Memories are strange things. You rarely recall bad
times only the good seem to be triggered by the senses. When we look back to 70's what do we remember? The powercuts?
Three day weeks? The strikes? I dont think so. Whats most likely the first things that spring to mind
Towards the end of the decade, Jamaican reggae
music, already popular in the Caribbean and Africa since the early 1970s, became very popular in the U.S. and in Europe, mostly
because of reggae superstar and legend Bob Marley. The late '70s also saw the beginning of hip hop music with the song
Rapper's Delight by Sugarhill Gang. Country music remained very popular in the U.S. In 1977 it became more mainstream
after Kenny Rogers became a solo singer and scored many hits on both the country and pop charts.
No one who lived through the 1970s in Britain is ever likely to forget the
experience or wish to revisit it. The three-day week, endless strikes, power cuts, the two narrow Labour election victories
of 1974, the IRA's mainland bombing campaign, political stasis and deadlock under Heath-Wilson-Callaghan: the decade saw
the excruciating demise of one political dispensation, and the violent birth-pangs of another.
The Simpsons is an American animated television sitcom
created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a working class American lifestyle
epitomized by its eponymous family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional
city of Springfield, and lampoons American culture, society, television and many aspects of the human condition.
The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a pitch for a
series of animated shorts with the producer James L. Brooks. Groening created a dysfunctional family and named the characters
after members of his own family, substituting Bart for his own name. The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on
April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and was an early hit for
Fox, becoming the first Fox series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989–1990).
Since its debut on December 17, 1989 the show has broadcast 451 episodes and the twenty-first season began airing
on September 27, 2009. The Simpsons Movie, a feature-length film, was released in theaters worldwide on July 26 and July 27,
2007, and grossed US$527 million worldwide.
Memories are strange things. You rarely recall bad
times only the good seem to be triggered by the senses. When we look back to 70's what do we remember? The powercuts?
Three day weeks? The strikes? I dont think so. Whats most likely the first things that spring to mind are: 70's
Toys Pet Rocks, Crossfire, Battling Tops, Choppers, Slinky's, Klackers, Spirographs and not forgetting the great Spacehopper.
70's TV - Starsky and Hutch, H R Puff n stuff, Persuaders, Timeslip, Tomorrow People, Wombles, Upstairs Downstairs
and of course my favourite Catweazle 70's Music - Top of the Pops, Glam Rock, Disco and Punk , Sailor, Sweet, Wizzard
and Slade.
The release of the film and soundtrack of Saturday
Night Fever in December of 1977, which became one of the best-selling soundtracks of all time, turned disco into a mainstream
music genre. This in turn led many non-disco artists to record disco songs at the height of its popularity, most often due
to demand from record companies who needed a surefire hit. Many of these songs were not "pure" disco, but were instead
rock or pop songs with disco overtones. Notable examples include Helen Reddys "I Can't Hear You No More" (1976);
Marvin Gayes "Got to Give It Up" (1977); Barry Manilows "Copacabana (At The Copa)" (1978); Chaka Khans
"I'm Every Woman" (1978); The Rolling Stones's Miss You (1978); Wings; "Silly Love Songs" (1976)
and "Goodnight Tonight" (1979); Barbra Streisand & Donna Summer duet "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)"
(1979); Kiss "I Was Made for Lovin' You" (1979); Electric Light Orchestras "Last Train to London"
and "Shine a Little Love" (1979); and Michael Jacksons "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," "Rock
With You," and "Off the Wall" (1979),SOS Band "Take Your Time"(1980),Prince "I Wanna Be Your
Lover"(1980)Lipps Inc Funkytown(1980)The Spinners "Working My Way Back To You"(1980) Shalamar "The Second
Time Around" (1980) Diana Ross "Upside Down" (1980)
THE PRETTY THINGS
1971 was the year progressive rock entered the mainstream,
with the release of Yes' The Yes Album, Pink Floyd's Meddle and Emerson, Lake & Palmer's Tarkus. These were
fantastically popular among the British youth, though critical reception was mixed. Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon
(1973) remains perhaps the most popular progressive album of all time, and is one of the best-selling albums of any kind worldwide.
By the mid-70s, however, progressive albums were growing so experimental that fans became alienated, and many bands found
themselves recording repetitive and derivative albums following the same formula as previous hits.
Yes released
a double album consisting of four side-long tracks, and Jethro Tull's single-track LP A Passion Play was scorned by the
same critics who lavished praise upon the single-track predecessor, Thick As a Brick. Roxy Music arose during this period,
and managed to maintain critical acclaim and launch the careers of both Bryan Ferry and Brian Eno. Progressive rock died quickly,
beginning in about 1976 with the release of Emerson, Lake & Palmer's Welcome Back My Friends and the dissolution of
the Moody Blues.
