#3 - "Any Way You Want It, That's The Way You Need It" - Corporate Rock

Ahh, how can we talk about the 70's without talking about Corporate Rock. Corporate Rock is often referred to as Arena Rock. So now you may be asking yourself, "Self, what is Corporate Rock?" Corporate Rock is a term that is used to describe arena anthem type bands. Critics loathe most of these bands and they don't get much love in their realm. However, the music was huge in the mid to late 70's and continued well into the 80's.

Still confused as to who would fall into this category? Only some of the biggest bands in rock and roll history. You can't listen to these bands without singing at the top of your lungs and throwing your fists in the air to their music if you see them in concert. Their music is still played at sporting events, they can be heard by cover bands across the country and they've had some of the biggest hits in radio history.  Also, go to a karaoke bar, and you're bound to hear someone singing the hits of one of these bands.  Once we start looking at a few, you'll be able to figure out exactly the genre I'm referring to. Let's take a look now....

Queen - Queen is a band formed in London in 1970.  Guitarist Brian May and drummer Roget Taylor had been in a band together before Queen.  Singer Freddie Mercury was a fan of their former band and encouraged the band to take a theatrical approach to their show.  Shortly after the suggestion, he was asked to join the band.  Upon joining the band, Mercury changed the name of the band to Queen.  Just before the band would record their debut album, bassist John Deacon was recruited to join.  Their first two albums, "Queen" (1973) and "Queen II" (1974) received success in the UK but failed to spark in other counties. 

All of that changed with the release of their next two albums, "Sheer Heart Attack" (1974) and "Night at the Opera" (1975).  Sheer Heart Attack reached #2 in the UK and reached #12 in the US, giving the band their first Top 20 hit in the US.   It also gave the band their first Top 20 single in the US with "Killer Queen".  When "Night at the Opera" was recorded, it was the most expensive album ever produced at the time.  It contained the hits "You're My Best Friend" and "Bohemian Rhapsody".  "Bohemian Rhapsody would achieve a revival in status and popularity in 1992 with the release of the movie "Wayne's World" based on a popular skit created on Saturday Night Live.

The band quickly entered the studio again to follow-up "Night at the Opera" with "A Day at the Races" (both albums were named after Marx Brothers movies)...it is considered to be a sequel to "Night at the Opera".  It contained the hits "Tie Your Mother Down", "Somebody To Love" and "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy". 

The next album would become the bands most popular album.  "News of the World", released in 1977 had songs created specifically for live performance.  The two biggest hits from the album are the epitome of Arena Rock..."We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" sky-rocketed the band into super-stardom.  The album has gone quadruple platinum in the United States.  (The album cover used to scare the pants off of me...and still strikes some kind of weird childhood fear in me)

They closed out the decade with two more albums, "Jazz" (1978) contained the hits "Fat-Bottomed Girls" and "Bicycle Race".  It was followed by their first live album "Live Killers".  The double-album was recorded over the "Jazz" World-tour and went platinum.  At the end of the decade, they also released their popular single "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", which would later appear on their 1980 album release "The Game". 

The band's popularity carried over into the 80's and they were one of the most popular touring groups ever.  Unfortunately, singer Freddie Mercury passed away in 1991 from AIDS.  The following year, The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert was held at Wembley Stadium.  The event featured the surviving members of Queen performing with other bands, including Annie Lennox, Robert Plant, Def Leppard, Guns 'n' Roses, Metallica, Elton John and David Bowie.  It raised millions of dollars for AIDS research.

The band went on hiatus after the event, but eventually reformed for a tour with Paul Rodgers (from Bad Company/Free fame) on vocals.  The band has recently hooked up with American Idol star Adam Lambert and currently (2015) tours with him as their lead singer.  The band is one of the few bands in this genre that critics have loved.  They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.  And in 2009, "We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions" was inducted into The Grammy Hall of Fame.

Queen - We Will Rock You

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

Journey - Formed in 1973, Journey started as a band that would be a backup band for Bay Area artists.  They were originally called The Golden Gate Rhythm Section.  They held a contest to re-name the band but the contest was not successful.  One of their roadies came up with the name "Journey" and the name stuck.  The first incarnation of the band was Neal Schon on lead guitar, Gregg Rolie on lead vocals and keyboards, Ross Valory on bass, George Tickner on rhythm guitar and Prairie Prince on the drums.  They were more of a Jazz Fusion type band at the time.  Before recording their first album, Prince had left the band to go back to his original band, The Tubes.  Aynsley Dunbar was his replacement.  In 1974, they secured a record deal with Columbia records, however, their first three albums did not do well at all.

Through pressure from Columbia records, the band changed their musical style and decided to add a true frontman.  The band initially hired Robert Fleischman but management differences had him leaving the band that same year.  In late 1977, the band hired vocalist Steve Perry and recorded their fourth album, "Infinity".  The album reached #21 on the album charts and gave the band their first platinum album.  It also garnered two hit singles for the band with "Lights" and "Wheel in the Sky".

In 1978, the bands manager, Herbie Herbert, fired Aynsley Dunbar and the band hired drummer Steve Smith.  The band then recorded 1979's "Evolution" which gave the band its first Top 20 single, "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'", which reached #16.  By 1980, Gregg Rolie had left the band and was replaced by Jonathan Cain.

This incarnation of the band achieved the highest success of their career.  They went onto record some of the biggest albums of the early 1980's with "Departure" (1980), "Escape" (1981) and "Frontiers" (1983).  All three albums had hits from them, such as "Any Way You Want It", "Who's Cryin' Now", "Don't Stop Believin'", "Open Arms", "Separate Ways (World's Apart)" and "Faithfully".

Following the end of the "Frontiers" tour, the band started to fall apart.  Steve Smith and Ross Valory were fired from the band for "musical differences".  The remaining members of the band hired studio musicians to fill the vacancies (including Randy Jackson of future American Idol fame to play bass) and they recorded "Raised on Radio".  However, following the tour, the band went on hiatus.  The band reunited in 1995 and recorded "Trial By Fire", which was released the following year.  The band had planned a world tour, however, Steve Perry injured his hip and could not tour, so the tour never happened.

After several additional lineup changes, the band found Filipino singer Arnel Pineda on YouTube performing some Journey covers and hired him in December 2007.  The band, which features Pineda, Schon, Valory, Cain and drummer Dean Castronovo, continues to tour and record

Journey - Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTkHFQC3wow

Foreigner - Formed in 1976 by guitarist Mick Jones, the band was originally named Trigger, but when it was discovered the band name had already been taken, they decided on the name Foreigner because no matter where the band played, there were foreign members in the band (three members were from England, the other three from the US).  After several lineup changes early in the career, the band finally settled on the lineup of Jones on guitar, Lou Gramm on vocals, Ian McDonald on guitar and saxophone, Ed Gagliardi on bass, Dennis Elliot on drums and Al Greenwood on keyboards.

The bands self-titled debut was released in 1977 and sold more than four million copies in the United States and stayed in the Top 20 for over a year.  It contained the hits "Feels Like The First Time", "Cold As Ice", "Long, Long Way From Home".  The following year, they released their second album "Double Vision".  It sold five million copies and contained the hits "Hot Blooded", "Double Vision" and "Blue Morning, Blue Day".  Their third album, "Head Games", released in 1979, contained hit tracks "Dirty White Boy" and "Head Games".  By the end of the year, Gagliardi was fired and replaced by Rick Willis.

The following year, Greenwood and McDonald were also fired and the band decided to stay a quartet.  The early to mid-80's continued to be successful for the band with hit album releases such as "4" (1981), with the hits "Urgent", "Waiting For A Girl Like You" and "Juke Box Hero" and "Agent Provocateur" (1984) that contained the hits, "I Want To Know What Love Is" and "That Was Yesterday".

By 1990, Lou Gramm decided to depart the band and Mick Jones had begun producing albums for other artists (including Van Halen's "5150").  The band tried to reunite a couple of times with Gramm but it never lasted long.  Mick Jones hired replacement members and continues to tour with his current version of Foreigner.

