Tag Archive for "seventies" tag

‘A Horse with No Name’, the debut single from two-thirds American America, was top of the charts in the USA on this day in 1972 – according to Billboard magazine. And here it is for you to enjoy all over again. (Never mind the accusations of glorifying heroin use, how they got away with a line as badly written as ‘'Cause there ain’t no-one for to give you no pain’ amazes me.)

It’s been a while since we racked our brains (we managed it for 2006, 1983, 1975, 1969 and 1966, and this has got to be a more interesting year than the next one open to scrutiny, which will be nineteen ninety-something), so what have you got for this, the year of Obscured by Clouds?

The most well-known tracks are probably ‘American Pie’ by Don McLean, ‘Heart of Gold’ by Neil Young and ‘School’s Out’ by Alice Cooper, but there was a lot of good music in 1972… obviously ignoring those bloody Hillside Singers, who apparently wanted to teach the world to sing – in perfect harmony, no less – yet whose real ‘achievement’ was in making a sizeable portion of its populace feel sick and compelled to buy a leading brand of cola. And maybe even more sick as a result of drinking too much of the stuff.

Here are some of my favourites from 1972, anyway:

- Al Green, ‘Let’s Stay Together’
- Elton John, ‘Rocket Man’
- The Raspberries, ‘Go All the Way’
- Rolling Stones, ‘Ventilator Blues’
- War, ‘Slippin’ Into Darkness’

I’ll apologise now, as I know that someone’s innocent eyes, in scanning for songs from this year, will inevitably flicker over the name ‘Three Dog Night’; I can’t help but feel responsible that someone, somewhere is therefore highly likely to have ‘Black and White’ playing on repeat inside their head for some time afterwards. (Was anyone else forced to sing this song at school?)

Should you find yourself afflicted by the recurring melody of this loathsome tune or damaged in some slight yet irreversible way by its selfish use of the cowbell, compiling an A to Z of tunes from 1972, as some of us did for 1982, should help.

If not, there’s always the Hillside Singers and sugary carbonated beverages.

Oh, and as it was something we chatted about recently during a rare voyage into ‘The Music of David Gilmour and Pink Floyd’: Which other Obscured by Clouds track do you think would have slotted most easily into David’s 2006 live set?

It was the year of Jaws, the Hustle, curly perms and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It boasted a ‘Funky Moped’ as well as a ‘Funky Gibbon’. The Beatles’ output, now quadrupled, continued to delight and sadden in equal measure (John Lennon, ‘#9 Dream’; Paul McCartney/Wings, ‘Letting Go’; George Harrison, ‘Dark Horse’; Ringo Starr, ‘It’s All Down to Goodnight Vienna’). The Eagles released One of These Nights, while Queen gave the world ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.

Pink Floyd, of course, served up Wish You Were Here.

Then, alas, there are those that, in our moment of reminiscence, must also be thrown into the equation, if not the Abyss of Shame and Continued Revulsion. I won’t name names, but I am thinking ‘Swedish four-piece, four letters’… (Sorry.)

Here’s some Bad Company to further convince those that need convincing – myself included – that 1975 wasn’t all insipid soft rock ballads and disco naffness.

Here are some of my favourite tunes from the year (perhaps this link will help you remember, and hopefully list, yours):

- Grand Funk Railroad, ‘Some Kind of Wonderful’
- KC & The Sunshine Band, ‘Get Down Tonight’
- Pointer Sisters, ‘How Long (Betcha Got a Chick on the Side)’
- Roxy Music, ‘Love Is the Drug’
- ZZ Top, ‘Tush’

All in all, a better musical year than 1966, you think? I’m not so sure that it was.

On this day in ’79, this was the UK’s Number One single: Blondie, ‘Sunday Girl’ (the dancing from certain members of the audience is fantastic, you have to see it).

Here are some of my favourite chart-toppers from the Seventies.

Again, I’ve restricted myself to ten (which was easier to do than for the Sixties list, by the way), so let’s see what you’ve got. Any country, any chart – and don’t be embarrassed, they don’t have to be ‘the best’ songs, just your favourites.

Pink Floyd’s ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ is a given, so there’s no need to include it.

If you also want to compile a list for the worst songs from the Seventies, go ahead, but please mention Abba and Dr Hook; it would be a dull list without them.

- America, ‘Horse with No Name’
- Kate Bush, ‘Wuthering Heights’
- Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, ‘Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)’
- George Harrison, ‘My Sweet Lord’
- Don McLean, ‘American Pie’
- Matthews Southern Comfort, ‘Woodstock’
- Rolling Stones, ‘Angie’
- Slade, ‘Coz I Luv You’
- Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, ‘The Tears of a Clown’
- Wild Cherry, ‘Play That Funky Music’