What can I say, I'm a child of the 70's. Born in 1960 to conservative parents, I wafted through my first ten years in suburban bliss with nary a hint of the changes taking place in rock music, let alone the world at large. So when I finally turned on a radio in 1972, I thought the Eagles sounded really cool. Still do.

Musically, the 70's started in the late 60's (after Altamont) and ended late in the following decade (when punk rock started). In between came funk, disco, country rock, a billion goofy one-hit wonders, and a whole lotta polyester. But, the music discussed herein isn't all-inclusive of the music made during the 70's - these are the songs and albums I uniquely identify with the time, the artists whose careers are neatly bookended (in my mind) by the decade. This isn't just music that was made in the 70's: this is music that sounds like the 70's - weird, self-absorbed, and wildly abandoned. So, artists that have, for better or worse, transcended the 70's (such as the aforementioned Eagles) will be discussed elsewhere.

The 70's - musically, culturally, and politically - were a transitional phase, an emotional way station between tumultuous periods. After the cultural upheaval of the 60's (and before the political backlash of the 80's) we needed a break. The 70's were our recess from reality, self-centered years dubbed the "Me" decade by social critics.

In "You Light Up My Life" (1977), Debby Boone sang, "It can't be wrong when it feels so right." If the 70's had a mantra, that was it. We were consumed by appetites, addicted to our guilty pleasures, and soon there would be a price to pay - but what fun it was while it lasted! So, here's to the music of my youth in all its sartorial, epicurean, and artistic excess. Wanna give me some feedback, Huggy Bear? Drop me a line...

Randy Anthony

Ba-ba-baby, you ain't seen nothing yet...

The Seventies Music Bookshelf

• Precious & Few: Pop Music In The Early 70's (Don & Jeff Breithhaupt, 1996)
• Night Moves: Pop Music in the Late 70's (Don & Jeff Breithhaupt, 2000)
• Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums Of The 70's (Robert Christgau, 1981)
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of 70's Music (Colin Larkin, 2002)
• The Rhino History Of Rock 'n' Roll: The 70's (Eric Lefcowitz, 1997)
• We Had Joy, We Had Fun: The Lost Recording Artists of the Seventies (Barry Scott, 1994)

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1970's Music On The Web

• All Music Guide
• Super Seventies Rocksite
• In The 70's (and the 80's and the 90's)
• Stuck In The Seventies
• One Hit Wonders
• 70's Preservation Society
• Google

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Feedback

Your witty comments, impertinent questions, helpful suggestions, and angry denials are altogether encouraged. Submit feedback via email; submissions will be edited and posted at my discretion.