Foreigner - Feels Like The First Time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHDy_b33cCQ

Boston - In 1973, guitarist Tom Scholz formed a band called Mother's Milk with Brad Delp on vocals, Barry Goudreau on guitar, and Jim Masdea on drums.  The band disbanded by 1974, but recorded a demo with Delp and Masdea shortly after.  Scholz performed all of the instruments except the drums and also invented specialized pedals that helped define his guitar sound and gave them a violin-like sound.  The demo started generating some interest but just before being signed, Masdea left the band.

The band signed a deal with Epic Records shortly after Masdea's departure.  The band had to do a live audition for the record execs, so they recruited Goudreau on guitar, Fran Sheehan on bass and Sib Hashian on drums.  During the recording of their debut album, Scholz had Masdea come into the studio and record the drum track for "Rock and Roll Band".

Their self-titled debut album was released in 1976.  It is one of the best-selling debut albums of all time.  It has sold over 17 million copies.  It peaked at number three on the Billboard Album charts and contained three hit singles with "More Than A Feeling", "Long Time" and "Peace of Mind".  The album is a masterpiece from start to finish.

Their next album, "Don't Look Back" (1978) failed to sell as well as their debut, however, it reached #1 on The Billboard album chart and contained the singles "Don't Look Back" and "Feelin' Satisfied".  Their third album wasn't released until nearly 10 years later.  "Third Stage" was released in 1986 and also went to #1 on The Billboard Charts.  It contained the hits "Amanda", "We're Ready" and "Cool The Engines".

By the early 90's, Brad Delp decided to leave the band and was replaced by Fran Cosmo.  However, Delp would make later appearances on Boston albums, even after his suicide in 2007.  Their latest recording, "Life, Love & Hope" was released in 2013 and contained vocal tracks that Delp had recorded prior to his death.  The band continues to tour with current members, Scholz, Gary Pihl (guitars and keyboards), Curly Smith (drums), Kimberley Dahme (bass), Jeff Neal (percussion), Tommy DeCarlo (lead vocals) and Tracy Ferrie (bass).

Boston - More Than A Feeling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNQF9nZncPA

Styx - Styx was formed in the early 60's by twin brothers Chuck and John Panozzo (Chuck on guitar and John on drums) with their neighbor Dennis DeYoung (vocals and keyboards) in Chicago.  Originally called "The Tradewinds".  Chuck left for a short time to go to seminary school and was replaced by Tom Nardini on guitar.  When Chuck returned, he decided to switch to bass guitar and they kept Nardini in the band.  The band discovered another band was called The Trade Winds, so they decided to change their name to "TW4".  Nardini departed soon after and they hired a guitarist named John Curulewski to replace him.  The band then decided to become a five-piece and hired James "J.Y." Young in 1970.

They were signed to Wooden Nickel Records in 1972 and decided to change their name. They came up with the name Styx based on the river in Greek Mythology.  Their first few albums were more in the direction of Prog-Rock and received little to no airplay.  However, two years after being released, their ballad "Lady" began to receive national airplay and soon reached #6 on the US Hot 100.  Following the success of "Lady", the band signed to A&M Records and released "Equinox" in 1975.  It contained the single "Suite Madame Blue" which began getting airplay under the new "AOR - Album Oriented Rock" format.  Shortly after, Curulewski decided to leave the band to spend more time with his family.

Tommy Shaw was hired in 1976 to replace Curulewski and the band released "Crystal Ball" the same year.  Their seventh album, "The Grand Illusion", released on July 7th, 1977 (7/7/77) became their breakthrough album, reaching triple platinum status.  It contained the bands first Top 10 single with "Come Sail Away" (#8) and also contained the hit "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)".  They closed out the 70's with two more hit albums: "Pieces of Eight" (1978) spawned the singles "Renegade" and "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)", and "Cornerstone" (1979) birthed their first #1 single with "Babe".

They continued with success in the early 80's with the albums "Paradise Theater" (1981), which reached #1 on the Billboard Album charts and contained the hits "The Best of Times" and "Too Much Time on My Hands", and "Kilroy Was Here" (1983) which contained the hits "Mr. Roboto" and "Don't Let It End".  However, Kilroy turned out to be the death of the band, as the band became at odds between Shaw and DeYoung.  DeYoung wanted the band to go in a more theatrical direction and Shaw wanted to rock.  The strain turned out to be too much and they disbanded in 1984.

The band reunited in 1995 and re-recorded "Lady" due to contract issues with the bands former label, Wooden Nickel.  When the band reunited though, John was too ill to play due to health issues related to alcohol, which ultimately claimed his life.  Todd Sucherman was brought in to replace John and has remained in the band.  The band released "Brave New World" in 1999, but shortly after, arguments within the band began again and Dennis DeYoung was fired from the band.  He was replaced by Lawrence Gowan.

Chuck Panozzo also had to retire from the band due to health issues, but still performs and records occasionally with the band.  He was replaced by Ricky Phillips.  The band continues to tour and record as of 2015.

Styx - Renegade
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZkl_lEDxTc
 
Other bands (and some of their hit songs) that round out the "Corporate Rock" banner are:

REO Speedwagon

• Ridin' The Storm Out
• Time For Me To Fly
• Roll With The Changes
• Keep On Loving
• Take It On The Run
• Can't Fight This Feeling

Kansas

• Dust in the Wind
• Carry on Wayward Son
• Point of No Return

Peter Frampton

• Do You Feel Like We Do
• Show Me The Way
• Baby I Love Your Way
• I'm In You

#4 - "What Is This That Stands Before Me?": The Birth of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal

I remember the summer between 6th and 7th grade.  It was 1983 and I had just finished my last year of grade school at Will Rogers Elementary in Shawnee, OK.  I had spent the summer staying with my Dad and Stepmother.  Toward the end of summer, we learned that my mother had decided to move to Del City and I would be starting at a Jr. High School with a group of kids that I did not know.  We moved into a house with my uncle's ex-wife and her two children.  I knew who my aunt and cousins were, but we were never really close.  I wasn't real sure how thrilled I was with this new living arrangement, but I had just turned 12, what was I going to do about it? 

So my brother and I arrived at our new home with our mother, our aunt and our cousins.  After getting my things settled in my new room, I walk into my cousins bedroom and there before me was an entire room full of KISS posters.  On one side of the room, a record player and stacks and stacks of albums.  I had heard of KISS, I knew who they were and I had heard a couple of their songs on the radio, but I had never in my life seen this type of dedication to a band.  I was INSTANTLY hooked.  I didn't have to hear the music, it just struck a chord in me like I had never had happen before.  I immediately wanted more. I have always had this obsessive personality, but prior to this moment, my focus had gone from Sesame Street to Star Wars...this however, was uncharted territory.

That fall, both of my cousins...Donnie and his sister Shannon would introduce me to many bands - KISS, Def Leppard, Billy Squier, Motley Crue, Van Halen and even the New Wave bands .  I had always loved music and would spend hours listening to the radio and my mom's records but this hard rock felt like it was MINE.

I would spend hours going through their albums. I would ask questions about who the bands were, I would especially go through the KISS albums and ask about them. Why were there four albums that each featured a member of the band?  Why was the cat not in some of the pictures?  What was the song "War Machine" about?  I kept looking at one particular album over and over again. It was KISS's "Creatures of the Night" and I was just drawn to it. I asked if I could take it to my room to give it a listen. I asked which song I should listen to first and Donnie suggested "I Love It Loud". I put the needle to the record - Side 2, Song 1. The song started with this thunderous drum sound followed by this infectious chant and I was instantly transformed from Star Wars geek to a hard rock junkie. 

I was late to the KISS Party, but once I showed up, I've never been able to leave. This of course led to me listening to just about all things hard rock and heavy metal, but I never would have known this music if it wasn't for the pioneers that learned how to tune their instruments differently and turn the volume up to piercing levels. And of course if it wasn't for my new musical heroes, my cousins Donnie and Shannon....I still "Love It Loud, Right Between The Eyes". Let's rock this!!!!

