5 Hours of Music from 1971

gjmalcyon

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This Saturday (07/20) Philly's WXPN features 5 hours of music from 1971 in their ongoing 50/50 (50 Years of Music in 50 Weeks) programming. Available over the air and via online streaming.

That year the Monkees broke up and Big Star formed. Allman Brothers released Live at the Fillmore East (recorded earlier that year - if you like that give a listen to Live at A&R Studios, also recorded in '71 and not released until 2016). The Concert for Bangladesh happened August 1st, and Who's Next was released two weeks later.
 

adorshki

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Love your heads-ups about these, thanks!
Might start one of those "hits to watch for posts" later, but actually have to work today.
:glee:
 

Westerly Wood

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Always had some interest, though I never listened much to their stuff, in the Big Star story, such a failure at the time but I gather they were so influential to 80s bands, REM in particular, others I am sure.
 

adorshki

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Always had some interest, though I never listened much to their stuff, in the Big Star story, such a failure at the time but I gather they were so influential to 80s bands, REM in particular, others I am sure.

Oh what the hell.
The ones I loved:
"Lover Her Madly" and "Riders on the Storm"- do I have to tell ya?
"Black Magic Woman"-again, do I have to tell ya?
"I Just Want to Celebrate"-Rare Earth
"Immigrant Song"- Zeppelin
"Love the One You're With" and "Marianne"-Steven Stills
"Lucky Man"-ELP's debut
"Layla"-Eric and the Dominoes***
"Eighteen"-Alice Cooper
"Power to the People"-John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
“Treat Her Like a Lady”– Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose
“It Don’t Come Easy”-Ringo Starr
“The Story In Your Eyes”-Moody Blues
“Signs”-5 Man Electrical Band
“Bangla Desh”_George Harrison
“Don’t Try to Lay no Boogie Woogie on the King of Rock’n’Roll”-Long John Baldry
“Liar”- 3 Dog Night (dug the bass riff and refrain after “Joy to the World” was played to death which has left it on my “gag” list to this day. Also, a cover of an Argent tune from their first album)
“Too Many People”-Paul McCartney
“Military Madness”-Graham Nash
“I’d Love To Change the World”- Ten Years After
“I’m a Man”-Chicago
“Brand New Key”-Melanie
“Sunshine”-Jonathon Edwards (member TXBumper owns Edwards’ Guild F612 which was very likely the one used on this song, if it isn’t confirmed already, can’t recall)
“Pretty As You Feel”-Jefferson Airplane
“Truckin’”-the Grateful Dead

Songs that gagged me then but which I later grew to respect and even like now:
"Smiling Faces"-Undisputed Truth
"Theme From Shaft"-Isaac Hayes (played to death and everybody acted like it was the first time a wah-wah was ever used on a record)
"Mr. Bojangles"-Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
“Beginnings”-Chicago
“Ain’t No Sunshine”- Bill Withers
“Whatcha See is Whatcha Get”-the Dramatics
“Respect Yourself”-the Staple Singers
“One Tin Soldier”-Coven
“Levon”- Elton John
"It's Too Late/I Feel the Earth Move"-Carole King


***Which perhaps surprisingly given its now-iconic status, flopped on the pop charts and only got traction when re-released a couple of years later.
I blame it on the syrupy singer-songwriter tenor of the times, three was very little of the hard rock sound I loved on top 40 AM.
One had to listen through hours of Bread and the Carpenters and assorted other white-bread-and- Koolaid confections to get a dose of the good stuff, and even John Lennon had betrayed my trust with "Imagine", after George with "My Sweet Lord".
It was like they’d gone to Donnie Osmond’s house and been brainwashed by the Hillside Singers teaching the world to sing after OD'ing on Coke.
Those were predominantly dark days for me although I did get access to an FM radio on Friday afternoons where I could hear stuff like “Power Failure” (and “Simple Sister”) by Procul Harum featuring Robin Trower foreshadowing his Hendrix-inspired chops on Broken Barricades (somewhat surprisingly Hendrix’s Rainbow Bridge had seen “Freedom” and “Dolly Dagger” released in ’71 but I never heard any of it, at least not during the hours I could listen to the FM radio)
And Aqualung
And Meddle
And "Stay With Me" which I infinitely preferred to "Maggie" which I initially sorta liked but which finally gagged me to death after about the 98th hearing (like "American Pie") and still does to this day.
And live simulcasting of the Last Days of the Fillmore: ”Passion Flower”-Stoneground

There y'go.
Call 'm "appetizers"
 
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gjmalcyon

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Always had some interest, though I never listened much to their stuff, in the Big Star story, such a failure at the time but I gather they were so influential to 80s bands, REM in particular, others I am sure.

