Rock Music in the 1970s
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The Seventies
The 1970s were an interesting time in rock music history. In 1970, I began performing as a professional singer/drummer at the tender young age of 15. They called me the, "Boy Wonder" back then. But I digress.
The beginning of this decade was marked by the deaths of Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin; and in the wake of Woodstock. It ended with confusion among fans and especially musicians as to: What is next? After all, Disco and Disc Jockeys nearly killed the live music scene as the seventies rolled to their end. At the start of the 1970s, there were 40 live music venues in the county where I was reared. At the end, there were maybe three left. The five and six night per week gigs had turned into weekenders, which made it hard to make a living.
We moved through the Stadium Rock era to the Glitter Bands. The emphasis changed from, "the music" to the, "show." Then disco reared its head. Southern Rock—real American Music— did its best to combat disco. Finally, we got rid of it at the Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey park in Chicago.
Still, great music was written, recorded and performed. And that is what I wish to turn to now.
Pink Floyd, ZZ Top & Robin Trower
The finest album of the decade has to be Dark Side of the Moon. I have probably listened to it a thousand times and I enjoyed the last time more than the first. To me, the appreciation of timeless music such as this—as opposed to faddish, trendy stuff—separates the wheat from the chaff. This album (particularly through headphones) transports a human person to another place. A magical place.
For entirely different reasons, ZZ Top's Tres Hombres stands as one of the best albums from these days. (I went to see them six times in concert.) After all that Progressive Rock that preceded them—Yes (Fragile!) and Emerson, Lake & Palmer are my two favorites—how refreshing it was to break it down again to the roots of Rock Music with a little ole three-piece band from Texas! (Sort of reminds me of the effect of The Creedence Clearwater Revival at the end of the 1960s juxtaposed with Psychedelic Rock.)
Another personal favorite is Robin Trower. Some people, back in the day, knocked him as a Hendrix impersonator. Listen to Bridge of Sighs—one of the best rock albums ever—and you will see that this is simply not true. Influenced by Hendrix? Of course. But all musicians are influenced by somebody. There is nothing new under the sun (King Solomon). Not completely new, anyway.
Return to Forever
I cannot end my page of the History of Rock Music in the 1970s without mentioning what I consider to be the finest example of human musicianship ever recorded: The Jazz-Rock instrumental album Romantic Warrior by Return to Forever. This supergroup performed in my hometown on the same night as Kiss. Kiss drew maybe 15,000 fans to see them play simple bar chords while their amazing light show, blazing fireballs, and costumes kept the audience distracted. Return to Forever played in front of perhaps 2500 souls on a simple, stark, white stage wearing casual attire. Those with ears let them hear.
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Comments
You have certainly done your homework on this project. Great job, I am really proud of you and I am proud for you. Keep up the great work.
Buzz
James,
As I suspected a closet fan of great music. Just kidding! The guitar work on Bridge of Sighs was indeed some of the best for the time. There was a lot of good musice back then, let's not forget Ten Years After and ELP. Love reading it, keep it up.
Bob
I speak for Sarrah and I both when I tell you that we have learned alot from you. U have always had a knack for listening to amazing artists as well as bringing some wonderful talent yourself.
Johnnie- Thank you for your kinds words. I do a mean Gilmour meself, by the way.
Buzz- I appreciate you, sir. I know you love music.
Robert- Thanks for reading. I hope I will improve with practice. ELP was the best live show I ever attended (The August Jam).
Renee- You speak for Sarrah now? Sarrah who?
Excellent. You show a great appreciation for this music genre. But alas, still nothing that beats White Summer.
Alana,
You are too kind! I do love rock music. I feel kind of bad about leaving out Boston, though. I have a feeling White Summer is coming to town.
James
Don't feel bad, there were too many greats to mention all, Journey, Styxx, and on and on.
Wow, you have been busy. I am most impressed. I would even have to say this is brillant and, I do not think I am being too kind. Keep in mind I do not have much Hub experience.
Overall, I feel nosalgic and better educated about Rock & Roll. I love the little tidbits of info. Rock On!
Alana- Not to mention Steely Dan!
Dara- I am pleased that you like the page. Music is my passion.
nice personal hub, I am not really particular with bands or aritists but i love listening to al kinds of music genre, and I enjoy leaning about them.
midnightbliss- It pleases me that you liked it. Maybe it is time for you to write a page or two?
Yeah, the 70s were certainly a great time for rock. Frank Marino of Mahogany Rush was another Hendrix impersonator, if you will. (Check out his version of "Purple Haze" on YouTube.) But I recall a time in the middle of that decade when only the Dixie Dregs were considered the only progressive group around, ignoring punk, of course, and that dreaded disco. Although as dance music disco was fabulous. Sorry! Keep up the good work. Later!