 Black Sabbath - The true Godfathers of Heavy Metal, Black Sabbath were formed in Birmingham, England in 1968 by lead guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward who were in a band together prior to Black Sabbath.  The duo recruited bassist Geezer Butler and lead singer John "Ozzy" Osbourne.  The original name of the band was Earth and they started out as more of a blues rock band.  Iommi left the band while they were still Earth and joined Jethro Tull.  His stint in Jethro Tull was very short-lived and he quit the band to return to Earth.  Upon his return, the band learned that another band already had the name "Earth" so they had to change their name.

Across the street from their rehearsal space, a movie was playing at the local theater called "Black Sabbath".  Geezer Butler noticed the long lines of people waiting to see the movie and stated that it seemed strange that people would pay money to be scared.  Butler and Osbourne wrote lyrics for a song based on the movie title.  Because of the dark lyrics, Iommi wrote a dark riff based on the "tri-tone".  This new song, "Black Sabbath" inspired the band to go in a darker direction.  Also adding to this new, darker sound, Iommi, who had lost the tips of two of his fret fingers in a machining accident earlier in his career, had to tune his guitar down to accommodate his injury.

Their self-titled debut was released on Friday, February 13th, 1970.  It reached #8 in the UK Album Charts and when it was released in the US in May of that year, it reached #23 on the US Billboard Charts.  Along with the title track, the album also contained classic tracks such as "N.I.B." and "The Wizard".  Based on the success of the album, the band immediately re-entered the studio in June of 1970 to begin work on their follow-up album "Paranoid".  The album was released in January of 1971.  This follow-up contained instant classics, "War Pigs", "Paranoid", "Fairies Wear Boots" and "Iron Man" which contains one of the greatest guitar riffs of all time.

The band began to have conflicts toward the end of the 70's, which eventually led to the dismissal of their lead singer Ozzy Osbourne.  He was replaced by Rainbow singer Ronnie James Dio and the band had additional success, however, they never achieved the same level of success as the original lineup.  The band influenced countless metal bands, including Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Slayer,  Pantera and Metallica.  James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich inducted the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.  Sabbath have had a couple of successful reunion tours and continue to perform.  The latest incarnation of the band featured Osbourne, Iommi and Butler.  Bill Ward refused to perform with the band due to failed contract negotiations. 

Black Sabbath - War Pigs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V-afAs1gwk

Essential Black Sabbath tracks:

• Black Sabbath
• Iron Man
• War Pigs
• Paranoid
• NIB
• Fairies Wear Boots
• Sweet Leaf
• Snow Blind
• Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
• Changes

Led Zeppelin - Another band on the list that actually started in the 60's, their popularity rose to its highest in the 70's.  They started out as The New Yardbirds after Jimmy Page after the original Yardbirds had disbanded.  Page had decided he wanted to form a supergroup with members of The Who.  The band never came together and through his search for a singer, Page tried to recruit a vocalist named Terry Reid.  Reid declined but suggested vocalist Robert Plant for the job.  Page brought Plant into the band and Plant suggested they consider drummer John Henry "Bonzo" Bonham.  Bassist John Paul Jones inquired about the vacant bass position at the suggestion of his wife.  He was accepted and Led Zeppelin was born. 

Their first two albums (Led Zeppelin and Led Zeppelin II) were both released in 1969.  The first album reached #10 on the US Billboard Chart and the second album reached #1.  The first album was more based in blues and psychedelic rock but contained heavy guitars and heavy drums.  The second album went in more of a harder rock direction and the band built on that foundation and became one of the earliest bands to develop the hard rock/heavy metal sound.  Those two albums released several of the bands hits, such as "Good Times Bad Times", "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You", "Dazed and Confused", "Communication Breakdown", "Whole Lotta Love", "Thank You" and the drum solo filled "Moby Dick".

The 1970's saw the band continue to grow in their hard rock status with the release of "Led Zeppelin III" in October of 1970.  As much as the band grew, so did their notoriety.  There were constant stories of their debauchery on the road and their penchant for partying.  In November of 1971, the band released their most popular and most important album.  While the album does not have an official title, it is known by a few different titles.  The two most common titles listed for the album are "Led Zeppelin IV" and "Zoso" because of the four symbols shown on the albums cover.  The album sold more than 37 million albums world-wide and is one of the greatest selling albums of all time.  The album spawned more hits, including "Black Dog", "Rock and Roll", "When The Levee Breaks" and one of the most requested (and most learned by guitarists) rock songs of all time, "Stairway to Heaven". 

The band released the album "Houses of the Holy" in 1973 and took a different direction than the bands previous releases.  They began to deepen their sound by adding more layers to their songs and adding keyboards/synthesizers to their sound.  This album contains some amazing songs as well such as "The Rain Song", "Over the Hills and Far Away", "Dancing Days", "No Quarter" and "The Song Remains The Same".  The tour was filmed during a stop at Madison Square Garden and would be used for the film "The Song Remains The Same" later in the decade.  Ironically, the song "Houses of the Holy" was recorded for the album, but was not released until it debuted on the album "Physical Graffiti" in 1975.  In addition to that track, the double album also contained the Zeppelin classics "In My Time of Dying", "In The Light", "Ten Years Gone", "Trampled Under Foot" and the amazing "Kashmir".

Their next album "Presence" was released in 1976.  It reached platinum status, but it contained mixed reaction among fans.  Prior to the recording of that album, Plant had a car wreck which resulted in major injuries to him and his wife.  Because of these injuries, the band was not able to tour in 1976.  Instead of touring, they released the film and soundtrack "The Song Remains The Same".  The band began to tour again in 1977, but the tour was plagued with problems.  Mid-year of that year, Plant received word that his five year old son had died from a stomach virus and the tour was immediately cancelled. 

The band joined together again in November of 1978 to record their final album of studio originals.  The album "In Through The Out Door" was released in August of 1979.  Again, the album received mixed reviews due to the experimentation on the album, but still born the popular singles, "Fool in the Rain",  "All My Love" and "In The Evening".  The band performed some warm up shows in August of 1979 to prepare for their 1980 World Tour.  During the European leg of the tour, John Bonham collapsed on stage in the middle of the third song at a stop in Germany.  The show had to be cancelled and speculation began that Bonham collapsed due to extreme abuse of drugs and alcohol.  The band claimed it was due to over-eating.  The band was scheduled to begin a North American leg of the tour in October of 1980.  In September, the band was attending rehearsals at Bray Studios in Berkshire, England.  The bands assistant picked up John Bonham and Bonham requested a stop for breakfast.  During the breakfast, Bonham began drinking heavily.  The band practiced through the day and Bonham continued drinking.  After a full day of rehearsals, the band retired to Jimmy Page's house.  After midnight, Bonham had passed out and was taken to his room and put to bed on his side.   The next day, the bands tour manager and bassist John Paul Jones had gone to retrieve Bonham from his room at 1:45 pm and found the drummer deceased.  The cause of death was later to be determined as asphyxiation from vomit.

The tour was cancelled, but there were rumors that the band may hire a replacement drummer to resume the tour.  However, the band released a statement in December of 1980 announcing their disbandment.  The band released an album in 1982 of unreleased material called "Coda".  The three surviving members have appeared in a few one-off performances together since the band was dissolved.  The first was in 1985 at the massive Live-Aid event.  This event used both Tony Thompson and Phil Collins for drums.  The set was plagued with problems however and did not go well.  All of the other reunions have resulted in John's son, Jason Bonham playing drums.  The last live appearance was in December 2007 at the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert.

The band was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and The UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006.  They also received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995.  The three surviving members were named in 2012 as recipients of The Kennedy Center Honors.

