1970s - the golden decade for rock

[CN211276]

A number of years ago I had this feature published on a rock website which sadly no longer exists. I thought I would reproduce it here -

The 1970s - The Golden Decade of Rock

"In the beginning
Back in nineteen fifty five
Man didn't know 'bout a rock 'n' roll show 'N all that jive
The white man had the schmaltz
The black man had the blues
No one knew what they was gonna do"

Lyrics of AC/DC - Let there be rock


They certainly did twenty years on. This was not just in terms of more sophisticated recording techniques, better louder PA systems and the beginnings of the rock video, Bohemian Rhapsody being the famous early example with Queen memorably clad in silks and satins. The 70s was the decade when rock came of age and the quantity of quality music, which has stood the test of time, has not been surpassed and is never likely to be. Bands and artists from this era also laid the foundations for what was to follow and many sell out stadiums and arenas to this day. As all my teenage years were during this decade, I consider myself privileged.

The omens might not have looked good at the start of 1970. The summer of love was a distant memory and in December 69 a fan, Meredith Hunter, was beaten and stabbed to death, by hired Hells Angels security, in front of the Rolling Stones performing at Altamont. This was close on the heels of the death of founder band member Brian Jones. Jimmy Hendrix and Janis Joplin would not see out the first year of the decade and Jim Morrison would also be a victim of rock n roll excess, less than twelve months later.

At the same time the icons of the 60s, the Beatles, were splitting up amidst law suits, the "Let it be" film/documentary bringing the tensions within the band into the public eye. The break up soon allowed George to realise his creative potential with the "All things must pass" album. The Bangladesh concert he organised was in many ways a prelude to Live Aid. Differences which contributed to the Fab Four break up remained, John was only allowed to participate without Yoko on stage. John's feelings about the Beatles were earlier portrayed in the "Plastic Ono Band" album. The follow up, "Imagine" included a vicious swipe at Paul in response, he claimed, to lyrics aimed at him and Yoko on McCartney's "Ram" album. Paul was hit hardest by the break up but by the middle of the decade would emerge, with the success of Wings, as a star in his own right. Wings, at their peak, were the first band I saw live and the memory of the lights going down and the opening bars of "Venus and Mars" leading into "Rock Show", at what seemed at the time ear splitting volume, has remained. The lyrics of "Rock Show" contain a reference to Jimmy Page. It seems appropriate that part of the major force of the 60s should acknowledge the band which was so influential the following decade. Although the widespread mass appeal and influence of the Beatles could never be equaled, in rock terms Led Zeppelin were in many ways the equivalent in the 70s.

With their main rivals no more the Stones went from strength to strength with their album releases in the early years of the decade, culminating with 1972s "Exile On Main Street". They somewhat lost their way after with Richards' finger off the button, or on a different planet, culminating in the real threat of a custodial sentence in 1977. The 1978 "Some Girls" album, which embraced contemporary disco and punk influences, saw a revival. The Who also built on their 60s success with Townshend's increasing maturity as a song writer and Daltary's growing confidence as a vocalist. 1969s "Tommy" was put to celluloid with an all star cast. "Quadrephinia" would later follow. In the 60s Dylan set the trend for lyrics to embrace far wider themes than boy meets girl. This would continue and the man himself would release albums and perform throughout the 70s and the following decades.

The experience Jimmy Page gained as an in demand 60s session musician would prove invaluable. Even more so was the recruitment of Robert Plant and John Bonham from the thriving Midlands music scene which also produced Black Sabbath and Slade. With fellow session musician, John Paul Jones, and under the forceful no nonsense management of Peter Grant, out of the ashes of the Yardbirds arose the band who would set the scene for so much of what was to follow, on top of album and concert ticket sales. The sound, assisted by more sophisticated PAs, was harder and heavier than before. The refusal to release singles and the mystique surrounding the band also helped the cause. To buy "Stairway To Heaven" an album purchase was required - an album which contained such classics as "Black Dog" and "Rock n' Roll".

The Zeppelin influence on the early albums of bands who would later pursue different paths is evident for all to hear. Such bands include Queen and Rush whose lasting mass appeal dates from the release of their fourth albums in the mid 70s, of "A Night At The Opera" and "2112". From the initial Zeppelin influence both bands, who also had virtuoso guitarists, developed their own distinctive styles. Both would evolve over the years with Queen becoming more commercial and Rush continuing to appeal to a large but less mainstream following.

Virtuoso guitarist Richie Blackmore was not slow to take note. The Deep Purple line up, which had achieved chart success, changed to produce a far harder sound and the "In Rock" album. The spin offs, Rainbow, Gillan and Whitesnake had their own distinctive hard rock styles, the former providing the breakthrough for vocalist supreme, the recently sad departed and much missed Ronnie James Dio. Black Sabbath acknowledge the influence of the first Zeppelin album from which they produced their own distinctive sound and what became termed heavy metal. Black Sabbath were to have a major influence. Also from the Midlands Judas Priest emerged as a founder heavy metal band in the middle of the decade, steadily gaining popularity in the UK and US before exploding on to the scene in 1980 with "British Steel". Priest differed from Sabbath in that their sound was not blues based and they had two lead guitarists. The dual lead guitar would become a common feature in metal bands. The late 70s would see the birth of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWBHM). The genre would flourish in the 80s, and to this day, with Iron Maiden (NWBHM beginnings) and also Judas Priest at the forefront.

