had three number 1 hits in less than 3 years to have her best hitmaking period of her career.

Then you had the singer-songwriters. I wouldn't really call these women "divas" as they are mostly just playing a piano/guitar and singing, and don't have that "classic diva" image. Some even were country-based like Anne Murray and Olivia Newton-John. Some singer-songwriters like Roberta Flack were a blend of the typical soul type and the traditional snger-songwriter type.

Later you had the "disco divas", with Donna Summer the biggest (particularly in late 1978-early 1980 when she was all over the radio.) Most of these couldn't sing ballads very well (though Donna Summer had a few ballad hits).

But overall, Diana Ross was pretty much the "diva of the decade"- unlike most other acts mentioned above, she also starred in movies and was a part of the blackploixtation genre.

Lulu
Kiki Dee