Led Zeppelin - No Quarter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGzk2O9QhB8

Essential Led Zeppelin songs:

• Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
• Dazed and Confused
• Good Times, Bad Times
• Whole Lotta Love
• Thank You
• Ramble On
• Immigrant Song
• Rock and Roll
• Stairway to Heaven
• Kashmir
• Dancing Days
• No Quarter
• Ten Years Gone
• In The Light
• Fool in the Rain
• All My Love
• In The Evening

Deep Purple - Formed in 1968, the band started out as a progressive rock act, however, in the early part of the 70's, the band shifted its sound to hard rock.  Together with Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, the three bands are considered the trinity of British heavy metal.  While the band has gone through several lineup changes throughout its career (which has included famous members such as David Coverdale (Whitesnake), Tommy Bolin, Glenn Hughes, Joe Lynn Turner and Joe Satriani), the most popular and successful lineup (referred to as Deep Purple - Mark II) was Ritchie Blackmore (guitar), Jon Lord (keyboards), Ian Paice (drums), Ian Gillan (lead vocals/harmonica) and Roger Glover (bass).  The bands most popular record, Machine Head, released in 1972 contained the hits "Highway Star", Space Truckin'" and the immediately recognizable "Smoke on the Water".  This song was ranked #4 on the Total Guitar Magazine's Greatest Guitar Riffs Ever.

While the band was popular with fans, critics of the band have not been quite as nice.  They were famously shunned from nomination for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  They were finally nominated in 2012 for induction, but were not included on the final ballot.

Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water (live)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mCK05dgwgU 

Aerosmith - Formed in 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts Aerosmith was started by guitarist Joe Perry and bassist Tom Hamilton, who had been in a band together prior to Aerosmith.  They hooked up with vocalist Steven Tyler, drummer Joey Kramer and guitarist Ray Tabano.  By 1971, Tabano was out and the band brought in Brad Whitford.  They developed a following in Boston and were signed to Columbia Records in 1972.   Their self-titled debut album was released the following year and contained the power ballad "Dream On".  The single would later reach the Billboard Top 10 when it was re-released in 1976.

Their follow-up album, "Get Your Wings" was released in 1974 and contained classics such as "Same Old Song and Dance", "Train Kept-A-Rollin'" and "Seasons of Wither".  That album reached triple platinum status by the early 2000's.  It wasn't until their third album "Toys in the Attic" that the band finally went mainstream.  Released in 1975, it is their highest selling album.  It contains several of the bands biggest hits, such as "Toys in the Attic", "Big Ten Inch Record", "Walk This Way" and "Sweet Emotion".  "Walk This Way" would help revive the bands career in the mid-80's when it was re-released as a Run DMC/Aerosmith collaboration.

The album "Rocks" followed in 1976 and continued on the bands success with songs like "Rats in the Cellar", "Last Child" and "Back in the Saddle".  While the band continued on its successful ride, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry became heavily involved in drugs, so much to the point that they were often referred to as the "Toxic Twins".  Due to the heavy partying, the band began to fizzle apart by the end of the 70's.  They did stay together, but several members left and were replaced with other members.  The band finally reunited in 1984 and had moderate success, but following the popularity of the Run D.M.C. collaboration of "Walk This Way" in 1986 (thanks in a huge part to MTV), the band released the album "Permanent Vacation" in 1987 and once again reached super-stardom.  Their popularity continued into the 90's when many hard rock bands fell victim to the grunge movement.

Aerosmith has won four Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards and multiple other awards.  In addition, they were inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.  While there has been problems in the band over the last few years again, they still continue to tour to this day, packing in large arenas across the globe.

Aerosmith - Sweet Emotion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82cJgPXU-ik

Essential Aerosmith songs (70's):

• Dream On
• Same Old Song and Dance
• Sweet Emotion
• Back in the Saddle
• Seasons of Wither
• Walk This Way
• Kings and Queens

 

KISS/Alice Cooper - While we've already touched on both KISS and Alice Cooper earlier in another blog entry (see #8 - "It's All About The Gimmick") - I just wanted to remind everyone that these were two of the biggest bands in the early hard rock/heavy metal movement and both bands are continuing to survive as of 2015!  Here are a few 70's era songs that must be heard from these bands:

KISS:

• Detroit Rock City
• Love Gun
• Calling Dr. Love
• Black Diamond
• Strutter
• Deuce
• Rock and Roll All Nite
• God of Thunder
• Shock Me

Alice Cooper:

• I'm Eighteen
• School's Out
• No More Mr. Nice Guy
• Welcome To My Nightmare
• The Ballad of Dwight Fry
• Only Women Bleed
• How You Gonna See Me Now

Rush - Rush is a Canadian power trio formed in 1968 by guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer John Rutsey.  Within weeks of being formed, the original bassist/vocalist (Jeff Jones) was replaced by Geddy Lee, who had attended school with Lifeson.  There were other members in and out of the band, but by 1971, the band decided to carry on as the trio of Lifeson, Lee and Rutsey.  This incarnation of the band recorded their self-titled debut album in 1974.  While the album did very little to gain attention (or airplay), it did manage to reach #105 on the Billboard Hot 200 and it also produced a single that is a live standard for the band with "Working Man".

Shortly after the release of the debut album, John Rutsey left the band due to health concerns and a general dislike of touring.  Rutsey's last appearance as a member of the band was on July 25th, 1974.  4 days later, drummer Neil Peart was hired as his replacement.  In addition to becoming the drummer, Peart decided to take on the role of band lyricist as Geddy Lee had decided he wasn't fond of the lyric writing process.  Immediately the bands style changed to match the writing style of Peart and the next album, Fly By Night (1975) started to show the band experimenting with odd-time signatures and longer songs.

The same year, they released their third album, Caress of Steel. The album only contained 5 songs.  4 songs on the A-side and the nearly 20 minute "The Fountain of Lamneth" as the B-side.  The album was considered to be a commercial failure.  In addition to the failure, the band was close to being dropped by their record company.  Record execs were pressuring the band to write more "radio friendly" songs that were contained on their first two albums.  Despite the intense pressure from the record execs, the band decided to "do or die" with their next album 2112.

Released in 1976, 2112 was the first album for the band that went platinum in Canada and sent the band into the mainstream.  The A-Side to the album contained the 20:32 title track which is broken down into seven sections. The album is considered to be The Definitive Rush album.  The subsequent tour produced the bands first live album, "All The World's A Stage" in 1976.  Rush closed out the 70's with two more albums, "A Farewell To Kings" (1977) and "Hemispheres" (1978).  The band continued to go in a more progressive direction and were soon to be considered pioneers in the prog-metal genre.  The last two albums of the decade had produced some hits for the band.  Hits like "Closer To The Heart" and "The Trees" remain staples for their live set.

The band considered adding additional members to deepen their sound, but instead of bringing in other members, the band remained a trio and began to play other instruments.  Neil Peart would experiment with several types of percussive instruments and Geddy Lee would take on keyboards and synthesizers (sometimes playing bass with his hands, while playing keyboards with his feet, all while singing).

The band continued to grow in the 80's with huge albums such as "Permanent Waves" (1980) and "Moving Pictures" (1981), which produced the bands most popular hit, "Tom Sawyer".  While the band continued to grow and gain a huge fan base, the critics were not so kind to the band.  The band is considered to be some of the best players in rock music (drummer Neil Peart is often times referred to as "The Professor" due to his expertise on the drums), but was overlooked into induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for many years.  They were finally inducted in 2013.  The band continues to successfully record and tour, although the 2015 tour (40th Anniversary Tour) is rumored to possibly be their final full tour.

Rush - Tom Sawyer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auLBLk4ibAk

Essential Rush tracks:

• Working Man
• Fly By Night
• 2112
• Closer To The Heart
• The Trees
• The Spirit of Radio
• Freewill
• Limelight
• Tom Sawyer
• Subdivisions
• Time Stand Still

AC/DC - AC/DC was formed in Australia in 1973 by brothers Malcolm (rhythm guitar) and Angus (lead guitar) Young.  Their older brother, George had achieved fame as a member of the band "The Easybeats" in the 1960's.  The band had gone through several lineup changes when they were first formed, but Angus and Malcolm remained the only two mainstays.  Angus began to experiment with different costume ideas, but finally settled on a school-boy outfit at the suggestion of his sister Margaret.  Angus continues to perform in a school-boy outfit to this day.