By the time progressive rock had begun losing its mainstream acceptance, a new wave of continental
bands were continued the genre, including Germany's Kraftwerk and Magma and Italy's Premiata Forneria Marconi, while
England's own Barclay James Harvest maintained a huge fanbase in Germany, as did the English-Germans Nektar. Meanwhile,
English bands like Soft Machine and Gong added strong jazz influences, Van der Graaf Generator was a heavy metal fusion and
Caravan was a folk-rock-progressive group.
Barry
Scott is an American DJ, author, and voice over personality.
For over 25 years Scott has hosted the Boston based
radio show The Lost 45's, which features Top 40 charted records from the late 60s, 70s, and 80s.Because of the show, he
has authored a book about music, We Had Joy, We Had Fun: The Lost Recording Artists of the Seventies, and compiled a number
of commercial CD collections.
In addition, Scott is the main voice over man for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling,
narrating numerous promo and hype videos for the company throughout the year and hosting their Best of 2007 DVD release
"The
Lost 45s with Barry Scott" is America's Largest Music & Interview Library!
1970s
Flashback is the place to get re-connected with all the Great things from the 70s
Remember Shazam!, Isis, Land of the Lost,
Electra Woman and Dyna Girl or Ark II? If so, this is the page for you. My goal is for this to be a comprehensive site that
covers all of the various live action kids shows from the 70s and provides links for related shows.
Welcome to the Super70s family of websites: There
is Super70s.com, which covers the 1970s. There is Awesome80s.com, which covers the 1980s. And there is Virtual90s.com, which
will cover the 1990s starting in late summer of 2008. The fourth site is BaseballChronology which covers the history of baseball
from the 1840s to the present. Do you see the set of colored boxes on the right labeled 70s, 80s, 90s, and BC? These are at
the top of every page and allow you to quickly switch between all four sites!
It was 5.30pm on Sunday 15th February 1970 when
Catweazle dropped in from 1066 with the very first episode 'The Sun In A Bottle'. Two years of sheer magic followed,
but he waved us goodbye on Sunday 4th April 1972 in Episode 26, 'The Thirteenth Sign'. That was the last we saw of
him on UK television, apart from the repeats on Sky Television! he was gone but not forgotten............
The
series featured Geoffrey Bayldon as the title character, an eccentric, incompetent, dishevelled and smelly (but lovable) old
11th century wizard who accidentally travels through time to the year 1970 and befriends a young red-headed boy, nicknamed
Carrot (Robin Davies), who spends most of the rest of the series attempting to hide Catweazle from his father and farmhand
Sam. Meanwhile Catweazle searches for a way to return to his own time whilst hiding out in 'Castle Saburac', a disused
water tower, with his 'Familiar', a toad called Touchwood. The second series featured a 12-part riddle which
Catweazle, once more transported to 1970s England, attempts to solve one clue per episode, with the solution (as he thinks)
being revealed in the 13th. Catweazle mistakes all modern technology for powerful magic (see also Clarke's third
law), particularly 'elec-trickery' (electricity) and the 'telling bone' (telephone). The entire series
was shot on 16mm. The first series was mostly shot on location at Home Farm, East Clandon, near Guildford in Surrey, England
in 1969. The second series around the Bayford/Brickendon area in Hertfordshire in 1970. There are two novelisations by
Carpenter, one for each series: Catweazle and Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac. A comic strip version was also produced, written
by Angus P. Allan and printed in TV comic Look-In. It inspired the Boo Radleys song, Catweazle. The series won the Writer's
Guild award for Best Children's TV Drama Script in 1971.
The seventies were a time when a new generation
of youthful people were exposed to new media and hence newer ideas in almost every field. TV and motion picture brought to
varied audiences images, lifestyles and music from diverse regions and peoples. This led to the emergence of a new vocabulary
and experimentation in music. After the war the second generation of German musicians began experimenting with music, these
included experimental classical music and the tradition of Krautrock or Kraut music, rooted in the experimental classical
music. This later influenced both art rock and progressive rock as well as the punk rock and New Wave genres. The main exponents
of progressive rock include Genesis, Yes, Gentle Giant, King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Pink Floyd
and Premiata Forneria Marconi. The experimental nature of progressive rock is exemplified in compositions such as "Close
to the Edge" by Yes, or "Supper's Ready" by Genesis. Also the start of Hard Rock in many forms began with
the British bands Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.