Kosmo- I am honored to have been paid a visit by an accomplished Hubber specializing in music!
I really liked Mahogany Rush. I used to play some of their songs in clubs, "The Answer", "Dragonfly", "Tryin' Anyway." Jimmy Ayoub was a helluva drummer, too.
Little Feat, Steely Dan and Kansas were pretty good in the 70s.
Cool Hub....I grew up in the 70s....remember very little....the music was awesome....now causes flash backs....Thanks man....Great work! :)
Tom- You are welcome and thank you. I really enjoyed your Hub pages that I just visited.
Thanks for this hub. You are speaking my language. I also liked Steely Dan, Todd Rundgren, The Who, Moody Blues, Seals and Crofts, America, The Eagles, saw Steppenwolf in concert, saw Don Mclean, Ricky Nelson, enjoyed Simon and Garfunkel, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, even the Monkeys, Turtles, The Hollies, or Hollys, and of course, the Beatles. Dan Fogelberg, Neil Diamond, Johnny Rivers, Cat Stevens, Loggins and Messina, The Doors, Carol King, Elton John, Sonny and Cher, The Guess Who, Grassroots, and more. Touching a good nerve. This music is a part of who I am. Thanks. Must have been cool to be a drummer in a band.
lefseriver— I saw the Moody Blues and Steely Dan (not together) within the last two years and both of them were fabulous still! I played in concert with Don Henley (we were the warmup band) in front of 25,000 people in 1991. That was probably the most thrilling hour of my life. I was a big fan of most of the bands you list above. Johnny Rivers "Realization" was a great album. I loved Cat Stevens, too. The Guess Who and the Hollies were outstanding groups. Crosby, Stills & Nash were the clients of my charter jet company one year (maybe 1996?). We flew them around for a few months on a reunion tour. One of the best Rock bands ever IMO.
It was cool to sing and play drums for 25 years. Thank you for your valuable contribution to the subject. Nice to hear from you!
Interesting hub James , I own both the Robin Trower and ZZ Top album . " Waitin for the Bus " I think Is one of ZZTops best songs . I was also a big Deep Purple fan .
tony0724— Hey man! Thanks for coming by. I have played "Waitin' For The Bus" hundreds of times over the years! I was a big fan of Deep Purple, particularly the "Burn" album was Hot!
thanks for sharing all your ties to groups I have loved and still love. "Jesus is just all right with me..."
You are welcome. Thank you for reminding me of some geat bands. And He's allright with me, too.
Those were some wonderful days, too bad we were so busy we flew through them. Ah, to be transported back to those days? I would drink in every moment as if I were dying of thirst.
You're not kidding, brother. I feel every word you said. And look, who's in that photo? It's you!
Dark Side of the Moon is one of my all time top rock albums. Good post!
Reena Daruwalla— I am with you on that one. Nothing I would rather listen to, after all this time. Thanks for reading and commenting!
I saw Trower live at the Backroom, some little bar, in Austin years after his prime. He was still great.
Grand hub. This is my era and I still wax nostalgic about it, even down to Bread and Lobo.
Iðunn I saw Trower last year at the House of Blues! It was magical!
Some people laughed, but I liked Bread. I saw them in concert during their prime in Chicago and when David Gates told the audience that the next song was about his father, who died a couple years before, and then played "I would give everything I own" there were people crying in the crowd. It was very moving. Exactly what music should do.
Thanks for reading and leaving your remarks. I always enjoy hearing from you.
Hi James, You've picked three of the very best, for sure. I could argue (with nothing but personal taste to back it up) that Dark Side of the Moon is THE best album EVER. But of course that's open to interpretation.
I remember playing that Robin Trower album on my college radio show. It was so cool to work in a studio jammed wall to wall with ALBUMS. Fond, fond memories.
As time goes on, I've really come to appreciate the '70s more. Disco was a fad and I remember people warring -- are you a disco queen or a rocker chick? Guess what? Rockers won!
House of Blues takes me out of the 70s; I just saw Flogging Molly there last year (the Dallas House of Blues), however back to Bread, yes they were grand. All the old ones, Simon and Garfinkel, John Denver was big in the day,James Taylor, Jim Croce.
I trended to singer-songwriters in my taste. Of course not to say I didn't love Yes and Led Zepplin and all the rest of the hard rock pack too. God bless the 70s. :heart:
Mighty Mom, you left out bubblegum. That was mostly what I loved. Anyone remember "billy, don't be a hero" besides me? You couldn't escape that song on AM. haha, turn the channel and it was on ALL of them.