Big Star gets name-checked a lot. Their first two albums (#1 Record and Radio City) were remastered and re-released as a single CD/double-LP - that's a great way to get to know them. They were originally signed to Stax Records who didn't have a clue about what to do with them. Columbia bought Stax, and still didn't know what to do with them.
 

adorshki

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I was 5 in '71.

So did you listen primarily to AM or FM?
(My mama says I'd always sing along with "Day-o (the Banana Boat Song)" on the car radio when I was 5. That woulda been AM back then. :biggrin-new:)
And did you ever hear the Batman theme on Sesame Street?:
"A segment on Sesame Street in 1969 featured kindergarten children drawing sketches, that started with the letter B, had a bat drawn, in which one of the kindergarten boys was singing the "Batman Theme" as well as saying the man with a bat cape was called "Batman"."
:glee:
 
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gjmalcyon

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I was 5 in '71.

oq4G8crl.png
 

Quantum Strummer

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Always had some interest, though I never listened much to their stuff, in the Big Star story, such a failure at the time but I gather they were so influential to 80s bands, REM in particular, others I am sure.

Count me as a big Big Star fan, particularly of their second album (Radio City) with its classic William Eggleston cover photo. The music is pretty solid too. :) Alex Chilton is a really good singer (who sounds nothing like he did when he was in the Box Tops) with great Strat rhythm chops. Check out the first track, O My Soul, for an example of his guitar-ing. While I think they would've been a lot more successful with a more clued-in record company, their songs are just off-kilter enough to have made huge success unlikely. Daisy Glaze, for example, is a killer tune IMO…but also too sleazy for even '70s commercial rock radio.

-Dave-
 
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Bikerdoc

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I don't remember where I was or much of what I was doing in the very early 70's but I actually never heard of Big Star. I find that incredible. I visited youtube to check them out but dang it, I wasn't completely stoned for two years in a row.
 

JF-30

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When I was old enough to choose I listened to KOME 98.5 and KSJO 92.3. Then I discovered KFOG 104.5.
 

adorshki

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I don't remember where I was or much of what I was doing in the very early 70's but I actually never heard of Big Star. I find that incredible. I visited youtube to check them out but dang it, I wasn't completely stoned for two years in a row.

To tell you the truth I never did either (that I remember), I'll check 'em out shortly.
I realize when I look at those weekly charts that obviously the "regional hit" phenomenon was very real.
A band could make the top 40 without getting heavy nationwide coverage.
And it's understandable that regions might gravitate to their local bands who might be touring locally, and that regions like Philadelphia might prefer soul over acid rock.
I noticed a curious phenomenon of 3 or 4 surf bands founded in the Midwest as well, I chalk it up to buying into the marketing of the Beach Boys.
California sun and bikinis probably look pretty good in those January blizzards, LOL!
The Beach Boys actually didn't do much for me as a kid, though.
Reminded me too much of '50's doo-wop which also didn't do anything for me.

When I was old enough to choose I listened to KOME 98.5 and KSJO 92.3. Then I discovered KFOG 104.5.
Yep, the "AOR" thing was coming on strong in the early '70's and KOME And KSJO were dominant down here.
KSAN was the SF station, KFOG was actually s 490's/50's big band station when I was a kid, they were still playing Mel Torme, forget when they switched.
By '72 I had a buddy who had FM in his car so heard a lot more "underground" stuff while cruising.
But FM in cars was an expensive option until about the late '70's or even early '80's.
We also used to hit Tower Records about twice a month.
There was also a store in downtown San Jose where you could get bootlegs, was it Underground Records? They goy raided a couple of times, might have been out of business before you ever had a chance to find 'em.
And then came MTV.
 
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Brucebubs

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1971 was a great year for Yes fans.

- 'The Yes Album' released in February.
- 'Fragile' released in November.
 

JF-30

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1971 was a great year for Yes fans.

- 'The Yes Album' released in February.
- 'Fragile' released in November.

Back then they got down to it. Now it takes years for people to release albums.
 

walrus

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One of my favorite albums from 1971 - Badfinger - "Straight Up".

Included the hits "Day After Day" and "Baby Blue", but the whole album is great. Badfinger of course has a "history" with George Harrison who plays on this album as well as produces a few songs. And Badfinger played acoustic guitars for The Concert For Bangla Desh.