One of the first events of the 70s
was the breakup of the Beatles in 1970. However, the seventies were also when many legendary rock bands started, or hit their
peak, including ABBA, Black Sabbath, Queen, Kansas, Boston, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Electric Light Orchestra,
Lynyrd Skynyrd, AC/DC, Blondie, Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Fleetwood Mac, Status Quo, Family, Free, Aerosmith, Badfinger, the
Eagles, Kiss, Heart, Rush, The Who, The Doors, Uriah Heep, Deep Purple, and Van Halen. In Europe, there was a surge of popularity
in the early decade for glam rock, thanks largely to the rise of T. Rex, Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, Gary Glitter and
David Bowie, and bands like Slade and the Sweet.
Village People were a concept disco group formed
in the late 1970s. The group is well known for their on-stage costumes as for their catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics. Original
members were: police officer (Victor Willis), American Indian chief (Felipe Rose), cowboy (Randy Jones), construction worker
(David Hodo), leatherman (Glenn Hughes) and military man (Alex Briley). For the release of "In the Navy", both Willis
and Briley appeared temporarily as sailors. The band was incredibly camp, and were seen as a less serious band due to their
open gayness, bringing gay pride around the world.
Village People scored a number of disco and dance hits, including
their trademark "Macho Man", "Go West", the classic club medley of "San Francisco (You've Got
Me) / In Hollywood (Everybody is a Star)", "In the Navy", "Can't Stop the Music", "Sex Over
the Phone" and their biggest hit, "Y.M.C.A.".
Collectively, the Village People have sold 85 million
albums and singles. The group also recorded new materials under the name "The Amazing Veepers".
Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae were introduced
to the United Kingdom in the 1960s, and the genres became especially popular with mods, skinheads and suedeheads. Jamaican
music then influenced British pop music, punk rock and the 2 Tone genre. The 1970s saw the first major flowering of British
reggae with bands such as The Cimarons, Aswad and Matumbi. Many of these Jamaican-influenced UK bands (such as UB40) adopted
pop styles to appeal to mainstream audiences. However, some UK reggae bands (such as Steel Pulse) played songs with more confrontational
socio-political lyrics. The late 1970s saw the rise of the (often interracial) 2 Tone bands, such as The Specials, Madness,
The Selecter and The Beat. The 1970s also saw the rise of dub poetry, exemplified by Linton Kwesi Johnson, Sister Netifa and
Benjamin Zephaniah. The reggae subgenre lovers rock originated in the UK in the 1970s, and the Louisa Marks song "Caught
You in a Lie" helped popularize the genre.
During the 1970s, punk rock developed among the
urban youths of the United Kingdom. Many had grown up listening to early skiffle, Merseybeat or psychedelic rock, and found
that they hated the new generation of bombastic bands. Social and economic pressure created a contradictory scene, in which
both idealism and nihilism were valued, multicultural influences such as Jamaican reggae were incorporated, and a wave of
angry rebels openly defied every social norm they could.
The middle of the 1970s saw legendary rock stars from
the 1960s such as the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney creating imitations of their own previous work, with little of the
originality that made the 1960s musically interesting. British teens were listening to these records amidst a floundering
economy and a rapidly changing world power structure that seemed to be leaving the UK behind. Behind the pop acts, though
were more underground pub rock acts, such as Brinsley Schwarz and Eggs Over Easy; artsy American bands such as The Velvet
Underground; and wild and energetic American performers such as New York Dolls and Iggy Pop. In 1975, Sex Pistols began performing
with Malcolm McLaren as manager. Their first single came out the following year; "Anarchy in the UK." was dirty
and fast, and full of energy, bitterness and venom. Other major British punk bands at the time were The Damned, The Clash,
Buzzcocks, The Jam and The Undertones.
Other punk bands followed, including The Saints (from Australia), Generation
X (featuring Billy Idol), X-Ray Spex, Johnny Moped, Slaughter & the Dogs, The Adverts, The Vibrators, Eater and Chelsea.
The pressures of fame proved too much for some punk rock artists, and Johnny Rotten left the Sex Pistols during an American
tour, The Clash broke into pop American audiences amid cries of selling out, and many of the lesser-known bands fell prey
to infighting and competition. Punk spawned several subgenres, such as post-punk, New Wave, Gothic rock, 2 Tone, Oi!, mod
revival, and hardcore punk. New wave/postpunk acts included Elvis Costello, Siouxsie & the Banshees, The Fall, Wire, and
The Soft Boys.