Bubblegum -- Now there's a genre that deserves its own hub! Care to take it on? Billy, don't be a hero. Now there's a blast from the past. LOL. How about "Me and you and a dog named Boo?" Or "Me and my Arrow"?
Or songs by The Archies!!! Or "Smile a little smile for me, Rose Marie" or "Build me up, butttercup" or "Knock three times" (or anything else by Tony Orlando and Dawn) or "Tie a yellow ribbon..."
I also remember some bubblegummy songs from the '60s. Do they count in the genre you're talking about? Too much fun. And James is probably cringing as we take over his legitimate musical hub with frothy nonsense! LOL.l
Guess you've uncovered my secret musical love as well. Shhh. Don't tell anyone else:-).
What was the name of that movie that feature "me and my arrow"? It was about having a point. ha, lovely memory.... thanks, mighty mom! I definitely remember the Archies also, Tony Orlando, all of it. I think we had the best era of music evar. :D I'm glad we share that.
Mighty Mom— I am right there with you on "Dark Side." The best! You were a DJ!? How cool is that!? I remember the "Disco Demolition" in Chicago at the baseball stadium. They say that pretty much ended disco. I did like "Feel the Fire" though. :D
Disco was an excuse to wear a pretty dress and an opportunity for men to dress up a bit too. I think that was the primary reason for it's popularity. lol
Iðunn
I enjoyed all the artists you mentioned, espeically "YES" WOW! What a band!
But let's not forget "Yummy Yummy Yummy I've got Love in my Tummy!"
Mighty Mom— There was one bubble gum band I thought created a number of Beautiful songs: New Colony Six
Iðunn Is that you in your avatar?
Iðunn I saw disco as a shift from the focus of an audience on the performers to making the audience the stars of the shows. An appealing concept for many. The main thing I didn't like about it was it killed live music for a number of years and put a lot of musicians out of work.
yes, it's one facet of the many mes and I'm reconsidering that color again. I featured it in my perpetual wednesdays and pink hair hub. lol. I am about to change hair again, from black, and no idea which way I want to go this time. it would be raspberry without doubt if it weren't for the fact that it doesn't go over well with my church ladies at Mass. :o
I agree with you, I think disco signalled the end of one era (mine) and the beginning of a new area I was less fond of overall. Possibly because I was born in 60 and disco, starting in 78 and ending around 80 was a change overall for me too.
And yes, I still love and listen to Yes. They were total genius.
Who did Georgie Girl? Anyone remember? That era was just before mine and I remember listening to the 45 of it with a friend because it was a part of her older sister's 45s repetoire.
Mighty Mom— As I was working out just now it hit me that I should have added one more thing toward your comment above. My band is playing a concert next Friday in Michigan—three sets. The first set starts with "Day of the Eagle" and ends with "Too Rolling Stoned." The last set begins with "Young Lust" and ends with "Comfortably Numb." Three piece (guitar, bass and drums). Thought you might like those tunes.
Iðunn That would be the "Seekers." Neat hair BTW. Best band I saw was ELP. But Aerosmith was awfully good, too. As is Stevie Winwood.
thanks for the band nane and for the compliment. :p I'm a huge winwood fan. aerosmith is ok with me, but I don't have the love for it some do.
Iðunn It's a pretty picture, your avatar. I saw Mr. Winwood 3 times at the House of Blues Orlando in the past 6 years and he was tremendous. Aerosmith has never been my favorite, either. But a couple years ago they played at the arena here and they blew me away!
Did I mention our second song next week will be "Time" by Pink Floyd? That is my all time (no pun intended) favorite song. The words . . .
you can't beat floyd. I consider pink floyd (and yes) to be intellectual music. floyd gets top marks with me. Yes, time is a great song.
Iðunn I agree all the way. It is intellectual music. Those guys are extraordinary wordsmiths and the music takes me away to a different place. Magic!
I think my favorite floyd, and it's hard to pick just one, would be 'wish you were here'.
I think the music of Pink Floyd will be heard until the end of time.
How I wish you were Here. Great song and a timeless sentiment.
I agree, goldentoad, Floyd is the level of music that will be heard 300 years from now, if there is a 300 years from now. That's quite a new pic you've got there. Looks like you might want to lay off the Cheetos for a couple of weeks, friend. :D
I'm storing up on fat in case we have to go into survivor mode.
Goldentoad— That's smart. I'm going to start using that line starting tomorrow if you don't mind?
I was a child of the 80's but quite a bit of the music leaked over into my generation. My teen nows listens to Pink Floyd and others the music definitly spoke to several generations.