In 1974, after several lineup changes, the band found singer Bon Scott, who was a friend of their brother George.  Later that year, the band released their first album, "High Voltage", but it was only released in Australia.  While the band continued to go through lineup changes, brother George played bass on the album to fill the gap.  Shortly after the album's release, the band hired drummer Phil Rudd and bassist Mark Evans.  The band released the single "It's A Long Way To The Top" shortly after.  The song became the signature song for Bon Scott and featured him playing bagpipes in the hard rocking song.  The song was included on the second album, "TNT" (1975) (Australia only).  The album also featured songs like "TNT", the song "High Voltage" and "The Jack".

With popularity growing heavily in Australia, the band signed an international deal with Atlantic Records in 1976 and began to tour heavily.  They opened for other hard rock bands, including KISS, Black Sabbath and Aerosmith.  After signing to Atlantic, they released a new international version of "High Voltage" which featured songs from their first two Australia only releases.  Later in the same year, they released their next album "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" as both an Australian and an International version, but was not released in the US until 1981.

Their next album, "Let There Be Rock", was released in 1977 and was the last album to feature bassist Mark Evans.  He was fired by the band and bassist Cliff Williams was brought on board.  Cliff still remains with the band as of 2015.  Cliff made his recording debut with the band in 1978 with "Powerage".  Powerage took the band in a harder rock direction and move away from the more bluesy sound they started with.  The band was recorded live during the tour for Powerage and they released their first live album, "If You Want Blood, You've Got It" in 1978.

The bands first major breakthrough came the following year with the release of "Highway To Hell".  This was the bands first album to break the Top 100 US Billboard charts.  It eventually reached #17.  This was the last album to be produced by brother George and his producing partner Harry Vanda.  It was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange and developed a successful collaboration between himself and the band.  While that became the beginning of a successful new direction for the band, it also became the end of an era for the band as well.  Following the tour, the band began working on their follow-up album.  However, on February 20, 1980, Bon Scott had died as a result of passing out and suffocating on his own vomit.  He had been a passenger in the vehicle of a friend of his.  During the drive, he reportedly passed out in the passenger seat.  His friend attempted to wake him but after several attempts, left him to "sleep it off" in the car.  The next morning, he was found deceased in the car.

The band had considered to quit, but Bon Scott's parents insisted that Bon would want them to carry on without him.  After much consideration, they decided to carry on and eventually hired Brian Johnson to replace them.  Their follow-up album "Back In Black" is considered to not only be AC/DC's essential album, but one of the greatest hard rock albums of all time.

While the band has gone through a few lineup changes with the drummer over the years (Rudd was fired in 1983 following the release of "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)"), Malcolm and Angus Young, Brian Johnson and Cliff Williams have remained the same since 1980.  Phil Rudd rejoined the band in 1993 and remained with them from that point forward.  However, in 2014, two major announcements came from the band.  First it was reported that Malcolm's health had quickly deteriorated after the "Black Ice" tour.  Due to his worsening health, he was no longer able to record or tour with the band.  He was replaced by Angus and Malcolm's cousin Stevie Young.  Shortly after this announcement, Phil Rudd was arrested on complaints of drugs and attempting to hire a hitman for murder.  While the murder for hire charge was eventually lowered, there are other pending charges.  The band chose to bring in Chris Slade as a replacement.  Slade had played on the band's early 90's release "The Razor's Edge".

AC/DC is one of very few bands who achieved even more success in their second lead singer following a successful run with their original singer.  They were inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.  The band is also the fifth best-selling band in US History and their album "Back In Black" has been certified Double Diamond (20 million copies) and is the fifth best selling US album of all-time. 

AC/DC - It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Want To Rock and Roll)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDCs7ijNUVM


Essential AC/DC songs:
Bon Scott

• It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Want To Rock and Roll)
• TNT
• The Jack
• Let There Be Rock
• Whole Lotta Rosie
• Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
• Jailbreak
• Squealer
• Soul Stripper
• Highway To Hell

 Brian Johnson

• Back in Black
• You Shook Me All Night Long
• Hells Bells
• For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)
• Flick of the Switch
• Who Made Who
• Thunderstruck
• Moneytalks
• Stiff Upper Lip

Heart - I'd be sexist if I didn't recognize a pair of hard rocking women who formed the band Heart.  The band was born from a progression of different band lineups headed by Steve Fossen (bass guitar) and Roger Fisher (lead guitar).  The band went through several lineup changes, as well as name changes (The Army, White Heart, Hocus Pocus) before finally settling on Heart.  Ann Wilson joined the band in the early 70's as the vocalist.  Roger's brother Mike came to one of their shows and Ann fell in love with him.  She followed him to Canada and the rest of the band followed along.  Ann's sister Nancy joined the band in 1974 and soon became involved with Roger.

The band developed their sound while in Canada and soon became a popular band in The Great White North.  The band began recording their debut album "Dreamboat Annie" and hired drummer Mike DeRosier.  The album was released on an independent label in Canada in 1975.  It was later released in the United States on Valentine's Day of 1976.  The debut album contained three hit singles in "Crazy On You", "Dreamboat Annie" and "Magic Man".  "Magic Man" was written by Ann as a love song about Mike Fisher.  The debut album sold over one million copies and reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 200 album chart.

Their follow-up album "Little Queen" was released in 1977 (and re-released in 2004 with two bonus tracks) and reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 200 Albums.  Fueled by the track "Barracuda", the album was another success for the band and the hard rocking sisters.  "Barracuda" reached #11 on the US Singles chart and is considered the bands signature song.  While "Little Queen" is considered to be their second album, their former record label (Mushrooms Records) had released an unfinished album of theirs, titled "Magazine".  The album was later re-recorded released by their new record label Portrait Records in 1978.

Also in 1978, the band recorded and released the album "Dog and Butterfly".  The album was also successful and contained two hit singles with the title track and "Straight On".  By 1979, the Wilson/Fisher relationships ended.  The band voted Roger out of the band and brother Mike quit shortly after.  By the early 80's, the band's popularity took a quick dive, however, thanks to a new direction and new lineup, and with the help of MTV, the band found a new audience and more popularity with songs and videos like "What About Love", "These Dreams" and "Never".

The band has gone through several line-up changes (as well as a name change to "The Lovemongers" for a brief time in the 90's), but continue to tour and record.  In 2012, Led Zeppelin was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors and Heart performed an amazing version of "Stairway To Heaven" (with Jason Bonham on drums) as part of the ceremony.  Then in 2013, they were inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Heart - Barracuda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0OX_8YvFxA

Heart (featuring Jason Bonham) - Stairway To Heaven
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFxOaDeJmXk 

Essential Heart tracks:

• Barracuda
• Crazy On You
• Magic Man
• Dreamboat Annie
• Straight On
• Dog & Butterfly
• Even It Up
• How Can I Refuse?
• What About Love?
• Never
• These Dreams
• Nothin' At All
• Alone
• All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You

Van Halen  - The epitome of California Hard Rock, Van Halen was formed in Pasadena, CA in 1972 by brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen.  Early in their music career, Eddie started on drums and Alex played guitar, but the two eventually switched instruments and the rest as they say is history.  The brothers formed a band called Genesis (no, not THAT Genesis) with bassist Mark Stone and Eddie handling vocals.  The band rented a sound system from David Lee Roth and to save money, they decided to let him sing lead vocals (although he had unsuccessfully tried out for the band in the past).  By 1974, the band replaced Stone with bassist Michael Anthony and Anthony also took on back vocal duties with his unique sound.

