The 1970s are beloved by music nerds. Artists in various genres cranked out a 40-minute album every year. The late 1960s staked out the territory for many genres; the 1970s was when they were explored more fully.
Artists like Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder broke free from the Motown singles machine and made album-length statements. Solo geniuses like Joni Mitchell and David Bowie followed their own idiosyncratic paths through the decade. Monstrous rock bands like Led Zeppelin and Yes roamed the earth.
As a result, the 1970s are full of great records. I’ve covered a lot of 1970s acts, but there are plenty of omissions – Marvin Gaye, Black Sabbath, and Earth, Wind and Fire are among notable acts on my to-do list.
Note that there’s a separate punk and new wave section for acts like The Clash and Talking Heads.
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As a young aphorism, ABBA were one of the first pop bands I was aware of. My first impressions weren’t…
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Ashley Hutchings left Fairport Convention in 1969. He founded Steeleye Span, but also started The Albion Country Band with his…
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Syd Barrett was the creative force behind the original Pink Floyd lineup. His behaviour became too erratic, often attributed to…
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Formed around former Box Tops lead singer Alex Chilton and Chris Bell, Big Star existed for a brief period of…
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Karla Bonoff was born in Santa Monica, California. She played at The Troubadour, alongside future stars like Jackson Browne and…
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Born David Jones, and changing his name to avoid confusion with Davy Jones of The Monkees, Bowie pottered around as…
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Jackson Browne was born in Germany, the son of a serviceman. He wrote ‘These Days’ for the Nitty Gritty Dirt…
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English folk-singer Vashti Bunyan has enjoyed a unique career trajectory, starting when she recorded a Jagger-Richards composition in the mid-1960s.…
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While his former Velvet Underground bandmate Lou Reed enjoyed a larger public profile, John Cale has always been like an…
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The experimental band Can were formed in Cologne in 1968. Keyboardist Irmin Schmidt and bassist Holger Czukay came from avant-garde…
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David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash all started their careers in other notable 1960s bands. Crosby left The Byrds…
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After recording 1969’s landmark folk-rock album Liege & Lief, Fairport Convention splintered. While the band continued with Richard Thompson, bassist…
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A gentle-sounding English folk-artist, Nick Drake hardly made a ripple during his short lifetime. He was too shy to play…
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The Eagles achieved stratospheric success in the 1970s, effectively bridging the country rock and soft rock styles that were popular…
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Brian Eno started his musical career as a member of Roxy Music, where he used his synthesiser to treat Phil…
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Fleetwood Mac formed as a blues band in 1967, when Peter Green recruited Mick Fleetwood and John McVie as his…
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In the mid-1980s, Genesis and its spin-off projects – Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, and Mike and the Mechanics – were…
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Emmylou Harris started as a folkie – born in Alabama, she dropped out of college to perform folk songs in…
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As he helpfully informs us in his song ‘Leningrad’, Billy Joel was born in ‘49, a Cold War kid from…
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Sir Elton Hercules John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight, in London. He learned the piano as a child and started…
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Born in Kent, Nic Jones grew up listening to Ray Charles, The Shadows, and Chet Atkins. School friends encouraged him…
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Born Carol Klein, Carole King was the most successful female songwriter of the second half of the 20th century in…
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Originating from an unsuccessful 1968 album, The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp, guitarist Robert Fripp and drummer Michael…
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Düsseldorf’s Kraftwerk helped to popularise electronic music in the 1970s. While the use of electronic instruments was pioneered by composer…
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Led Zeppelin was hastily formed by Yardbirds’ guitarist Jimmy Page to tour to fulfil contractual obligations. Page grabbed another session…
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John Martyn was born Iain David McGeachy, the son of two opera singers – a surprising lineage given his characteristic…
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Curtis Mayfield was born in Chicago, where he sang in a gospel choir. As a teenager, he joined the vocal…
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Joni Mitchell isn’t always given the respect she deserves. In her prime she was often discussed for her famous boyfriends rather…
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Van Morrison began his career as the vocalist for the Belfast garage-rock band Them, scoring hits with ‘Gloria’ and ‘Here…
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L.A.’s Randy Newman was born into the music business. His grandparents, uncles, and cousins all worked as film score composers.…
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Gram Parsons, or as 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die describes him, “Keith Richards’ citrus-heir drug-buddy”, is remembered…
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Rock and roll’s perpetual underdog, Thomas Earl Petty was born in Gainsville, Florida, in 1950. His interest in rock and…
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Pink Floyd are one of classic rock’s most renowned bands. Several generations have appreciated the studio wizardry of 1973’s The…
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Bassist and vocalist Tim Staffell quit trio Smile, but not before introducing his flatmate Freddie Bulsara to the band. Bulsara joined…
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Roxy Music were formed in 1971 by vocalist and keyboardist Bryan Ferry who, along with several of his band-mates, came…
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Philadelphia-born Todd Rundgren is outrageously talented. He’s a skilled musician on multiple instruments, a strong vocalist with a hint of…
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1970s singer-songwriter Judee Sill was the first artist signed to David Geffen’s Asylum record label. But she had a troubled…
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It wasn’t surprising that Paul Simon launched a successful solo career after leaving Simon and Garfunkel, given that he wrote all of…
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Ron and Russell Mael grew up in Pacific Palisades, where their father was a graphic designer and caricaturist for Hollywood…
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Based on his radio hits I once classed Bruce Springsteen as a lame rocker, responsible for lowest common denominator anthems such…
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Steely Dan were the quiet achievers of the 1970s, recording an excellent series of meticulously written and arranged albums with…
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His birth certificate says Steven Demetre Georgiou and he later went by the name of Yusuf Islam, but he’s best…
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With his warm voice, pretty guitar-picking, and introspective songwriting, James Vernon Taylor was the figurehead of the singer-songwriter movement in the…
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Richard Thompson left Fairport Convention after 1970’s Full House, his reputation secured as an excellent songwriter and guitarist. He released…
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Born into a high-profile Texas oil family, Townes Van Zandt was groomed as Texas governor, but inspired by songwriters like…
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In New Zealand we have a sporting cliche, “a game of two halves”. This certainly applies to Tom Waits’ musical…
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Jimmy Webb wasn’t the only prominent person to enjoy success as a songwriter in the 1960s before launching a career…
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It’s difficult to discuss this enduring 1970s acoustic soul singer without referencing one of my favourite jokes, so let’s get it…
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Stevie Wonder is one of the most outrageously talented figures to emerge from the popular music era. His first song…
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The grandson of a Titanic survivor, Haruomi Hosono was the bassist for the Japanese band Happy End. During a jam…
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With their dazzling instrumental chops, lengthy songs, and lush harmonies, Yes perhaps defined 1970s progressive rock better than any other…
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Neil Young was born in Canada in 1945, where his father was a notable sports broadcaster. Before fame, Young played…
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Warren Zevon was born in Chicago, the son of a Ukrainian-born bookie who worked for mobster Mickey Cohen. Zevon briefly…
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This page collects odds and ends from the 1970s: AC/DC Let There Be Rock – AC/DC 1977, 7.5/10Usually, I’m stringent…
Read about the discographies of musical acts from the 1960s to the present day. Browse this site's review archives or enjoy these random selections:
I add new blog posts to this website every week. Browse the archives or enjoy these random selections:
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