Have a Nice Decade

The seventies have become a much-maligned decade in popular music. But that’s the music that I grew up with and it holds a special place for me. Beyond that, however, I think that the music of the seventies is not only incredibly diverse, but fantastic musically in a way that today’s popular music is utterly devoid by comparison. Since I have so many of these songs on my iPod and listen to them all the time I decided I wanted to write about the 45s and LPs that have been so memorable for me over the last thirty years.

One of the things that was so terrific about Top 40 radio back in those days was how many different styles of music made the airwaves. You could hear everything from hard rock and soul, to country and funk, to acoustic and novelty hits. It was a satisfying listening experience, made even more so by the fact that DJs in the seventies picked their own music to play. Sure, they had to play the hits--which were fantastic--but they could also play album cuts and B-sides and, on the radio station I listened to as a kid, they had an album hour every Sunday night where they would play a brand new album in its entirety.

The popular music from the seventies is still incredibly meaningful to me and so I wanted to share some of the history of the music as well as my own personal associations with the songs. I would love to hear your memories as well. It was a fantastic time to grow up and the music made it even better.