The band found out that there was another band named Genesis and shortly used the name Mammoth.  After a short time, they settled on the name Van Halen.  They started out playing backyard parties and developed a following through heavy self-promotion.  This lead to their first big break to being invited to play at Gazzarri's (a famous hard rock club on the Sunset Strip).  During this time, Gene Simmons from KISS went to see the band play and following their show, offered to produce a demo of the band.  The band recorded the demo and Simmons had them sign a contract to attempt to get them signed to his band's record company.  When the record company said "Van Halen will never make it", he tore up the contract and released the band from any obligations to him.

By mid-1977, a pair of record execs from Warner Bros saw Van Halen perform at another famous LA club, The Starwood.  The two record execs, Mo Ostin and Ted Templeman signed the band to Warner within a week.  In September of that year, the band entered the studio to record their self-titled debut album.  The album reached #17 on Billboard's Album Charts and contained instant Van Halen classics, "Runnin' With The Devil", "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" and a cover version of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me".  The intro to "You Really Got Me" contained a guitar solo titled "Eruption".  With that solo alone, a true Guitar God was born.  Eddie's finger-pick guitar solo had never been heard before and has since been copied by thousands of guitarists worldwide.

The band closed out the 70's with a second release, titled Van Halen II.  The album picked up in the same musical direction as the debut album and featured the hits "Dance The Night Away" and "Beautiful Girls".  The album peaked even higher than the debut at #6 on the Billboard Charts.  Through heavy touring and quick recording turn around, the band developed a huge fan base that continued to build.  However, as the band grew more popular, tensions rose in the band which eventually led to Roth leaving the band in 1985.  He was replaced by former Montrose singer Sammy Hagar, which continued to grow popular.  This has sparked many debate about which version of Van Halen is better...The David Lee Roth years or The Sammy Hagar years (often referred to as Van Hagar).

Ironically, tensions soon rose with Hagar as well and by the end of the 90's, he was out of the band.  For a brief period, he was replaced by former Extreme frontman Gary Cherone and they released one album (Van Halen III) together.  The fans rejected this new version and the band attempted one more tour with Sammy Hagar. The tour was a success, but it did nothing to repair the strained relationship between Hagar and the Van Halen's.  To futher add to the drama, Michael Anthony was fired from the band shortly after, due to his continued musical relationship and friendship to Hagar.  Anthony was replaced by Eddie's son Wolfgang Van Halen.  The band did manage to bring Diamond David Lee Roth back into the mix and in 2012 they released "A Different Kind of Truth"  The band was also inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.

Van Halen - And The Cradle Will Rock
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKiNfs0TE7s

Essential Van Halen (David Lee Roth) tracks:

• Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
• Runnin' With The Devil
• Eruption/You Really Got Me
• Jamie's Crying
• Beautiful Girls
• Dance The Night Away
• And The Cradle Will Rock
• Everybody Wants Some
• Unchained
• Jump
• Hot For Teacher
• I'll Wait
• Panama

New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) - Motorhead, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden

Toward the end of the 70's, as punk was dying out, there arose a new heavy sound from "across the pond".  Referred to as The New Wave of British Heavy Metal, it defined a new heavier, faster sound that would later develop into thrash and other versions of metal.  While the popularity didn't actually start happening until the early 80's, it did get its beginning in the 70's and should be mentioned briefly as I close this entry out.


Bands such as Motorhead, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden would define this early sound.  I couldn't have this list without mentioning these pioneers in the list.  While I won't expand on these bands, I will list some of their essential tracks...check them out:

Motorhead:

• Ace of Spades
• Iron Fist
• Overkill
• Eat the Rich

Judas Priest:

• You've Got Another Thing Coming
• Living After Midnight
• Breaking The Law
• Heading Out To The Highway
• Victim of Changes
• Beyond the Realms of Death
• A Touch of Evil
• Turbo Lover
• The Green Manalishi

Iron Maiden:

• Run To The Hills
• The Number of the Beast
• The Trooper
• Wasted Years
• Aces High
• The Phantom of the Opera
• Hallowed Be Thy Name

 I hope your neck isn't too sore from headbanging to this list.  Only three left to go on the countdown

#5 - "Winding Your Way Down On Baker Street" - Soft Rock

Ah the sweet sounds of 70's soft rock.  While in my later years I definitely leaned way more to the hard rock side of things, there's still nothing like driving around on a warm day with the windows rolled down and listening to some of the soft rock classics of the 70's.  Reminds me of cruising the California coast on a beautiful sunny day.  The great thing about the 70's was there weren't a lot of "specialty stations" on the radio.  You might hear some soft rock from Fleetwood Mac or James Taylor and then it could be followed by Led Zeppelin.  As music has progressed, there are so many sub-genres that there has to be a specific radio station that you have to select to be able to have a chance to hear whatever genre you seek (just take a look at the list of Sirius/XM stations available and you'll see what I'm talking about).  There are way too many bands to touch on in this entry, so I will be touching on some of the biggest players in the genre.  At the end, I will list a few of my soft rock faves as well.  So now let's roll down the windows and cruise back to the wonderful world of 70's soft rock.

Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac was one of the biggest bands of the 70's rock/soft rock scene.  They were formed in 1967 by Peter Green (who had replaced Eric Clapton in John Mayall's  Bluesbreakers Band), Mick Fleetwood, Jeremy Spencer, and Bob Brunning.  The band had tried to recruit bassist John McVie, (even naming the band using a combination of his name along with Mick Fleetwood's) but he was reluctant to join.  Bob Brunning agreed to join the band knowing that if McVie had a change of heart, that he would be replaced by John.  Within a few weeks, McVie decided to join the band and Brunning was replaced.  The band was more of a blues band at this point and spent several years recording and touring and developing a following.  By 1970, Peter Green had become mentally ill (later developing full-on schizophrenia).  The band went through several line-up changes (including hiring John McVie's wife, Christine McVie in 1970 and Bob Welch who had a soft rock hit with "Sentimental Lady" later in the decade).

By 1974 and after multiple line-up changes, Mick Fleetwood began to look for replacements for the departing Bob Welch.  While at the famous Sound City Studios, an engineer played a track from the unreleased album "Buckingham Nicks" for Fleetwood and he immediately went out to recruit the two players, guitarist/vocalist Lindsey Buckingham and vocalist Stevie Nicks.  They agreed to join the band on New Year's Eve 1974.  In 1975, the new incarnation of Fleetwood Mac released their self-titled album (which was also the name of the first album from the first incarnation of the band).  The album was an immediate success for the band and reached #1 on the US Billboard Album Chart.  It had a string of hits, including: "Rhiannon", "Over My Head", "Say You Love Me" and "Landslide".

As successful as the "Fleetwood Mac" album was, nothing could compare to the mega-success of the follow-up album "Rumours".  Released in 1977, it was recorded amongst extreme turmoil within the band.  The McVie's were going through a divorce, Mick Fleetwood was going through a divorce and Buckingham and Nicks were going through a breakup as well.  They focused the turmoil to the songwriting process and the results were phenomenal.  The album was critically acclaimed and won the Grammy for Album of the Year for 1977.  The album produced multiple Top-10 hits "Go Your Own Way", "You Make Lovin' Fun", "Don't Stop" and the #1 "Dreams".  Other heavy radio played singles from the album included "Second Hand News", "Gold Dust Woman" and "The Chain".  The album has achieved "Diamond" status and is the #8 best selling album of all time.

The band stayed together through the mid-80's and eventually imploded.  They released several more successful albums and singles through their career.  They reunited in 1997 and recorded a successful live reunion album "The Dance".  The reunited band kicked off a successful world tour that year and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.  That same year, Christine McVie left the band to retire from touring.  The foursome of Fleetwood, John McVie, Buckingham and Nicks continued to tour.  In late 2014, Christine McVie came out of retirement and rejoined the band again for a World Tour set to begin in 2015.

