In The 1970s Rolling Stones

update August 2021

Charles Robert Watts (born 2 June 1941 - 24 August 2021) was an English drummer, best known as a member of the Rolling Stones since 1963. Originally trained as a graphic artist, he started playing drums in London's rhythm and blues clubs, where he met Brian Jones, Mick Jagger, and Keith Richards. In January 1963, he joined their fledgling group, the Rolling Stones, as drummer, while doubling as designer of their record sleeves and tour stages. Watts has been the only Rolling Stones member other than Jagger or Richards to have been featured on all of their studio albums. He cites jazz as a major influence on his drumming style. He has toured with his own group, the Charlie Watts Quintet, and appeared in London at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club with the Charlie Watts Tentet.

Watts died on 24 August 2021, aged 80.

The Rolling Stones formed back in 1962 and at the time of writing are still touring as a mega group. Brian Jones founded the group but was forced to leave in 1969 because of his drug habit that also killed him the same year. Mick Jagger was another founder member of the group and is now a "SIR". Ian Stewart died in 1985 aged only 47 and also worked with Led Zeppelin.

Kieth Richards started writing songs with Mick in 1963 and is still in the group today. Bill Wyman even had solo success in 1981 with Ju Suie Une Rock Star. Along with Charlie Watts and and Ronnie Wood the group has become bigger year after year.

The groups first UK single hit in the 1970s was Brown Sugar in 1971 from the Sticky Fingers LP and inspired by Claudia Lennear an American Soul Singer.This was followed by Tumblin Dice in 1972 a song about a cheating gambler.

1973 and the beautiful Angie became a top 5 hit and written by Jagger and Richards

 

1974 and the guys got into a large plastic bubble for Its Only Rock And Roll (But I Like It). The meaning of the lyrics was summed up by Jagger in the liner notes to the 1993 compilation Jump Back; "The idea of the song has to do with our public persona at the time. I was getting a bit tired of people having a go, all that, 'oh, it's not as good as their last one' business. The single sleeve had a picture of me with a pen digging into me as if it were a sword. It was a lighthearted, anti-journalistic sort of thing."

“

If I could stick my pen in my heart, And spill it all over the stage; Would it satisfy ya, would it slide on by ya, Would you think the boy is strange? Ain't he strange?

”

“

If I could win ya, if I could sing ya, a love song so divine, Would it be enough for your cheating heart, If I broke down and cried? If I cried? I said I know it's only rock 'n roll but I like it

”

“

Suicide right on the stage...

”

1976 and Fool To Cry hit the charts and the last top twenty hit of the 1970s was Miss You.

Respectable got to no. 23 in 1978.

Rolling Stones. Behind the scenes before concert in 1970. Film 90970

Mick Jagger Interview 

In The 1970s Abba 70-75

It would take thousands of pages to write about Abba, what they did for pop music and how they influenced millions of our lives and still do. Here in part one we look at Abba for the first half of the 70s decade.
Great ABBA SONGS

All the group members were singers before becoming Abba in 1972. The Swedish group consisted of Agnetha Faltskog who was born in 1950 and married fellow Abba member Bjorn Ulvaeus in 1971. Bjorn was born in 1945 and in the 200s was accused of not paying enough tax. The government came after him for 90 million Krona. He won the case and owed them nothing.

Benny Andersson was born in 1946 and married fellow Abba member Frida Lyngstad in 1978. Frida was born  in 1945 and in 1968 won the Swedish version of New Faces a talent show.

The group have sold about 400 million units and still continue to sell. They have won so many awards that it is unlikely any other group will be ever able to do the same.

Abba in 1973 had a minor hit in the UK called Ring Ring and written by Benny and Bjorn and translated into English with the help of Neil Sedaka. But it was 1974 when Abba exploded to a huge TV audience and won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest from Brighton with the amazing Waterloo. No. 1 in the UK and it gave the group a global leg up.

Amazingly the next hit only just crept into the top thirty and that was called Honey Honey. Although a cover version did chart at No.10 by a group called Sweet Dreams in 1974. The group were selling all over the world and the albums were huge.

