My Seventies Music

Tag: Successes

  • Cher – “Gypsys, Tramps And Thieves”, “Half Breed”, “Dark Lady”, “If I Could Turn Back Time” And “Just Like Jesse James”

    Cover of Cher single "Gypsys, Tramps And Thieves" (1971)

    The first solo Number One hit by Cher of Sonny and Cher fame was “Gypsys, Tramps And Thieves” in 1971. “Half Breed” and “Dark Lady” also reached the top spot in 1973 and 1974 respectively.

    Cher has had any more hits over the years, but two of my favourites after the Seventies were “If I Could Turn Back Time” and “Just Like Jesse James”, both in 1989.

    Ultimately though, if there is any one song that epitomises Cher for me, it is her first No. 1 hit “Gypsys, Tramps And Thieves”:

    Here’s “Half Breed”, a No. 1 in 1973:

    “Dark Lady” was big for Cher Bono, as she was still known then through her marriage to Sonny Bono, in 1974:

    Beyond the Seventies, “If I Could Turn Back Time” reached No. 3 in 1989:

    “Just Like Jesse James” made it into the Top Ten – No. 8 – in the same year:

    Cher has definitely been a major factor in popular music, in the Seventies when she achieved her first successes, and through the decades that have followed.

    If I were to sum it up with just one word, that word would have to be: iconic.

    Paul

  • Golden Harvest – “I Need Your Love”

    Another New Zealand band in the Seventies I remember was a young outfit called Golden Harvest with their single “I Need Your Love”.

    I don’t recall whether they had any other successes, but this one sticks in my mind.

    In any case the chorus is definitely catchy and I found myself singing it this evening, having located the video a couple of days ago, so I thought I’d just put it up today.

    I also have no idea whether the track ever got any airplay outside New Zealand, so this may be completely new to you.

    For some reason the name Golden Harvest makes me think of a commercial fishing boat down the bottom of New Zealand’s South Island. I’m pretty sure it was a boat that I saw down there once.

    In this video of Golden Harvest playing “I Need Your Love” on New Zealand TV show Ready To Roll (of which I also have fond memories, as with Radio With Pictures, that used to come on at about 11 o’clock at night) you can see a bit of fancy guitar work – the guy plays it with his teeth…

    Bon appetit.

    Paul

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