How The Seventies Changed The Music Of America

Published Apr 6, 2021 By John

via @Jeff Costlow | YouTube

The 1970s are very nostalgic and can make us laugh, and we are going to tell you a lot of gossip about the pop culture of the 70s: ‘How The Seventies Changed The Music Of America.’

Rock lived its heyday, Heavy, progressive, and glam arrived. Changes were germinating, and an era of technological advances was beginning to unfold.

What happened in those years?

The music that changed the sound of rock n’ roll:

1970 – Immigrant Song – Led Zeppelin

  • It is the first song from Led Zeppelin’s third album, Led Zeppelin III, released in 1970.
  • The line, “The Hammer of the Gods” caused many of its fans to refer to the sound of Zeppelin as the “Hammer of the Gods.”

 

1971 – I Feel the Earth Move – Carole King

  • As a singer, she has made 25 solo albums, her album Tapestry being the most successful of her career, it topped the US album charts for 15 weeks in 1971, and remained on the charts for more than six years.

 

1971 – L.A. Woman – The Doors

  • The song was recorded at The Doors’ rehearsal venue on Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, Los Angeles, between December 1970 and January 1971.
  • The 1971 album LA Woman, the last Jim Morrison made before his death on July 3, 1971.

 

1974 – If You Can’t Rock Me – The Rolling Stones

  • The song begins with Jagger singing about being on stage and his desire to have sex with the women in the audience.
  • Stones biographer Martin Elliot describes the lyrics as “acidic” and suggests that they may reflect the band’s exhaustion with the rock and roll lifestyle and even Jagger’s own relationship with his wife Bianca.

 

1975 – Rock and Roll All Nite – KISS

  • In 2008 it was named the 16th best hard rock song of all time by VH1.
  • It is used by the band to close their live concerts since 1975.

 

1975 – Young Americans – David Bowie

  • The song was a breakthrough in the United States, where the glam rock was not popular outside of big cities.
  • In 2010, the song was ranked at number 486 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
  • The song peaked at # 28 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her second biggest hit to that point.

 

1976 – Smokin’ – Boston

  • It was written by singer Brad Delp and guitarist Tom Scholz.
  • Kevin Smith of the Arizona Daily Star described “Smokin” as a “radio standard.”

 

1976 – Play That Funky Music – Wild Cherry

  • It’s a song written by Robert Parissi.
  • The song was included in No. Billboard Magazine’s “All-Time Top 100 Songs” # 73 in 2008.

 

1977 – The Chain – Fleetwood Mac

  • Fleetwood Mac were one of the most important bands of the British blues boom of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
  • The band sold more than 100 million records worldwide

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDG2m5hN1vo

 

1977 – London’s Burning – The Clash

  • The song is about the boredom of television and also reflects the racial theme, which was often covered by the band, especially in the first verse with the line: “Black or white turn it on, face the new religion.”

 

1977 – Sheena is a Punk Rocker – Ramones

  • This was the first punk song to appear on the pop charts.
  • While this was the first punk rock song to hit the Hot 100, it wasn’t the first song on the chart with the word “Punk” in the title: Barry Mann made # 78 in 1976 with “The Princess And The Punk.” , a song about mismatched lovers who was certainly not punk rocker.

 

1977 – Slow Down – The Jam

  • The Jam was an English new wave and punk rock group from the late 1970s.
  • They reached 18 singles in the Top 40 of the UK charts.
  • They released six studio albums, and the last one, The Gift, was number one in the UK.

 

1978 – Everybody Dance – CHIC

  • It was the first song that Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards wrote as Chic.
  • The song has appeared in films such as The Last Days of Disco (1998) and Summer of Sam (1999).

 

1979 – Ladies night – Kool & The Gang

  • It was a chart success, peaking at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1980.
  • The song popularized “Ladies Nights” in bars and clubs.

 

5 songs from the 70s that changed the direction of music:

Stairway To Heaven / Led Zeppelin (Led Zeppelin IV / 1971)

  • It is considered by many to be one of the highlights of rock history.
  • According to the list aggregator site Acclaimed Music, it is the 22nd most critically acclaimed song of all time.

 

Imagine / John Lennon (Imagine, 1971)

  • The Guinness World Records British Hit Singles Book named it the second-best single of all time
  • Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number three on its “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list.

 

Bohemian Rhapsody / Queen (A Night at the Opera / 1975)

  • The song consists of six sections: intro, ballad, guitar solo, opera, rock, and ending or ending.
  • The single is regularly featured on top song charts and the Guinness Book of Records named it the greatest British single of all time

 

Life On Mars / David Bowie (Hunky Dory / 1971)

  • After being released as a single in 1973, it peaked at No. 3 on the UK charts where it stayed for 13 weeks.

 

I Feel Love / Donna Summer (I Remember Yesterday / 1977)

  • The label managers were concerned that radio stations would not touch it for being suggestive and for Donna’s sexual moan.
  • When producer Brian Eno first heard this song, he told David Bowie, “I’ve heard the sound of the future.”
  • The song had a huge influence on the development of disco, electronic, and techno music.

 

70s Fashion Statements:

Grace Jones – Studio 54 London Fashion

 

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Deborah Harry (Blondie) – “Punk” T-shirt

 

David Bowie – The Iconic Ziggy Stardust

 

Vivienne Westwood – Punk Revolution

 

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Elton John – Saturday Night’s Alright Fashion (The Rocketman)

 

The Legends Who Passed Away:

1970 – Jimi Hendrix

  • Jimi Hendrix passed away in his girlfriend’s flat Monika Nanneman in Notting Hill area of London, from inhaling vomit produced by barbiturate (Seconol) intoxication in September 18.

 

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1970 – Janis Joplin

  • Janis Joplin’s cause of death was a heroin overdose. Her body was found the next day at room 105, Landmark Motor Hotel in Hollywood Calif.

 

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1971 – Jim Morrison

  • Jim Morrison dies of a heart attack in July 3 at the bathtub of his apartment in Paris, however, there was no autopsy shown.

 

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1971 – Duane Allman

  • Duane was involved in a motorcycle accident in Macon Georgia which suddenly took his life at the age of 24. 

 

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1973 – Jim Croce

  • Jim Croce dies on September 20 at the age of 30 years old when his chartered plane crashes on a pecan tree during its takeoff.

 

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Bonus: How We Changed The Way We Listen to our Music:

1979 – The Walkman

  • Sony introduced the Walkman, the first portable stereo sound player, in July 1979.
  • The Walkman was originally inspired by one of Sony’s co-founders, who wanted to listen to opera on long flights.