Additional Fleetwood Mac songs you should check out:

Tusk
Sara
Hold Me
Gypsy
Big Love
Little Lies

Fleetwood Mac - The Chain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akZI1m4Hp74

Elton John - Although Sir Elton John began releasing singles in 1969, his debut album was released in 1970.  Elton joined up with Bernie Taupin in 1967 and the two began a songwriting partnership that still continues to this day.  Before recording his debut album, Elton was a session piano player for other musicians and included playing piano for The Hollies hit "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother".  His self-titled debut album produced the Top-10 hit "Your Song".  His next album "Madman Across The Water", produced songs that didn't chart high, but would later become mainstream songs for Elton, "Levon" (#24) and "Tiny Dancer" (#41).  His next album, "Honky Chateau" produced more radio friendly hits with "Rocket Man" and "Honky Cat".

His first #1 hit was achieved from the 4th studio album "Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only The Piano Player".  "Crocodile Rock" found itself at the #1 position for 4 weeks and was followed by the #2 hit "Daniel".  He consistently hit the Top 10 throughout the 70's with songs like "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting", "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me", and "Someone Saved My Life Tonight"  He also reached #1 again with "Bennie and the Jets", a cover of The Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds", "Philadelphia Freedom", "Island Girl",  and the duet "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" with Kiki Dee.

Elton continued success into the 80's and beyond.  He continues to write and record with Bernie Taupin and continues to tour.  He has won several awards, including several Oscar's, Grammy's and Tony Awards and was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.


Elton John & Kiki Dee - Don't Go Breaking My Heart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQmRgFzg0jI

 

Paul McCartney and Wings - Following the nasty breakup of the greatest band of all-time The Beatles, the members went their separate ways and all began successful solo careers.  While three of The Beatles (John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr) would collaborate and record on each other's records, Paul McCartney went on to form Wings and removed himself from The Beatles.  He formed the band with his wife Linda, session drummer Denny Seiwell and guitarist Denny Laine (formerly of the band Moody Blues).  There were other band members that came and went in the time-frame of Wings career, but Paul, Linda and Denny Laine were the mainstays throughout the entire band's career.  Before officially starting Wings, Paul had released two solo albums, "McCartney" and "Ram" (which he recorded with wife Linda - and that album produced the #1 single, "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey").  Paul insisted that Linda be in his bands, so they could tour together.

Wings debut album, "Wild Life" was released in 1971.  The album reached #10 in the US Billboard Album charts but failed to produce any hit singles.  Their second album, "Red Rose Speedway", released in 1973, produced their first #1 hit with "My Love".  Shortly after, they recorded "Live and Let Die" for the James Bond film of the same name.  The single, reached #2 on the US Billboard Singles Charts.  Later that same year, the band re-entered the studio and by the end of the year they released their most successful album "Band on the Run".  The album reached #1 on the Billboard Album Chart and was the #3 album of that year.  It also won two Grammy's and was nominated for Album of the Year.  The album produced three Top-10 hits with "Helen Wheels", "Jet" and the #1 hit "Band on the Run".

Through the remainder of the 70's, the band produced multiple Top-10 hits with "Junior's Farm", "Let 'Em In", "Maybe I'm Amazed" and "Goodnight Tonight".  They also had three more #1 hits with "Listen To What The Man Said", Silly Love Songs" and "With A Little Luck"  By 1981, the band had split up and Paul McCartney went on to develop a solo career.  His wife Linda passed away in 1998.

Paul McCartney and Wings - Band on the Run
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBX2dySWGew

 

America - America was formed in 1970 by Dewey Bunnell, Dan Peek and Gerry Buckley.  They are known for their acoustic sounds and three-part harmonies.  The band was formed shortly after the three graduated high school together and they quickly received a record deal with Warner Brothers.  Their 1971 debut album "America" went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 200 and produced two successful Top 10 singles, "I Need You" and the #1 "A Horse With No Name".  They quickly entered the studio and released a successful second album the following year.  "Homecoming" reached #9 on the Billboard Album list and produced the Top 10 hit "Ventura Highway".  Their third album, "Hat Trick" was considered a commercial flop.  The band had self-produced their second and third albums and after the stumble of "Hat Trick", they decided to enlist George Martin (of Beatles fame) to produce their 4th album.

Martin took the band in a new direction with the 4th album "Holiday".  The album reached #3 on the Billboard Chart and produced two more hits in "Tin Man" and "Lonely People".  Their fifth album, once again produced by Martin, produced the bands first #1 single with "Sister Golden Hair".  By the end of the 70's, the bands popularity began to drift, but they once again found success in the early 80's with the single "You Can Do Magic" which found them back in the Top-10 one more time (the single reached #8).

America - Sister Golden Hair
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzUQZw3wfro

Barry Manilow - Barry Manilow got his start writing television commercial jingles for several big-named companies and in the early 70's began to perform accompaniment piano for auditions and performances.  He was noticed by Bette Midler and she recruited him to assist with the production of her first two albums.  He worked with her until 1975.  His self-titled debut solo album was released in 1973 and produced an early version of his later hit "Could It Be Magic". His second album "Barry Manilow II" reached #9 on the Billboard Album hits and produced the #1 single "Mandy".  In 1975, Arista Records re-issued his debut album with a re-recorded version of "Could It Be Magic" and the re-issued single reached #6.  By 1978, all five of his albums were all on the Billboard Top Albums chart simultaneously.  He continued a string of hits in the 70's, including "Weekend In New England", "Can't Smile Without You", "Copacabana" and the two number one hits, "I Write The Songs" and "Looks Like We Made It".  In addition, he wrote and recorded the 70's version of the Theme song of American Bandstand.

Manilow has received multiple awards throughout his career, including a couple of Emmy's, a Tony and a Grammy.

Barry Manilow - Mandy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9SSyMN75wY

Seals and Crofts/England Dan and John Ford Coley

I grouped these two bands together on this list because their styles were similar and also because Jim Seals of Seals and Crofts and England Dan (Seals) are brothers. 

Seals and Crofts was formed in Texas where the two were born and raised.  They joined a band with Glen Campbell for a short time in the late 60's before disbanding and forming their own band.  Their debut self-titled album was released in 1969 and failed to chart.  Their second album only reached #122 in 1970 and their third album failed to chart as well.  Their success finally hit in 1972 with the album "Summer Breeze".  It reached #7 on the Billboard Charts and the single "Summer Breeze" reached #6 US Top 200 singles list.  Their next album, "Diamond Girl" reached #4 on the Billboard Album chart and was their highest charting album.  The single "Diamond Girl" from the same album also reached #6 on the Billboard US Singles Chart.  Their third #6 single "Get Closer" was released in 1976 and was their last Top 10 hit.

They broke up in 1980 and reunited in 1991 for a short time.  In 2004 they reunited once again and recorded a new album.

Seals and Crofts - "Summer Breeze"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsW8rXPcnM0

England Dan and John Ford Coley were also both from Texas and were friends and classmates in Dallas, TX.  Dan Seals received the nickname "England Dan" because he was such a fan of The Beatles.   The duo signed to A&M Records in 1971 but was dropped after their first three albums failed to chart.  They re-signed with Big Tree Records and released their first album on the new label in 1976.  "Nights Are Forever" produced two Top 10 singles, "Nights Are Forever" and the #2 hit "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight".  The band produced two more Top 10 singles between 1978 and 1979 with "We'll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again" and "Love Is The Answer".  The duo split up in the early 80's.  Dan Seals went onto become a successful country artist in the early 80's and John Ford Coley went on to do television and film appearances.   Dan Seals passed away in 2009 following treatment for mantle cell lymphoma

England Dan and John Ford Coley - "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxdsk-cFX-k

Bread - Bread is another band that was actually formed in the late 60's but didn't receive commercial success until the 70's.  They had 13 songs hit the Billboard Hot 100 Chart between 1970 and 1977.  The hit making band was made up of David Gates (vocals/keyboards/strings), Jimmy Griffin (guitars, vocals, keyboards), Mike Botts (drums) and Larry Knechtel (bass/keyboards/harmonica) (Knechtel replaced original bass player Robb Royer in 1971).  They released 6 studio albums between 1969 and 1977, with 1972's "Baby I'm-A Want You" being the highest charting at #3.  Although they had 13 songs that hit the Hot 100 Charts, their only #1 came with "Make It With You" from the 1970 album "On The Waters".  They also had 5 other Top-10 hits with "It Don't Matter To Me", "If", "Baby I'm-A Want You", "Everything I Own" and "Lost Without Your Love".