Jethro Tull started off as a blues based band. Their 1971 album "Aqualung" combined hitting lyrics about the unfortunates of society and organised religion with Zeppelin influenced guitar sound. Mass popularity followed. The early 70s were the golden years of what became termed Progressive Rock or Prog. Although Ian Anderson took a humorous view and Tull’s 1972 album "Thick as a Brick" was a send up which most fell for, Genesis, Yes, Emerson, Lake and Palmer and most notably Pink Floyd achieved vast sales and fame. With the land mark album "Dark Side Of The Moon" in 1973, Pink Floyd in many ways captured the themes and moods of the time, money, deadlines, religion, death, war, stress and ultimately madness. The follow up "Wish You Were Here" embraced the latter on a more personal level, “Shine on you crazy diamond” is about former band leader Syd Barrett who was replaced by Dave Gilmour.

As with Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac’s inspiration, Peter Green, was also a 60s acid casualty. Likewise the band would go on to great things in the 70s, following the “Rumours” album, with a different sound and three new members, Christine McVie, Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks .

In the early 70s, especially, the line between what is termed rock and pop was blurred. Hence bands that can be termed rock featured regularly in the Top 20 and performed on the UK’s flagship show "Top of the Pops." Marc Bolan discarded the acoustic guitar for the electric, shortened the name of his band to T.Rex recorded the catchy "Ride a White Swan", put on make up and the age of Glam Rock began. The hits, including the chart topping "Hot Love", "Get it On", "Telegram Sam" and "Metal Guru" rolled on. Slade, a talented no nonsense rocking band, jumped on the Glam bandwagon and enjoyed even greater chart topping success. "Merry Christmas Everybody" is as much a Christmas party must now as 35 years ago. The Sweet, a major influence on future metal bands, probably took the camp image to a limit which was only exceeded by Bowie. The early 70s were a time of austerity, the three day week, power cuts and candle lit evenings. A weekly dose of Glam Rock on "Top of The Pops" certainly brightened things up, with the added bonus of annoying parents. The Chapman/Chinn songwriting partnership was responsible for many of the hits, notably from The Sweet and Suzi Quatro, but this must not detract from the original material of the former.

David Bowie had failed to make any sort of name for himself throughout the 60s, the 1969 topical hit "Space Oddity" failing to provide a springboard. At the start of 72 he persuaded his reluctant band to put on make up and within a year rose from relative obscurity to mega stardom. There was a lot more behind the Spiders From Mars than the Ziggy Stardust persona, costumes, make up, announced bisexuality and the aggressive management of Tony DeFries. For the first time Bowie had a band behind him who could rock. The part guitarist Mick Ronson played cannot be underestimated. Bowie also had an impressive back catalogue of material to draw on. "Life On Mars" might have been a big hit during the height of Ziggy mania in the summer of 73, but it dates back to 71. The reasons why Bowie killed off Ziggy at the filmed Hammersmith Odeon concert in July 73 are not straight forward, but financial issue and DeFries probably have more to do with it than a desire to move in a different musical direction at this particular time. Bowie might have lost his way in the 80s, but this must not detract from the lasting influences his 70s work has had. During the decade he released no less than eleven studio albums (including one of covers) all of a high standard, encompassing a wide range of styles including hard rock, electronic and soul.

The origins of Punk can be traced back to the late 60s in the US, all be it without the spiky hair and safety pins. The now tv insurance advertising persona Iggy Pop, with the Stooges, was instrumental attracting a lot of attention with his outrageous on stage antics. A recently famous Bowie was involved with the mixing of their definitive "Raw Power" album in 73. (He would later team up with Iggy Pop during their rehabilitation Berlin period later in the decade). The Punk movement, which took off in the UK in 76, has been described as everything from the best thing which could have happen to music at the time, to a media phenomena. The truth lies in between. There was a lot of animosity in the music press to the major established bands, often politically tinged, and the media was all too happy to laud the glory of anything new and different, in a big way. But was Punk/New Wave completely new? The members of the Police, who would go on to achieve megastardom, had been on the scene for some time. Stewart Copeland previously played drums for Prog band Curved Air. There are many similar instances. Comparisons with the Glam bandwagon a few years earlier - I think so. Of course this could not be said about the Sex Pistols who were at the heart of the movement. But Steve Jones and Phil Cook had been fans of the Faces earlier in the decade. This, under the astute management of Malcolm Mclaren, could not be admitted, especially with Rod Stewart at the top of a fixed BBC chart at the time of the 77 Queen's Silver Jubilee, when the Pistol's banned "God Save the Queen" was out selling Rod's single. Comparisons, in terms of raw energy and chaos, can certainly be made between the Faces and Sex Pistols.

