My Seventies Music

Author: Paul

  • The Sex Pistols – “Anarchy In The UK”, “God Save The Queen”, “Pretty Vacant” And “Holidays In The Sun”

    Cover of The Sex Pistols album "Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols"

    The late Seventies were the years of punk rock, and although not the first punk rock band, The Sex Pistols were the epitome of the movement, with songs like “Anarchy In The UK”, “God Save The Queen”, “Pretty Vacant” and “Holidays In The Sun”.

    I didn’t actually get a (taped) copy of their only album, “Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols” (1977), until a few years later, when I lived in Germany.

    Or maybe I did get it before leaving New Zealand, I just remember playing it in the car of a band I wrote some stuff with in Germany, shortly after I met them in December 1980. The bass player and singer of the ZZ Top/Lynrd Skynyrd type band didn’t like The Beatles, so I played him The Sex Pistols…

    This is the studio version of “Anarchy In The UK”:

    “God Save The Queen”, also the studio version:

    Sex Pistols classic “Pretty Vacant”:

    “Holidays In The Sun”:

    Having experienced the Berlin Wall on numerous occasions while living in Germany – from both sides – the lines in this song about it took on particular significance for me at least in the 1980s.

    Now the Wall is gone and so are The Sex Pistols, though the Berlin Wall actually lasted longer…

    Nevertheless, the “cultural” legacy of The Sex Pistols lingered on well after the actual demise of the band.

    Whatever one may think of their music, they were a catalyst for many great acts that followed.

    Paul

  • The Commodores – “Three Times A Lady”, “Easy” And “Nightshift”

    Cover of "Easy" by The Commodores (1977)

    In 1978 The Commodores had their first Number One hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with the Lionel Richie love song “Three Times A Lady”.

    It turned out to be the only Motown track to reach the Top Ten in 1978 and was also one of very few Motown songs to go to Number 1 in the UK.

    “Three Times A Lady” is one of those songs that sticks in your mind – I guess it must be, or I wouldn’t have thought of it today, 32 years after it originally charted…

    The previous year, 1977, The Commodores had had another soft hit with “Easy”, which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.

    The Commodores originally had a more funky sound, but had gradually moved towards softer numbers, and had another major hit in 1985 with the Jackie Wilson/Marvin Gaye tribute “Nightshift”, their first with original lead singer Walter “Clyde” Orange after Lionel Richie had left to pursue a solo career.

    It peaked at No. 3 in both the USA and the UK.

    “Three Times A Lady”:

    “Easy”:

    “Nightshift”:

    Definitely easy listening for the nightshift.

    Paul

  • Anne Murray – “Snowbird” And “You Needed Me”

    Anne Murray album “This Is My Way”

    When Anne Murray reached No. 1 on the U.S. charts with her single “You Needed Me” in 1978, she was the first Canadian female solo singer to ever achieve that honour. Previously she had hit No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970 with “Snowbird”, which got to No. 2 on the pop charts in Canada and 1 on both the adult contemporary and country charts.

    “This Way Is My Way”, the album from which “Snowbird” was taken, charted at No. 1 on both the U.S. and Canadian album charts.
    “You Needed Me” was Number 1 on both the U.S. and Canadian pop charts, the Canadian album charts and the Canadian country charts, while reaching No. 4 on the U.S. country and 3 on the U.S. album charts.

    It made it to No. 2 in Australia and 22 in the UK.

    Here now first is Anne Murray singing “Snowbird”:

    And “You Needed me”:

    I’ve been writing this on a tiny netbook with a miniscule screen on a mobile connection, and the first draft didn’t quite look the way I was expecting so I may have to come back to this…

    Meanwhile, enjoy the music!

    Paul

  • Mike Oldfield – “Tubular Bells”

    Cover of "Tubular Bells" by Mike Oldfield (1973)

    Englishman Mike Oldfield released “Tubular Bells” in 1973 – the album was the first venture of Richard Branson’s new record label Virgin Records.

    The instrumental achieved particular fame when it was used as the theme of the movie “The Exorcist”.

    The album “Tubular Bells”, on which Mike Oldfield played over twenty different instruments, quickly entered the Top Ten of the UK album chart.

    It’s follow-up, “Hergest Ridge” (of which I have a copy), went to No. 1 for three weeks, before it was displaced by “Tubular Bells”.

    “Tubular Bells” was re-recorded by Oldfield, in 1992, 1998 and again in 2003.

    Here is the shorter version of “Tubular Bells” used in “The Exorcist”:

    And this is one of a number of live recordings of the longer version, here divided into three parts (you’ll need a bit of patience if you want to listen to these…):

    “Tubular Bells” live, Part 1:

    “Tubular Bells” live, Part 2:

    “Tubular Bells” live, Part 3:

    If you’ve listened to all of these you’ll now likely be very relaxed….. or asleep…

    Paul

  • Dolly Parton – “Jolene” And “I Will Always Love You”

    Album cover of "Jolene" by Dolly Parton (1974), also featuring "I Will Always Love You"

    Released in late 1973, “Jolene” by Dolly Parton became a No. 1 country hit for her in February 1974, reached Number 60 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 7 on the UK charts.

    Dolly Parton also wrote and released a song later made popular by Whitney Houston, namely “I Will Always Love You”.

    Dolly Parton’s own version, written and recorded in 1973, came out in 1974 and also went to the top of the country charts.

    It did so again when she re-released it eight years later, this time also doing quite well on the pop charts.

    Here is Dolly Parton singing “Jolene” live:

    This is Dolly Parton’s rendition of “I Will Always Love You”:

    I heard Whitney Houston’s version of this again recently while watching the film “The Bodyguard”, by coincidence she was in the country and in fact passed by quite closely after cancelled flights from Northern Ireland meant she had to take the ferry.

    It’s one of my favourite songs, and I hadn’t realised Dolly Parton had written and sung it back when Whitney Houston was about ten.

    Both versions have their own magic.

    Which one do you like best?

    Paul

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