The band split up at the end of the year of 1977.  David Gates went onto a short but successful solo career and had a hit with the single "Goodbye Girl" from the film of the same name.  The band reunited in 1996 for a 25th Anniversary Tour that extended into 1997 and that would be the last year the band toured together.

Bread - "Make It With You"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4R93xnKink

As I said in the start of this entry, there are way too many bands to list in this category.  Here are some other bands/songs that you should add to your easy listening list:

Gerry Rafferty
"Baker Street"
"Right Down The Line"

Gary Wright
"Dream Weaver"
"Love Is Alive"

Eagles (See #7 Blog Entry)

Rod Stewart
"Maggie May"
"You're In My Heart (The Final Acclaim)"
"Tonight's The Night"
"Hot Legs"
"Da Ya Think I'm Sexy"

Bee Gees (See #9 Blog entry)

The Carpenters
"(They Long To Be) Close To You"
"Superstar"
"Rainy Days and Mondays"
"We've Only Just Begun"

Exile
"Kiss You All Over"

Linda Ronstadt
"Hurt So Bad"
"Ooh Baby Baby"
"When Will I Be Loved"
"You're No Good"

Neil Diamond
"I Am...I Said"
"Song Sung Blue"
"You Don't Bring Me Flowers"
"Forever In Blue Jeans"

Barbra Streisand
"The Way We Were"
"Evergreen (The Theme From 'A Star Is Born')"
"The Main Event/Fight"
"Woman In Love"
"Guilty" (with Barry Gibb)
"What Kind of Fool" (with Barry Gibb)

#6 - "Hey You Punks, Get Off of My Lawn!!!" - The birth of Punk and New Wave

Punk Rock was a rebellious call to all the soft rock and disco of the late 70's.  It gave the outsiders a soundtrack and became a huge scene, especially in the New York music scene.  It also gave birth to the early stages of New Wave that would become the next big thing and the turn of the 80's and would dominate the early years of The MTV Generation.  While I was never much of a punk fan myself, I was definitely a fan of the later incarnations of New Wave that followed. 

Punk was considered to be a "garage band" type of music and garnered popularity in the New York club CBGB's in Lower Manhattan.  Many of the bands of the Punk and New Wave scene developed their followings at CBGB.  Bands such as The Talking Heads, The Ramones, Patti Smith Group, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and Blondie who all gained popularity in the club would go on to national stardom. 

So Hey Ho, Let's Go take a look at the bands that defined these genres in the 70's....

The Ramones - The Ramones were formed in the early 70's and are considered the band that started and defined Punk Rock. Although no one in the band was related, they all adopted the last name "Ramone" as part of their "brand".  Although none of their albums or singles were chart successes, they developed a huge cult following and influenced many musicians and bands, including Green Day.  There was even a movie released in 1979 that starred The Ramones called Rock 'n' Roll High School.

By 2014, all four original members, Joey Ramone (lead singer), Johnny Ramone (guitars), Dee Dee Ramone (bass) and Tommy Ramone (drums) had all passed away.  The band was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002 (along with replacement drummer, Marky Ramone).

Want to be sedated by The Ramones?  Check out some of these tunes:

Blitzkrieg Bop
Sheena Is A Punk Rocker
Rockaway Beach
Rock 'n' Roll High School
Do You Remember Rock n' Roll Radio
I Wanna Be Sedated

The Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eajk2uDWaP0

The Sex Pistols - The Sex Pistols were an English punk band that only lasted two and a half years.  However, in that short time, they were also leading the charge in the punk movement.  The band was known just as much for their punk attitudes as they were their music.  While there were several members in the band throughout their short career, the defining lineup was: Johnny Rotten (vocals), Steve Jones (guitar), Sid Vicious (bass), Paul Cook (drums).  It didn't take long for the band to implode, after a brief tour of the US in 1978, the band split up with Johnny "Rotten" Lydon being the first to leave.

Later that same year, Sid Vicious was arrested on suspicion of murder against his girlfriend Nancy Spungen, who was found dead of stab wounds in their New York hotel room.  Sid Vicious claims he had no recollection of the event.  While on bail in early 1979, he overdoses on heroin and dies at age 21.

Need a shot of The Sex Pistols?  Check out these punk classics:

Anarchy in the UK
God Save The Queen
Pretty Vacant
Holidays in the Sun

The Sex Pistols - Anarchy in the UK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TZ_9-rbslo

The Clash- Although The Clash did not find popularity in the US until the early 80's, the band's signature album "London Calling" was actually recorded and released in the UK in 1979.  It was released in the US in January of 1980.  The band consisted of Joe Strummer (lead vocals/rhythm guitar), Mick Jones (lead guitar), Paul Simonon (bass guitar) and Nicky "Topper" Headon (drums).  Rolling Stone magazine declared "London Calling" the greatest album of the 1980's and ranked the band #28 of the greatest bands of all time.

They were inducted into The Rock Hall in 2003 (which also included original drummer Terry Chimes).  They became widely known as "The Only Band That Matters".  Perhaps the most popular track from London Calling in the US was "Train in Vain" and it managed to reach #30 on the Billboard Hits Charts.  Their highest charting single was 1982's "Rock the Casbah" from the album "Combat Rock".  It charted at #6 on the Billboard list and became an MTV staple.  Another popular single from that album was "Should I Stay or Should I Go" which charted at #13

The Clash - Train In Vain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3Yl4ehzX-o

Blondie - Blondie is a band started by lead singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Christ Stein.  They started out with more of a punk flavor, but eventually developed into more of the "New Wave" sound.  They were one of the first bands to adopt the "New Wave" and had several hits with the sound.  The band name was derived from truck drivers who would yell out "Hey Blondie" when they would see Debbie Harry.  The 1978 album "Parallel Lines" was their breakthrough hit in the US.  It produced three hit singles, "Dreaming", "One Way or Another" and their first #1 hit, "Heart of Glass".  They went on into the early 80's with three more #1 singles, "Call Me", "The Tide Is High" and "Rapture".  "Rapture" is known as the first U.S. #1 single ever to feature a new style called "Rap". 

Blondie has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.

Blondie - Heart of Glass
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGU_4-5RaxU

 

The Police - Another band that helped define the "New Wave" movement was the English trio The Police.  Formed in London in 1977, the band consisted of lead singer/bassist Sting, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland.  Their new wave sound was a combination of punk, reggae and jazz.  While the height of their success was achieved in the early 80's with the first slew of MTV bands, they had already established themselves in the US in the late 70's.  Their first US charting single "Roxanne" reached #32.  While they had multiple #1 singles in the UK, their first US #1 single "Every Breath You Take" wasn't released until 1983.

The band has earned six Grammy's and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.

Don't be arrested listening to these 70's classics from The Police:

Can't Stand Losing You
Message In A Bottle
Walking on the Moon

The Police - Roxanne
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T1c7GkzRQQ

The Cars - The Cars also found huge success with the early 80's MTV Generation...and solidified their pop culture status with the song "Moving In Stereo" during a memorable scene in the 80's cult-classic movie "Fast Times at Ridgemont High".  But before they hit it huge in the 80's, they had a string of hits in the late 70's.  Formed in Boston, they signed their first record deal in 1977.  Their second album, "Candy-O" was released in 1979 and reached #3 on the US Album Charts. 

These are some 70's hits that you should rock out to while cruising around with the windows down:

Just What I Needed
My Best Friend's Girl
Good Times Roll
Let's Go
It's All I Can Do

The Cars - Just What I Needed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hwE0slNd3Y

Other notable punk/new wave bands that got their start in the 70's:

The Talking Heads
The Knack
Pat Benatar
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Elvis Costello