In July of 1973 Grand Funk Railroad released their 7th album We’re An American Band. This was also the first of three Albums where the group was simply call Grand Funk. The first single released from the album was the title song We’re An American Band.
The song was their first Number 1 single. It was written by Don Brewer and produced by Todd Rundgren and brought the group to the larger, pop audience. Prior to this the group was more Heavy Rock, the term Heavy Metal was not used until the 1980s.
Many of Grand Funk Railroad songs were sung by Mark Farner, but this one was sung by Brewer, the group drummer.
In the first pressing, all the copies of the 45 RPM records were pressed on gold vinyl.
Over the years there have been a few artist who have gone just by one name. The 60’s artist Donavan and from the 80’s Madonna and Prince. Beginning in the late 1960’s and even into today, Melanie is one of those one name artist.
She was just a young singer when she was invited to perform at the Woodstock festival in 1969 but by the end of it she was better known.
The song Lay Down (Candles In The Rain) which she recorded in 1970 with the Edwin Hawkins Singers was inspired by the events at Woodstock. It reached a top spot of Number 6 on the charts.
And as an added bonus Melanie performing the same song 20 years later.
In 1971 in Netherland the duo Mouth and MacNeil (Big Mouth (born Willem Duyn, March 31, 1937) and Maggie MacNeal (born Sjoukje van’t Spijker, May 5, 1950) came together. They recorded a few songs and were more popular in Europe, especially Germany, than they were in the United States. How Do You Do, released in 1972 was their biggest US hit, reaching as high as Number 8 in July. It’s reported that Willem Duyn died on December 4, 2004,
Note:The following was originally published at 6 Things To Consider. We thank Steve Atkinson for allowing us to republish this.
It was on Friday the 13th, February 1970 that the album that many consider the first Heavy Metal album was released. It was released in the United Kingdom. The debut album of a band from Birmingham England. The band and the album shared the name Black Sabbath.
The album had seven tracks. Five were original songs written by the group and two covers.
Black Sabbath consisted of Tony Iommi on guitar, Ozzy Osbourne sang lead, Terry “Geezer” Butler was the bassman, and Bill Ward at drums.
The album was a commercial success reaching number 8 on the UK Albums Chart, and following its US release in May 1970 reached number 23 on the Billboard 200 staying on the charts for over a year. It was widely panned by critics partly because it was so much different than what had been heard before.
A few months later the band would record their second album. From that recording came two of the most popular and most familiar songs done by the group. The album’s title song, Paranoid and the album’s second single Iron Man.
The term Heavy Metal wasn’t used until a number of years after the album’s released. Once it did become a term for music with a heavy rock beat, it was determined that this album was the first.
As far as I am concerned this is the best song that Rod Stewart has recorded. It was written by him and Ron Wood while they were both members of Faces.
The song originally appeared on their 1971 album A Nod Is as Good as a Wink…To a Blind Horse
Have you seen the CVS commercial. The one about receiving Double Bucks. The song that they are using is Double Lovin’ by the Osmonds.
After their big success with their self titled Osmonds album and their single from it One Bad Apple they recorded a follow-up album. The album was called Homemade and the first single release from it was the song Double Lovin’.
The song wasn’t as successful as One Bad Apple nor the song that followed Yo-Yo. While both of these reached the Top 5, with One Bad Apple reaching the top spot, Double Lovin’ would peak at 14.
The 1970s began just like the 60s ended, at least at the top of the charts. Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head sung by B.J. Thomas, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and from the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid spent 4 weeks at Number 1. The first week was the last week of 1969 then topping the charts for the first 3 weeks of 1970.
It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Burt Bacharach’s score won for Best Score.
In early January of 1971 songwriter Carole King recorded her 2nd solo album as a singer. When Tapestry was release a few months later, no one knew nor imagine how popular the album would become.
It was the biggest Album of 1971 remaining at the Number 1 spot for 15 weeks and on the Album Charts for over 6 years.
This is the Album’s title song.
All of the songs on the Album were written or co-written by King including a couple of songs that she had written with her ex-husband Gerry Goffin and had been huge hits by others in the 1960s.
The Album would win the Grammy for Album of the Year. It’s Too Late would win Record of the Year and the song You’ve Got a Friend a song on the album and also recorded by her friend James Taylor would be Song of the Year. Taylor sang backup on her version.
With Carole King, the song’s composer backing him on piano.
This is James Taylor’s only number 1 on the Billboard charts reaching the top spot on July 31, 1971.
The album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon, the album where this song first appeared, peaked at the Number 2 spot on the albums charts. It was prevented from reaching Number 1 because Carole Kings’s Tapestry held the top spot. King’s album included her version of her song.
The song received two Grammy Awards. James Taylor won Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male for the song. It also won Best Song of the Year. Carole King was one of the few, if not the only, person to be involved in the winning of all five of the Grammy top awards. Along with these two she also won Record of the Year for It’s Too Late. Album of the Year for Tapestry as well as Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female.
Some may think the song is called “Starry Starry Night”, since that line is repeated a few times throughout the song. But the song is titled Vincent. And the Vincent of the song is artist Vincent van Gogh.
The song was written by McLean in late 1970 and appeared on the American Pie album. He had been looking at a book about the painter and while looking at a picture of van Gogh’s “Starry Night” he was inspired to write a song about van Gogh through the imagery of the painting.
McLean’s followup to American Pie didn’t reach the Top 10 in the United States. It peaked at number 12. It was a chart topper in May of 1972 in the in the U.K.
During the last days of 1971 and into 1972 everyone was listening to and trying to determine what the lyrics meant in Don McLean’s American Pie. Other than alluding to the deaths of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Richie Valens on February 3, 1959, a day many have called the ‘Day the Music Died’ there could be many different meanings to parts of the song. McLean has said that he wrote it to be vague. And vague it is, but a very enjoyable vague that brings back memories to anyone who grew up during the 1960’s,
The single was released in November of 1971. Originally it was released as a edited version of the 8+ minutes song, then it was decided to split the songs into 2 parts. Many radio stations did play the entire song in an era when songs usually lasted 3 1/2 minutes. It quickly went to Number 1 reaching the top spot shortly after the New Year on January 15, spending 4 weeks there.
For many people who will be turning 50 in 2008, such as myself, the music of the 1970’s is their music. While many of the younger generation live by YouTube, some of my generation hasn’t found it yet. But there is plenty of music from the 70's there.
The goal of this site is to discover hidden treasures of the 70s that are on YouTube.
, the album where this song first appeared, peaked at the Number 2 spot on the albums charts. It was prevented from reaching Number 1 because Carole Kings’s 
held the top spot. King’s album included her version of her song.