Camping Dan— That's cool. You know, A lot of young guys know the classic rock bands. Not to sure about the females. But then, that genre always drew far more males. The girls had David Cassidy 7 Bobby Sherman. :D
Hey, I'm back. I went to your White Summer website last night and tried to send you groupie mail (LOL) but don't think it got there. It asked me for server info that I don't know (technically challenged. Sorry). But on the plus side, I found a neat radio station here in town that plays only music from the 70s and 80s. It's nice to relisten to some bands I didn't like at the time. Now, with rose colored earphones, the sound is evocative of a phase of life, not just the song itself.
How cool to know your band is still out there rocking! And why not? Also cool to have the drummer be the vocalist. Is Don Henley your idol??/
I'm really glad to hear someone else likes Steve Winwood. Arc of a Diver is a great album! And Traffic -- LOVED that band. Still do!
Mighty Mom— You know, I started that web site before I found Hub Pages, and being a complete rookie doing anything on the internet other than passively, I had some problems. It wasn't you; it isn't working right and I don't know how to fix it. Once I got on Hub Pages I kind of let that site sit. But I appreciate the sentiment! You can still send me some groupie mail! :D
I love Stevie. The first time I saw him, maybe six years ago, when that mouth opened and that voice—that inimitable voice came flying out, I was mesmerized. He started with "I'm a Man" (I played the Chicago version); proceeded on to Traffic; Blind Faith; and then his great hit songs such as "Living the High Life Again." That last one was one of the best single songs I ever heard live. WOW! Stevie, at times, was on the mandolin, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, Hammond B3 organ. The encore was "Gimme Some A Lovin'" and out bounds the reconstituted Blues Brothers—Dan Akroyd, Jim Belushi and John Goodman!!! Magic!
Yea, I do love Don Henley's voice and his songwriting. "This is the last worthless evening" "The end of the Innocence" "The Heart of the Matter" MAN! I wish I could write like that.
White Summer, my band, backed up Don Henley in our swan song show in front of 25,000 people. So, it's funny you should mention him. I have a newspaper clipping that says, "Little known band White Summer received the loudest ovations of the day." :D
Wow! That story of the Steve Winwood concert blows me away. Gotta love when you get a "bonus" like that! Of course, being opening band for Don Henley is amazing, too. I love his energy and his politics. "How bad do you want it?" rips me apart. When Hubby and I got married (5 years ago) we danced to "On my wedding day." It was neat.
Please be sure to write a hub about your Michigan reunion gig. There are hubbers here who would love to read about it and def post some YouTube clips of the music!
Thank you for the fine conversation. SEM Pro is coming to the concert and she is going to do a Hub about it! I have never met her but I will this Friday!
70s rock had the greatest influence on me. I was a teenager at this time and I still listen to this music. The popular groups of this time dont need to be stated. Some of the lesser known that I thought were good were: Argent, Steely Dan, Jethro Tull, Todd Rundgren. Allen Parsons, and so many others.
braudboy— I am with you. I love the music of the 60s and the 70s and quite a bit of the 80s, too. The 90s kind of lost me. I saw Steely Dan at the Hard Rock cafe three years ago and they were great! Thanks for reading and commenting.
You are right on and theres no doubt about it, Southern Rock is real American music. It's no wonder Janis was busted flat in Baton Rouge!
Heres to 70's rock music. Let's not forget Ram Jam: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNM85CPRcKQ Great drums. Almost as good as James A Watkins.
Congrats on 10,000 hubviews :D
newsworthy— You are not only newsworthy but also very observant! Thank you for the congrats. I was pushing this past week (6 Hubs) to get there by my 90 day anniversary and made it—with 49 minutes to spare! :D
I don't know why it says I have 95 Hubs when I have 36 but anyway. Somebody is alseep at the wheel.
Thanks for the link. That's a great song. I appreciate you swinging by and leaving word here.
Hard work pays off but can get to a person. Im thinking the 95 you are seeing is your author hubscore.
Way to go with 36 hubs and well written hubs.
AHHH!!! That's what that 95 means. You are a smart cookie. I definitely need a break. And I'm taking one. Just going to be a reader for a while. Thanks for the kudos.
I actually still have my LP recordings of "Dark Side of the Moon" and "Bridge of Sighs". Love the authenticity of the little audio imperfections like hissing and the occasional pop!
Catlyn— You are lucky to have those. Fabulous music. I went to see Trower 2 years ago and he was BETTER than in the old days! Thank you so much for visiting and leaving your comments.
I remember Emerson, Lake, and Palmer from the beginning. I do not see many of my favorites around. How come you have not made reference to The Rolling Stones, Jethro Tull, Chicago, Three Dog Nite, Bee Gees, Bob Dylan, Led Zep ...