"The King of Rock 'n' Roll", or
simply "The King". Presley began his career as one of the first performers of rockabilly, an uptempo fusion
of country and rhythm and blues with a strong back beat. His novel versions of existing songs, mixing "black" and
"white" sounds, made him popularand controversial as did his uninhibited stage and television performances. He recorded
songs in the rock and roll genre, with tracks like "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock" later embodying the
style. Presley had a versatile voice and had unusually wide success encompassing other genres, including gospel, blues, ballads
and pop. To date, he is the only performer to have been inducted into four music halls of fame. In the 1960s, Presley
made the majority of his thirty-three movies mainly poorly reviewed musicals. In 1968, he returned to live music in a television
special and thereafter performed across the U.S., notably in Las Vegas. Throughout his career, he set records for concert
attendance, television ratings and recordings sales. He is one of the best-selling and most influential artists in the history
of popular music. Health problems plagued Presley in later life which, coupled with a punishing tour schedule and addiction
to prescription medication, led to his premature death at age 42.
In the 1970s, music from the United Kingdom further
diversified. Heavy metal music grew into glam metal in the United States, and other American metal bands like Blue Öyster
Cult, Aerosmith and KISS helped move the UK from the forefront of the metal world. A late-1970s influx of British metal bands,
the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, helped change this, especially bands like Judas Priest. At the same time, disco grew
to prominence world-wide and a brief fad for Jamaican lovers rock also sold well in the UK. The mid- to late 1970s saw the
rise of punk rock in the UK and US. Bands like The Clash and the Sex Pistols became very controversial, attacking institutions
and authorities and using a quick, simple rhythm alongside humorous, immature, nihilist or thought-provoking lyrics.
The Site dedicated to 70s and 80s music, culture
and old tat ! Music lovers ! If you're a pop music freak, or a lover of 70's & 80's culture, then you
should find something to your liking here.
This site includes lengthy, humorless reviews of
3263 records, with separate pages on 266 artists. They are mostly the fault of John Alroy (JA) and David Bertrand Wilson (DBW).
Jed Leigh Mosenfelder also contributed pages on the Meat Puppets and Sonic Youth. Logo designed by Gridwerk Graphic Design
- www.gridwerk.net - Philadelphia.
Glam
rock (also known as glitter rock), is a sub-genre of rock music that developed in the UK in the post-hippie early 1970s which
was "performed by singers and musicians wearing outrageous clothes, makeup, hairstyles, and platform-soled boots."
The flamboyant lyrics, costumes, and visual styles of glam performers were a campy, theatrical blend of nostalgic references
to science fiction and old movies, all over a guitar-driven hard rock sound.
Largely a British phenomenon, glam
rock peaked during the mid 1970s. The most famous exponents of the movement were Marc Bolan and T.Rex, Gary Glitter, and Slade.
Other influential performers include David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Sweet, Wizzard, Roxy Music, Mud, Mott the Hoople, The Glitter
Band, The New York Dolls, The Tubes and Suzi Quatro.
In the 1970s, music from the United Kingdom further
diversified. Heavy metal music grew into glam metal in the United States, and other American metal bands like Blue Öyster
Cult, Aerosmith and Kiss helped move the UK from the forefront of the metal world. A late-1970s influx of British metal bands,
the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, helped change this, especially bands like Judas Priest. At the same time, disco grew
to prominence world-wide and a brief fad for Jamaican lovers rock also sold well in the UK. The mid- to late 1970s saw the
rise of punk rock in the UK and US. Bands like The Clash and the Sex Pistols became very controversial, attacking institutions
and authorities and using a quick, simple rhythm alongside humorous, immature, nihilist or thought-provoking lyrics.
Heavy metal is a highly-evolved form of blues rock
played with intense emotions and a stronger focus on the bass guitar than other genres. It is sometimes characterized as needlessly
loud, aggressive and bombastic, but it also typically passionate and intense. The genre is generally considered a British
development, with the bands Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath the primary innovators. However, these bands drew on earlier heavy
metal ranging from British blues rock bands like The Yardbirds to American protopunks The Stooges and The Velvet Underground,
and the dark psychedelic rock of The Doors and Blue Cheer. Heavy metal lyrics are often cryptic, sometimes with references
to literature (especially science fiction or fantasy) and the occult.
Black Sabbath's debut, Black Sabbath,
was released in 1970 and caused an immediate stir. The name of the band (and album) conjured up images of evil, rebellion
and vulgarity, and the recording confirmed these suspicions for some people. The band found a devoted fanbase, however, who
easily related to the alienation expressed in the lyrics, and found an affinity with the loud and aggressive nature of the
songs.
