70's Music Revisited

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.

Elton John’s holiday song.

Sammy Davis Jr. singing the Theme from the TV Series Baretta – Keep Your Eye in the Sparrow

From the Carol Brunett Show. 1976 with Vicki Lawrence

from their show mid-1970s

The song was written by Bobby Russell. Russell was a popular songwriter in the late 60′s and early 70′s having written the hits Little Green Apples and Honey. He also wrote and recorded a a song about the everyday man having a normal Saturday titled Saturday Morning Confusion.

The song was offered to Cher, but her husband Sonny Bono turned the song down. Vicki Lawrence, one of the regulars on the Carol Brunett Show was married to Russell. She recorded a demo of the song and her version was finally release. The song plus the ones she recorded for an album of the same name were her only recorded songs.

The song reached Number 1 on the Pop charts, but barely charted on the country charts, although it was an obvious country song.

A movie based loosely on the song was made in 1981 and starred Mark Hamill and Kristy McNichol with the title song sung by Tanya Tucker.

10 years later Country Singer Reba McIntyre’s version reached the top of the country charts. The clip is not from the 70s but the 90s when Reba appeared on a Talk Show hosted by Vicki Lawrence.

The song about infidelity, first by the wife of the singer and then the singer himself towards his secretary Maria.

The song reached Number 2 on the Billboard charts towards the end of 1969 and really shouldn’t be classified as a song of the 1970s. But it was a favorite of this author’s and I always sat back to listen to it when it played on the radio. Still do.

It was Greaves only hit record. He had a couple of more low charting singles in the early 1970s including a remake of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “(There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me” and Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale”.

Greaves was a nephew of the late great Sam Cooke.

By the time of their fourth album, Crazy Horses, the brothers not only were playing all of the instruments they were also writing the songs. They were also moving away from the bubblegum pop of their first couple of albums to be more Rock and Roll. It can be considered their first real sophisticated album and although there was some hints on their third album, Phase Three, this was a real departure for them.

Hold Me Tight was the first track on the album as well as their first single from it. This song can really be considered a rock song. The opening riff has been compared, even by some as lifted, to Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song.

It peaked at Number 14 on the charts.

Too bad that by the time of the release of the fourth album they were entrenched in the bubblegum image. By just listen to the albums that they released under their own direction, one could see their music as acid rock. In fact as recalled by brother Merrill on his his brother Jay’s website, JayOsmond.com, when they appeared in a concert in France, the audience didn’t know of their wholesome image and “the whole audience was Zeppelin, with long hair and drugs all over the arena” .

1971 may have been the biggest year for The Osmonds as a group, but in 1972 they were still one of the biggest acts around. Sure they may have had a young audience and didn’t draw the same type of crowds as The Who, Santana or Chicago, but they could rock. Here they are at the Ohio State Fair in August of 1972 doing Santana’s Everyone Everything and Chicago’s Free.

This performance from the 1972 Ohio State Fair features the Osmonds doing a song that opened many of their shows in the early 1970s. Motown Special is a medley of songs of Motown.

Not only was it the opening song of their shows it was also the opening song of their self-titled first album released in 1970.

Songs of the medley include; Motown Special, My World Is Empty Without You and I’m Gonna Make You Love Me.

By the time of the 1972 Ohio State Fair performance they had changed the words slightly using Osmond Special instead of Motown Special.

At 12:22 on Monday May 4, 1970, 29 members of a group of 77 National Guard troops from A Company and Troop G fired shots towards a group of students at Kent State. 13 seconds and about 67 shots later it ended. Some shots were in the air as warnings, others to induce injury and not kill. The outcome was 4 deaths and another 9 receiving injuries.

Neil Young after seeing pictures of the shooting wrote the song Ohio. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young recorded the song on May 15 and released as a single in June. The song became to many an anthem for the times giving a tribute that may last forever to the ‘Four dead in Ohio’.

The b-side was Stephen Stills’ ode to the war’s dead, “Find the Cost of Freedom.”

It peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100. It may have charted higher if some radio stations hadn’t refused to play the song due to it’s anti-war/anti-Nixon lyrics.

The studio version of the song first appeared on their 1974 Greatest Hits Album, So Far. A live version of the song was on the live album Four Way Street.

The four dead in Ohio were:
(Name, distance from Guard, Injury)
Jeffrey Glen Miller, 265 ft, shot through the mouth – killed instantly
Allison Krause, 343 ft, fatal left chest wound
William Knox Schroeder, 382 ft, fatal chest wound
Sandra Lee Scheuer, 390 ft, fatal neck wound

The song One Tin Soldier was written by the songwriting team Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter. It was recorded in late 1969 by the Canadian group The Original Caste and was a minor hit in the United States, but a big hit, reaching Number 1, in Canada.

Most people will remember the version of the song done for the 1971 film Billy Jack as recorded by Jinx Dawson and listed with her group Coven. Even though she sang it with the film’s orchestra she requested that the credit would be to the group and not in her name. Coven’s version would chart again in 1973 and 1974.

The obvious Anti-war song would be one of the most requested songs on American Radio in the early 70′s

On the Sonny and Cher show, the song as sung by Cher, was played in front of a cartoon.

Two clips of Edwin Starr singing his 1970 war protest song War. One is from the 70′s. Not sure when the second one is from, but it’s obviously much later than the first.

The song was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. It was Edwin Starr’s most successful song as well as the most successful anti-war song. It reached the number 1 spot in 1970.

The song was also recorded by the Temptations, although their version was slightly less intense than Starr’s. Motown was debating whether or not to release the Temptations version as a single when Starr volunteered to re-record the song. Motown had been afraid that it could hurt the Temptation’s career.

Starr’s version was more in a James Brown inspired Soul-Shout and the song instead of hurting his career gave him a successful one.

Bruce Springsteen had the song as part of his concert and it was recorded as part of the Live/1975-85 album. Springsteen released his live version as a single and once again it was a big seller, reaching Number 8 on the charts.

“War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothin’!” The line is just as meaningful in 2009 as it was in 1970. It’s surprising that someone hasn’t re-recorded it. At least the Starr and the Springsteen versions are still being played.

Herbie Hancock is one of those musicians who seem to have been around forever. He first came on the scene in 1962 when he recorded his album Watermelon Man then got more attention when he joined Miles Davis and his band.

He also composed the music for Bill Cosby’s Fat Albert TV cartoon series.

By the 1970′s he had begun to work with electronic music and his 1974 Album Head Hunters showed his Funky side.

The Album version of the song was over 15 minutes of pure Funky Jazz.