Single wise in 1975 Abba had only a No. 38 hit with I Do I Do I Do I Do I Do, but had a No .6 hit with SOS the track that was a hit all across the world.

This led to interest in the group once again and the next hit got to No. 1 and has now become a legend, a film and a musical. Mama Mia.

Here is a documentary about ABBA the earty years.

ABBA         http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY41syKisOA

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

In The 1970s ABBA 1976 to 1979

• 1974 - won the Eurovision Song Contest on April 6 for Sweden for the song "Waterloo", a song that was written expressly for the contest
• 1974 - won the Goldene Löwe von Radio Luxemburg prize (Radio Luxemburg Golden Lion Prize) for Waterloo single
• 1975 - won West German music prize Deutscher Schallplattenpreis for SOS single in a category Best Song of the Year

Seventies Music Chart Top Ten: January 1979

Here are the pop charts of the week ending 6th January 1979 (BBC)

Punk Sid Dies in 1978

John Simon Ritchie was born in 1957, and in his short life he would have fame and money and more. The problem of course was that he could not handle it, and a bright spark was dead at a very early age.

His name Sid Vicious got his name from Sex Pistol member John Lyndon who named him after his pet hamster called “Sid” that had bitten John. The name stuck, and for the rest of his life the Sid surname gave him an image that really fitted the Sex Pistols anarchic image.

Sid was in his first band “The Flowers of Romance” in 1976, he also appeared in “The Clash Keith Levine” and was also considered for the “The Damned” but he never showed up. He joined the Sex Pistols in 1977 after Greg Matlock had left. He fitted in so well into the group, in fact the manager later said that he would have considered putting Vicious as the front-man if Lyndon not been there.

In 1978, things just started to go wrong. The Pistols were deteriorating on the US tour; it got so bad that the group split up after a concert in February of that year. Also at this time Sid had met Nancy Spungen, who had been following many bands and even tried to get with Johnny Rotten, but ended up with Sid. They both became addicted to heroin and their lives just fell apart even more, although Sid did play occasionally with the “Clash” and “Rat Scabies” and ex Pistols member Matlock.

In October 1978 Nancy died at the Hotel Chelsea in Manhattan. She was found by Sid on the floor with a stab wound to her stomach, the stab came from a knife that Sid had purchased. Sid was arrested and charged with murder.

In his confused and drugged up state he admitted to stabbing her, but denied killing her. He ranted on how much he loved her, but also how she treated him like “Shit”. Ten days after this Sid tried to commit suicide by cutting his wrists; he was taken to Bellvue Hospital, where he was later charged with assault against Patti Smith's brother. He later was sent to jail for 55 days and was released on February 1^st 1979.

 On that night he went for a meal with his girlfriend Michelle Robinson, and he was now clean from drugs. But during the dinner another party brought drugs along and Sid took some. He injected three times and was found dead during the morning.

A few days later his mother found a suicide note.

We had a death pact, and I have to keep my half of the bargain. Please bury me next to my baby in my leather jacket, jeans and motorcycle boots. Goodbye

  

Then there followed a public argument on where Sid should be buried. In the end his ashes were scattered in a Jewish graveyard where Nancy had been buried the previous year. They seemed like a 1970's version of Bonnie and Clyde.

Artist Watch:Roxy Music

Back in the 70s music era Bryan Ferry formed a group, that in one way or another is still going today. The group was called Roxy Music. Bryan the main writer and lead singer, he was joined in the band by Phil Manzanera, Andy Mackay who joined in 1971, Paul Thompson who also joined in 1971 after working with John Miles. Brian Eno  who was with the group 1971 to 1973, Brian left the group after constant arguments with Bryan Ferry, and worked in the 1970s with Genesis and David Bowie. Graham Simpson was the other member for awhile.

Brian was replaced in 1973 by Eddie Jobson, who in the 1979s also worked for Jethro Tull and Frank Zappa.

In the 1970s Cat Stevens

He was born in 1948 as Stefan Demetre  Georgiou and in his life time became Cat Stevens and the Yusaf Islam. But during the 1970s he was Cat Stevens who made singing seem effortless. His albums and singles were, and still are a delight to hear.