Progressive rock had seen some mainstream success
prior to 1970, from the Moody Blues (Days of Future Passed) and Procol Harum (A Whiter Shade of Pale). However, there was
no band to be able to consistently lead the genre until Keith Emerson broke up The Nice and joined with King Crimson's
Greg Lake and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown's Carl Palmer; the trio were Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and their 1970
debut Emerson, Lake and Palmer was an American and British hit that borrowed, originally without giving credit, from classical
composers Béla Bartók and Leo Janák.
At the same time, Rick Wakeman joined folk-rock band
Strawbs, who were incorporating extended piano rolls, and Pink Floyd entered the pure progressive rock field with Atom Heart
Mother, and groups like Yes (The Yes Album, 1971) and Deep Purple began entering progressive territory. Wakeman soon switched
from Strawbs to Yes, making that band one of the most popular progressive bands, while Strawbs added a mellotron and brought
British folk bands like Magna Carta, Gryphon and Amazing Blondel towards progressive sounds. Jethro Tull was the most influential
folk-progressive fusion, and their albums, like Aqualung and Thick As a Brick, were popular. Genesis began recording long,
complex albums like Selling England by the Pound, bringing progressive rock even more experimental and classical elements.
Top 500 Songs of the 1970s
This is a great site for all things 70s
The rise of disco music, which first crept into
dance clubs in the mid-seventies, was another major trend. Disco soon fell out of favor in the early 1980s, however, due to
a religious revival and the rise of conservatism. The first half of the 1970s saw many jazz musicians from the Miles Davis
school achieve cross-over success through jazz-rock fusion. In Germany, Manfred Eicher started the ECM label, which quickly
made a name for 'chamber jazz'.
Towards the end of the decade, Jamaican reggae
music, already popular in the Caribbean and Africa since the early 1970s, became very popular in the U.S. and in Europe, mostly
because of reggae superstar and legend Bob Marley. The late '70s also saw the beginning of hip hop music with the song
Rapper's Delight by Sugarhill Gang. Country music remained very popular in the U.S. In 1977 it became more mainstream
after Kenny Rogers became a solo singer and scored many hits on both the country and pop charts.
Glam rock (also known as glitter rock), is a style
of rock music, which initially surfaced in the post-hippie early 1970s. Those who participated in the genre drew on several
past youth cultures, musical styles, movie images and art movements to produce a distinct sound and aesthetic which essentially
combined science fiction, nostalgia, camp, theatre, and a hard rock sound.
Largely a British phenomenon, glam
rock peaked culturally during the period 1971-1974, and was made famous by artists such as Marc Bolan and his band T.Rex,
David Bowie, Queen, Roxy Music, Brian Eno, Slade, Gary Glitter, Sweet, Mott The Hoople, Alvin Stardust, Mud, and The Glitter
Band.
Barry Eugene White (born Barrence Eugene Carter,
September 12, 1944(1944-09-12)July 4, 2003) was a Grammy Award winning American record producer, songwriter and singer responsible
for the creation of numerous hit soul and disco songs. He released numerous gold and platinum albums, as well as numerous
gold singles and platinum singles. All inclusive albums (record sales of White's music with singles) are in excess of
50 million.
Barry White was founder and maestro of the Love Unlimited Orchestra, that featured a ground breaking
synthesis of strings and funk-based percussion. Barry White became legendary as a chart-topping soul artist for the rich blend
of bass vocals and suave, passionate delivery said to have been an inspiration for romance. Fans have boasted they conceived
children or were conceived themselves after romantic interludes to the sound of Barry White recordings.
Elvis Costello (born Declan Patrick MacManus 25
August 1954) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. Costello came to prominence as an early participant in London's
pub rock scene in the mid-1970s, and later became associated with the punk rock and New Wave musical genres, before establishing
his own unique voice in the 1980s. Steeped in wordplay, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader than that of most
popular songs, and his music has drawn on dozens of genres. Critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote, "Costello, the pop
encyclopedia, can reinvent the past in his own image".
Costello and Canadian jazz singer and pianist Diana
Krall were married on December 6, 2003 at Elton John's estate outside London. Their first children together, twin sons
Dexter Henry Lorcan and Frank Harlan James, were born December 6, 2006 in New York City.
Billy Idol (born William Michael Albert Broad) is
a British hard rock singer-songwriter and musician.
With his spiked peroxide blonde hair, sneering visage and
a voice capable of singing growling rock and roll and crooning ballads, Idol became a cultural icon during the 1980's.
He first achieved fame as the lead singer of the first-wave UK punk band Generation X. When that band broke up, Idol moved
to New York where he met guitarist Steve Stevens. The two of them set out to make punk music "sexier", recording
a series of hit singles. A series of stylish music videos made him one of the first stars of MTV. His success has waned since
the 1990s, but Idol continues to make music.