Here's "Day After Day":



walrus
 
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walrus

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And here's Pete Ham of Badfinger playing "Here Comes the Sun" with George at the Concert for Bangla Desh:



walrus
 

walrus

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Oh what the hell.
The ones I loved:
"Lover Her Madly" and "Riders on the Storm"- do I have to tell ya?
"Black Magic Woman"-again, do I have to tell ya?
"I Just Want to Celebrate"-Rare Earth
"Immigrant Song"- Zeppelin
"Love the One You're With" and "Marianne"-Steven Stills
"Lucky Man"-ELP's debut
"Layla"-Eric and the Dominoes***
"Eighteen"-Alice Cooper
"Power to the People"-John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
“Treat Her Like a Lady”– Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose
“It Don’t Come Easy”-Ringo Starr
“The Story In Your Eyes”-Moody Blues
“Signs”-5 Man Electrical Band
“Bangla Desh”_George Harrison
“Don’t Try to Lay no Boogie Woogie on the King of Rock’n’Roll”-Long John Baldry
“Liar”- 3 Dog Night (dug the bass riff and refrain after “Joy to the World” was played to death which has left it on my “gag” list to this day. Also, a cover of an Argent tune from their first album)
“Too Many People”-Paul McCartney
“Military Madness”-Graham Nash
“I’d Love To Change the World”- Ten Years After
“I’m a Man”-Chicago
“Brand New Key”-Melanie
“Sunshine”-Jonathon Edwards (member TXBumper owns Edwards’ Guild F612 which was very likely the one used on this song, if it isn’t confirmed already, can’t recall)
“Pretty As You Feel”-Jefferson Airplane
“Truckin’”-the Grateful Dead

Songs that gagged me then but which I later grew to respect and even like now:
"Smiling Faces"-Undisputed Truth
"Theme From Shaft"-Isaac Hayes (played to death and everybody acted like it was the first time a wah-wah was ever used on a record)
"Mr. Bojangles"-Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
“Beginnings”-Chicago
“Ain’t No Sunshine”- Bill Withers
“Whatcha See is Whatcha Get”-the Dramatics
“Respect Yourself”-the Staple Singers
“One Tin Soldier”-Coven
“Levon”- Elton John
"It's Too Late/I Feel the Earth Move"-Carole King


***Which perhaps surprisingly given its now-iconic status, flopped on the pop charts and only got traction when re-released a couple of years later.
I blame it on the syrupy singer-songwriter tenor of the times, three was very little of the hard rock sound I loved on top 40 AM.
One had to listen through hours of Bread and the Carpenters and assorted other white-bread-and- Koolaid confections to get a dose of the good stuff, and even John Lennon had betrayed my trust with "Imagine", after George with "My Sweet Lord".
It was like they’d gone to Donnie Osmond’s house and been brainwashed by the Hillside Singers teaching the world to sing after OD'ing on Coke.
Those were predominantly dark days for me although I did get access to an FM radio on Friday afternoons where I could hear stuff like “Power Failure” (and “Simple Sister”) by Procul Harum featuring Robin Trower foreshadowing his Hendrix-inspired chops on Broken Barricades (somewhat surprisingly Hendrix’s Rainbow Bridge had seen “Freedom” and “Dolly Dagger” released in ’71 but I never heard any of it, at least not during the hours I could listen to the FM radio)
And Aqualung
And Meddle
And "Stay With Me" which I infinitely preferred to "Maggie" which I initially sorta liked but which finally gagged me to death after about the 98th hearing (like "American Pie") and still does to this day.
And live simulcasting of the Last Days of the Fillmore: ”Passion Flower”-Stoneground

There y'go.
Call 'm "appetizers"


Al, I like this list! And I too would not mind if I never hear "American Pie" ever again. BTW, if you get tired of "Theme From Shaft", try Bowie's "1984" from 1974.



walrus
 

HeyMikey

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This Saturday (07/20) Philly's WXPN features 5 hours of music from 1971 in their ongoing 50/50 (50 Years of Music in 50 Weeks) programming. Available over the air and via online streaming.

That year the Monkees broke up and Big Star formed. Allman Brothers released Live at the Fillmore East (recorded earlier that year - if you like that give a listen to Live at A&R Studios, also recorded in '71 and not released until 2016). The Concert for Bangladesh happened August 1st, and Who's Next was released two weeks later.

Thanks for this! Fillmore is one of my all time favorites. I just ordered Live at A&R Studios. Can't wait to hear it!
 

JF-30

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There are a great many songs along with American Pie I never want to hear again. Pretty much at any show if a lighter comes out. There is your sign.
 

adorshki

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1971 was a great year for Yes fans.

- 'The Yes Album' released in February.
- 'Fragile' released in November.

Great call, I was trying to remember what else came out in '71, although to be fair Yes wasn't getting any play on AM radio here until "Roundabout" hit, and I actually remembered it as '72.
Oh, I was right, single released January '72 in US.
But yes a revolutionary sound.

The previously mentioned Allman Bros At Fillmore East featuring "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed", was another revolutionary sound for the era, no AM play, though, you had to have FM to hear 'em.

Pretty much at any show if a lighter comes out. There is your sign.
LOL!.
Yep.
 
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