The contribution of Punk and the Pistols was acknowledge by Neil Young, never one to stand still, on his 1979 album "Rust Never Sleeps". Young lyrics about it being better to burn out than fade away would tragically be quoted by Kurt Cobain's in his suicide note 15 years later. Neil Young had obtained commercial success and fame with his "Harvest" album in 72 which he turned his back on with a series of uncommercial, though engaging, albums such as "On the Beach".

Although punk/new wave was the flavor, there were numerous unassociated bands such as Status Quo, AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, Rainbow, UFO, the Scorpions and Motorhead shifting vast quantities of vinyl and selling out concert venues. Moterhead, formed by former Hawkwind member Lemmy Kilminster, set the scene for 80s thrash metal bands on both sides of the Atlantic.

Throughout the70s there was no shortage of activity in the US, much of it overlooked or ignored in the UK, particularly in the later years. The hard rock band, Grand Funk Railroad enjoyed huge success in the early part of the decade. Aerosmith’s enduring success and popularity began in the mid 70s with “Toys in the Attic and “Rocks”. The softer sounding Eagles achieved lasting mass appeal with many classic songs. Bands as diverse as Lynrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, Cheap Trick, Kiss, Boston, Journey, REO Speedwagon, Blue Oyster Cult and Styx rose to prominence. Van Halen, with Eddy Van Halen’s distinctive and influential guitar sound, would explode on the scene towards the end of the decade. At the same time Meatloaf's "Bat out of hell", made up of Jim Steinman's classic songs, would go on to achieve legendary status, despite breaking all the rules in terms of trends and image.

August 79 saw Led Zeppelin's triumphant return at Knebworth, after the ill fortune which had plagued the band since their last UK appearance in 75 and would tragically culminate with Bonham's death in 1980. In spite of all that had gone on musically in the four years and the band's lack of activity, Zeppelin were bigger than ever. The decade fittingly closed with the release of one of rock's land mark albums by the creators of "Dark Side Of The Moon". "The Wall" even produced an unlikely number one hit single "Another brick in the wall". Pink Floyd had not had Top 20 singles success since the days of Syd Barrett in the 60s.

The 50s provided the foundations with Bill Haley, Elvis, Chuck Berry, Eddy Cochran, Little Richard etc. This was built upon in the early 60s, notably by the Beatles, Stones and Dylan. Rock would start to emerge from pop in the late 60s with Hendrix a major player, but it was not until the 70s that rock really took off. It was an exciting time for music which produced so many timeless classics from diverse bands and artists. We look back with great appreciation as well as nostalgia.

[Classicrock]

Nice article but might be of more interest to someone who has not lived through this period.

[_D_S_J_R_]

Great article, but so much more missing.. Mott The Hoople were tied up with Bowie and Queen (Ian Hunter is now nearly 80 - EEK!) and the brief mention of Hawkwind also points to the whole Gong vibe which I followed from the mid 70's, keeping the hippy peace-love-eastern philosophy vibe alive.

I didn't like their early stuff so much, but I have to close by mentioning Genesis, who changed (evolved?) so much during their lifetime. Mr Gabriel's classic 1970's work still gets radio play today and Steve Hackett is much loved by a solid following.

[Fretless]

Looking back - the 70's were incredibly complex in terms of popular music. A time of development and experimentation (not all of it successful) but artists were able to explore pretty well every style and direction that later became a genre. If you compare the music from 1970 with that of 1980 you can see what enormous advances were made in instrumentation, amplification and recording technology (the first digital recordings were made in the 70's).

A Golden Era? - Yes, indeed!

[Daniel Quinn]

As there does not appear to be any mention of Genesis , it is of course a load of rubbish

[guydarryl]

Give the bloke a chance

There was so much going on - for me, no mention of the Kinks is a mistake (precursors to punk, "you really got me", "all the day and all the night").

[antonio66]

As there does not appear to be any mention of Genesis , it is of course a load of rubbish

Genesis are mentioned in the OP, along with Jethro Tull, Yes, ELP and Pink Floyd. One of my favs, Van der Graaf Generator deserves a mention though.

[savvypaul]

Great article, but so much more missing.. Mott The Hoople were tied up with Bowie and Queen (Ian Hunter is now nearly 80 - EEK!) and the brief mention of Hawkwind also points to the whole Gong vibe which I followed from the mid 70's, keeping the hippy peace-love-eastern philosophy vibe alive.

I didn't like their early stuff so much, but I have to close by mentioning Genesis, who changed (evolved?) so much during their lifetime. Mr Gabriel's classic 1970's work still gets radio play today and Steve Hackett is much loved by a solid following.

I loves a bit of Gong...

[Ithilstone]

Great read !
and BTW:
Just finished reading Phil Collins "Not dead yet" so I revisited the whole Genesis and found that my knowledge of them as well as all side project of various band members was seriously far from complete.
Fun and interesting book if anyone is interested.

[Daniel Quinn]

As there does not appear to be any mention of Genesis , it is of course a load of rubbish

Genesis are mentioned in the OP, along with Jethro Tull, Yes, ELP and Pink Floyd. One of my favs, Van der Graaf Generator deserves a mention though.

Of course i meant a mention in every sentance