Just take a look at these classic songs that Cat gave to the 1960s.

Matthew And Son, I love My Dog and albums called Matthew And Son.

But Cat hit the 1970s running. His very first single to UK chart was in 1970 with Lady D’Arbanville from the album Mona Bone Jakon on Island Records. The song was all about his teenage short lived girlfriend Patti D’Arbanville who in the 1980s had a relationship with Miami Vice Don Johnson. She was also the inspiration for Wild World that was a big U.S. hit that year.

1971 the excellent album Teaser And The Firecat was released which gave us the classic Cat single called Moonshadow.

Cat said on a TV show in 2009.

"I was on a holiday in Spain. I was a kid from the West End (of London) - bright lights, et cetera. I never got to see the moon on its own in the dark, there were always streetlamps. So there I was on the edge of the water on a beautiful night with the moon glowing, and suddenly I looked down and saw my shadow. I thought that was so cool, I'd never seen it before."

The single only reached No. 22 and the next single Peace Train failed to chart completely in the UK.

1972 and Cat was having problem as he Can’t Keep It In. The song reached No. 13 and was one of those songs sung in the playground for some reason.

His other hit that year was Morning Has Broken. Again this came from the Teaser album and is probably the record most associated with Cat Stevens.

Morning has broken, like the first morning

Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird

Praise for the singing, praise for the morning

Praise for them springing fresh from the Word.

Cat did not chart in the UK in 1973, but had two hits in the U.S. with Sitting and The Hurt. It was not long before Cat came back in the UK charts with more classics.

In 1974 he had success with the Oh Very Young song in many territories, but in the UK it was Another Saturday Night which was a remake of the 1963 hit by Sam Cooke. The song was much heavier than the original, and was on the verge of dancing too.

His last top fifty sing hit was in 1977 with Remember The Days Of The Old School Yard from the album Izitso. In the U.S. The song features Elkie Brooks too. Cat Stevens had eight top thirty hits and in the UK he had five. Album wise everybody seems to own a Cat Stevens album, especially the Greatest Hits, which was released in 1975.

Cat became Yusaf in 1978.

Yusuf / Cat Stevens - GTK Interview (1972)

UK Top 50 Singles Chart - 21 February 1976

In The 1970s Labbi Siffre

Back in 1945 Labbi Siffre was born in war torn Hammersmith London. In 1964 he met his boyfriend and married him in 2004. In 1969 Labbi sent a tape of his songs to Radio One DJ Dave Cash and had his first very minor hit in 1970 with Pretty Little Girl (Make My Day) Too Late which gained huge airplay on Radio Luxembourg.

Labbi Siffre released six acclaimed albums between 1970 and 1975 and had a hit with his own song called It Must Be Love in 1971 reaching No. 14 in the UK charts.

In 1972 he had a No. 29 hit with Watch Me and a number 11 hit with the classic Crying Laughing Loving Lying. The singles never charted in the Billboard charts.

Labbi moved to the U.S nd the back to the UK in the 1970s. He released several singles and even took part in the Song For Europe in 1978.

Retro Countdown: 1979-02-10 UK Top 40

Retro Countdown: 1979-02-10 UK Top 40 by Owen Andrew on Mixcloud

Music, TV Themes and News from 1970s

1970s Raw by In The 1970s on Mixcloud

In Memory Val Doonican

Michael Valentine "Val" Doonican was born in Ireland in 1927 and died in August 2015. His big break came in the 1960s when he was on Sunday Night at the Palladium. He was an instant success and went on in the 1960s and 1970s to have his own Saturday night TV show on BBC1 where nearly 20 Million would turn in every week.

Most of his hits were in the 1960s,but here is his 1972 hit Morning.

Vals TV show 1970 with Dave Allen

In Memory of Dave Black of Goldie

Goldie were a British group formed by guitarist David Black in 1976 who only had one hit with Making Up Again in 1978. The song written by Black and fellow band member Pete Macdonald.
David died in August 2015

.

In Memory Donna Summer

She was the Queen of 70s Disco. She really was the soundtrack to our 1970s disco lives throughout the trendy 1970s.

