Tony the Tour Guy's Mostly 1970s NYC History Blog

Welcome to Tony the Tour Guy's blog! Here we feature Tony's rants about various topics in New York City history, with particular emphasis upon that typically unappreciated decade, the Seventies. For our purposes, the era began roughly at the time when Jimi Hendrix died (9/18/70) and ended with the presidency of Ronald Reagan and the freedom of the Iran hostages (1/20/81). We cover everything from Pet Rocks to the Moonies to Checker Taxicabs here, and welcome your participation.

Sunday, July 17, 2005

The 1970s' Unofficial Anthem

What song best captures the feel of the Seventies? Here are a few nominations. Note: the tune need not have been written or first performed during the decade.


"Won't Get Fooled Again." Not only were the lyrics prophetic, but it was one of the first really popular and successful uses of a synthesizer on a rock record.


"The Angry Young Man." Here Billy Joel responds to the idealism of the prior decade:

I believe I've passed the age of consciousness and righteous rage
I found that just surviving was a noble fight.
I once believed in causes too.
I had my pointless point of view.
But Life went on no matter who was wrong or right.



"Love to Love You, Baby." (Hey, I didn't say that the tune had to be good!) Here was the Seventies approach to sexuality. No talk about "sharing our bodies" or even "making love."


"Stayin' Alive." That was the goal for many people during the decade. The squeaky little voices also talked about "goin' nowhere."


"Freebird." Lynyrd Skynyrd produced the ultimate Arena Rock tune, which went on forever, featured extended guitar solos and sang of freedom from responsibility and commitment.

Any suggestions?

1 Comments:

Blogger Zee said...

"Lucky Man" - Emerson Lake & Palmer
"Yesterday" - Beatles
"Atom Heart Mother" (the album) Pink Flyod
"Heart of Gold" - Neil Young

...ahh, too many to list.

11:25 PM  

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