Well I guess there were too many great bands around at that time, right?
Great article ... articles on music of that era always draws interest. Thanks! :)
quicksand— "From the Beginning" is a great song. I have played it with my old band many times. There were lots of outstanding bands, for sure. I saw Three Dog Night in concert twice and the Rolling Stones once. I was a fan of every band you listed, and have played material by each of them. Thanks for the compliment and you are welcome.
James,
I remember Rick and me coming to your house in front of J. C. Auto Parts listening to “Reeling in the Years, A horse With No Name” and other truly musically sounding songs of the era to practice our originals.
I remember your thoughts on “For Your Smile” with the horn section (ala Chicago, which I might say, was a truly correct inspiration), which we could not do because we were limited in funds, remember? I remember you and I writing BMF no matter who took the credit for it (my music; your words). Other than “Omega” it was possibly the best song on the album (though totally in a different vein).
Ah, to be a fly on the wall back then, who would consider the past from the future while in the past?
David— BMF is the best song on the album. And one of the best aspects of that album period is what I consider your extraordinary bass playing.
Horns would have made "For your Smile" a better song, to be sure.
If we only knew then what we know now, my Brother. We would have been much more humble and grateful—and maybe the result would have been far different.
What a walk down memory lane....I lived in this age and remember well and all my favorites are in this hub!! Awesome!
Wealthymadehealthy— Really? Wow! A kindred spirit. Thank you so much for visiting and leaving your kind words. I appreciate it.
I am old enough to remember Disco and M.A.D. (Musicians Against Disco) Pink Floyd definitely ruled then. and as a off and on guitarist myself (Mostly off these days) it was Gilmore's lead style that influenced me in my own gutiar work. Others included Alvin Lee, ZZ Top, I liked Robin Trower though I preferred "Twice Removed from Yesterday" to "Bridge of Sighs". Then there was Kansas. A whole lot could be written here. I still follow Kerry Livgren's work today. Talk about a stroll down memory lane. Great Hub here.
bdavis— I see we have similar tastes. Let me tell you about Alvin Lee. We brought back "I'm goin' Home" to our songlist in the 1980s and we would only do it as the last song of the night. EVERY time we played a fight broke out. We didn't do it every night but it became kind of a running joke. People that followed the band knew about this and would goad us to play it. In Battle Creek, Michigan a fight broke out involving about 50 people brawling in the middle of the room. Like the wild west.
Anyway, I digress. Thanks for coming by and sharing your thoughts with me. I'm glad you did.
James, thanks for becoming my 7th fan - now I'm 7 fans for 7 hubs, and seven is one of my lucky numbers! Nice to see we have similar tastes in music, as the Floyd & Trower albums are 2 of my all-time faves - "Time"'s lyrics taking on an even deeper level of meaning for those of us whose time seems to be getting shorter by the day. I so enjoyed reading this hub, and look forward to reading more (time permitting) ~ L.
L. Marie Figtree— 7 is a powerful number. I love "Time." That might be my favorite song of all time—no pun intended. :) I have sung that song in live performances countless times, including recently.
I am glad we have similar tastes in music and I thank you for leaving your words here. Welcome to the Hub Pages Community!
Hi James, great hub, you've got one of my all time favourites listed there (Floyd), and I've now got a few idea for more 70's stuff to check out! Thanks x
merseyblue— Thank you. Pink Floyd is my absolute favorite band of all time; Dark Side of the Moon my favorite album; Time my favorite song. You are most welcome.
The late 60s, the 70s and the early 80s were the Golden Age of rock music, the music was handmade, and decades on, we and our children are still listening to this music, and I am almost sure that our grandchildren will do the same. But who will listen in ten or twenty years to this synthetic bullshit which was produced later on?
nextstopjupiter— I had a guy in my band for a couple years who is Lithuanian, Jonas Berzanskis. He was over there for the summer but lives in Ann Arbor. Great guy.
I agree with you. They used to bring a band in the studio and just turn on the machine to capture the essence of their live performances. I remember clearly when overdubbing became routine for guitar tracks. I don't even listen to music put out now except Norah Jones, Alison Krause, Diana Krall and a few others. I did like Pearl Jam and Candlebox though when they were around. Thank you very much for visiting. It's a pleasure to hear from another musician.
Johnnie Hennessee says:
8 months ago
This is very interesting Jimmy, I see you also share a love for David Gilmore's melodic voice, as do I. I'm not to much a fan of ZZ Top though, they seem almost cross over country to me. Once again though, you have proven you know your music, so congratulations on a very successful hub...