She was born LaDonna Adrian Gaines in 1948 in Boston, where at the age of ten, she was a regular performer at her local church.She later joined musical show, like Godspell and Showboat. Later she moved to Europe and became a member of the Viennese Folk Opera.

In 1971 and 1972 she released a few singles into the European markets. Her break came when she was singing on backing vocals with Three Dog Night where she met Giorigo Moroder an Italian record producer and composer.

With Groovy records she released her very first album under the name Donna Summer called Lady Of The Night which was a hit in Belgium.

In Memory Max Bygraves

English singer and entertainer died in September 2012 aged 89 in Australia. Max Bygraves was born in 1922 as Walter William Bygraves. He became one of Britain's biggest and most well paid stars of the 50 and 60s and had several chart hits including Tulips From Amsterdam and Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be.

But in the 1970s Max had a 1973 hit with his cover version of Deck Of Cards. The song dates back to the 40's and tells the story of an American Soldier and his deck of cards that he uses as a sort of bible. The original went high in the U.S. charts in 1948 by Texas Tyler, but it was the version by Wink Martindale that sold the most in 1959.

    

Max during the 1970s hosted the UK game show Family Fortunes.

Seventies Music Charts No1s of 1975 (US) MAY

Here are all the No1 records from the year 1975 from the US charts of that year. It really is a who's who of 70s music, and turn it up really loud and enjoy. We continue with May of that year.

He Don't Love You (Like I Love You) by Tony Orlando and Dawn

Originally called "He Will Break Your Heart" and co written by Curtis  Mayfield, and released in 1960 by thenother co writer Jerry Butler, who was also a originall member of the Impressions too. He was also the voice on Andy Wiliams version of "Moon River".

Tony was also fronting a TV variety programme on CBS, up until the end of 1976.

Shining Star by Earth Wind And Fire

This group were formed in Chicago back in 1969 by brothers Verdine and Maurice White. The group have achieved six Grammys and nomintaed seventeen times.Sales of over 90 million have been achieved, and this single came from the album "That's The Way Of The World"

Lyrics to "Shining Star"

Seventies Music Charts No1s of 1975 (US) APRIL

Here are all the No1 records from the year 1975 from the US charts of that year. It really is a who's who of 70s music, and turn it up really loud and enjoy. We continue with April of that year.

Philadelphia Freedom by Elton John


Sir Elton John (Reg Dwight) with a huge worldwide hit here. This single was taken from the best selling album "Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy", and the single was written by Elton and Bernie Taupin. The song was written about a Tennis team called Philadelphia Freedom, and was written as a favour to its main member the tennis star Billie Jean King.

In Memory Ken Russell 2011

British film legend Ken Russell was mainly a film director,but because of his passion for films he helped many songs get into the charts in the 1970s.

In The 1970s Paul Anka

Paul Albert Anka was born in 1941, and was on the same level as the brat pack. He was a huge teen idol in his time, and of course helped write My Way. Paul was a huge star in the 1960s, but he still had a very big influence in the 1970s too.

For instance, he wrote the 1970 hit for Tom Jones called She’s A Lady, he also wrote  a TV theme that would be heard night after night in the U.S, as he wrote the theme to the chat show the Johnny Carson Show. Donny Osmond had a 1972 hit called Why, the flip side which got a lot of radio play was Lonely Boy another Paul Anka written hit. He also wrote the huge Donny Osmond single Puppy Love, but Paul had written the song and had a hit with it in 1960. But his writing was being heard by the 1970s audiences.

In 1974 Paul had his first 1970s chart hit with You’re Having My Baby, which now is remembered as a chauvinist record, but at the time it seemed to be a happy record about a man delighted his wife was having his (their) baby.

 

The U.S. was the prime place for hits in the 1970s for Paul, as he had only had one in the UK, but the U.S. notched up five top ten singles including the No.1 Times Of Your Life which was a spin-off of a Kodak advertising jingle written by Paul. It was so successful it was made into a single.

Paul’s last top ten hit in the U.S. came in 1978 with This Is Love.

The My Way song by Sinatra charted in the 1970s, and was a French single that Paul reworked for English lyrics. And when Sinatra sings that song you can feel the hairs on the back of your neck go all the way up. Yes, Paul Anka did make a very big impression on music of the 1970s.

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In Memory 2011:Poly Styrene

The Punk Rock singer Poly Styrene, who's real name was Marianne Joan Elliot-Said died April 26th 2011 from cancer of the spine and cancer of the breast. In the 1970s she was a punk icon.

Top Ten Best Selling Singles of 1970

Here are the offical UK charts for the best selling single of the year 1970.

Elvis was No. 1 with a song written in 1959 by Baker Knight and had been a hit several times by others in the 1960s

1	Elvis Presley	The Wonder Of You
2	Christie	Yellow River  video
3	Mungo Jerry	In The Summertime  video
4	Freda Payne	Band Of Gold
5	Shirley Bassey	Something
6	Lee Marvin	Wanderin' Star
7	Norman Greenbaum	Spirit In The Sky
8	Simon & Garfunkel	Bridge Over Troubled Water
9	England World Cup Squad	Back Home
10	Free	All Right Now

Seventies Music Chart No1s of 1975 (US) August

Here are all the No1 records from the year 1975 from the US charts of that year. It really is a who's who of 70s music, and turn it up really loud and enjoy. We continue with August of that year.

Jive Talkin' by Bee Gees

Do you Remember the 70s Music Podcast

25th Jan 2016_Do_You_Remember_The 70s by Bohdan on Mixcloud

ABBA THE MUSIC

ABBA music through the 1970s.

See also..ABBA ARTICLES



MONEY MONEY MONEY BY ABBA Entered Chart: 20-Nov-76 Highest Position: 3 Weeks: 

I HAVE A DREAM BY ABBA Entered Chart: 15-Dec-79 Highest Position: 2 Weeks in Chart: 10 MAMMA MIA BY ABBA Entered Chart: 13-Dec-75 Highest Position: 1 Weeks in Chart: 14 S.O.S BY ABBA Entered Chart: 20-Sep-75 Highest Position: 6 Weeks in Chart: 10
 THE NAME OF THE GAME BY ABBA Entered Chart: 22-Oct-77 Highest Position: 1 Weeks in Chart: 12

 I DO I DO I DO I DO BY ABBA Entered Chart: 12-Jul-75 Highest Position: 38 Weeks in Chart: 6

 RING RING BY ABBA Entered Chart: 13-Jul-74 Highest Position: 32 Weeks in Chart: 5 TAKE A CHANCE ON ME BY ABBA Entered Chart: 04-Feb-78 Highest Position: 1 Weeks in Chart: 10 

SUMMER NIGHT CITY BY ABBA Entered Chart: 16-Sep-78 Highest Position: 5 Weeks in Chart: 9 

 GIMME GIMME GIMME BY ABBA Entered Chart: 20-Oct-79 Highest Position: 3 Weeks in Chart: 12 WATERLOO BY ABBA Entered Chart: 20-Apr-74 Highest Position: 1 Weeks in Chart: 9

 KNOWING ME KNOWING YOU BY ABBA Entered Chart: 26-Feb-77 Highest Position: 1 Weeks in Chart: 13

   

  FERNANDO BY ABBA Entered Chart: 27-Mar-76 Highest Position: 1 Weeks in Chart: 15 

DOES YOUR MOTHER KNOW BY ABBA Entered Chart: 05-May-79 Highest Position: 4 Weeks in Chart: 9

DANCING QUEEN BY ABBA Entered Chart: 21-Aug-76 Highest Position: 1 Weeks in Chart: 15  CHIQUITITA BY ABBA Entered Chart: 03-Feb-79 Highest Position: 2 Weeks in Chart: 9   ANGELEYES/VOULEZ VOUS BY ABBA Entered Chart: 14/07/1979 Highest Position: 3 Weeks in Chart: 11

Seventies Music Chart No1's From 1975 October

We continue looking at the big No. 1 songs of the year 1975. We now move into the month of October, and the U.S. singles looked like this.

Music of ACT ONE

TOM THE PEEPER BY ACT ONE

Entered Chart: 18-May-76
Highest Position: 40
Weeks in Chart: 6