They're Back!!Yesterday I heard "September" by Earth, Wind and Fire on the radio and it dawned on me that 70s music finally has gotten its due. For years it received no respect, but I think radio has finally come around.
Radio has always been pretty good at playing so-called "classic rock" music from the 70s. How many times have you heard "More Than a Feeling" by Boston or "Stairway to Heaven" on the radio? - probably in the millions. So, bands like Skynrd, Floyd, Kansas, Zeppelin, Supertramp, Bad Company, and The Eagles have gotten more than their fair share of radio play over the past few decades.
Unfortunately, most of the musicians popular in the 70s that couldn't be categorized as classic rock became M.I.A. as early as the 1980s. Sure, the oldies or easy/soft format stations might graze the surface with "Summer Breeze" by Seals & Crofts, an Elton John hit, or "Cat's in the Cradle"; but, for the most part, mainstream 70s music went bye-bye.
For instance, how many times in the 80s and 90s did you hear hits from Tony Orlando & Dawn, Bread, The O-Jays, Pablo Cruise, or Captain & Tennille? Anything that even resembled disco was verboten - thus, KC & the Sunshine Band, ABBA, and the Bee Gees were a distant memory. Decades passed without "Brandy (You're I Fine Girl)", "Shadow Dancing", "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)", or "Play That Funky Music" ever getting airplay. Okay, certain metropolitan areas could afford to specialize in the 70s - but, as a general rule, radio in most U.S. cities just didn't go there.
In the latter half of the 1990s, GenX started to rediscover music from their youth, and there was a shortlived 70s revival (ex. Dazed and Confused and That 70s Show), but it didn't amount to much. GenX has never been a big source of revenue, it's always been the Boomers and now a younger generation with tons of their parent's money that draws the big bucks.
So, what gives? Why all the sudden can I turn on the radio from coast to coast (I travel a good bit) and find England Dan & John Ford Coley? How is that guys like The Bellamy Brothers and Andy Gibb are starting to reappear? I don't really know the answer, except to say that maybe the 70s stigma has finally been overcome and, perhaps, this younger generation enjoys 70s oldies every bit as much as the Boomer-beloved 60s music.
Does this mean that Rupert Holmes has triumphed over The Beatles? Can we finally say that Pablo Cruise has emerged victorious and the 70s have finally arrived? Well, I think it's a bit early to tell. Besides, I think there's a lot of the 70s that I think is best left behind...
Radio has always been pretty good at playing so-called "classic rock" music from the 70s. How many times have you heard "More Than a Feeling" by Boston or "Stairway to Heaven" on the radio? - probably in the millions. So, bands like Skynrd, Floyd, Kansas, Zeppelin, Supertramp, Bad Company, and The Eagles have gotten more than their fair share of radio play over the past few decades.
Unfortunately, most of the musicians popular in the 70s that couldn't be categorized as classic rock became M.I.A. as early as the 1980s. Sure, the oldies or easy/soft format stations might graze the surface with "Summer Breeze" by Seals & Crofts, an Elton John hit, or "Cat's in the Cradle"; but, for the most part, mainstream 70s music went bye-bye.
For instance, how many times in the 80s and 90s did you hear hits from Tony Orlando & Dawn, Bread, The O-Jays, Pablo Cruise, or Captain & Tennille? Anything that even resembled disco was verboten - thus, KC & the Sunshine Band, ABBA, and the Bee Gees were a distant memory. Decades passed without "Brandy (You're I Fine Girl)", "Shadow Dancing", "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)", or "Play That Funky Music" ever getting airplay. Okay, certain metropolitan areas could afford to specialize in the 70s - but, as a general rule, radio in most U.S. cities just didn't go there.In the latter half of the 1990s, GenX started to rediscover music from their youth, and there was a shortlived 70s revival (ex. Dazed and Confused and That 70s Show), but it didn't amount to much. GenX has never been a big source of revenue, it's always been the Boomers and now a younger generation with tons of their parent's money that draws the big bucks.
So, what gives? Why all the sudden can I turn on the radio from coast to coast (I travel a good bit) and find England Dan & John Ford Coley? How is that guys like The Bellamy Brothers and Andy Gibb are starting to reappear? I don't really know the answer, except to say that maybe the 70s stigma has finally been overcome and, perhaps, this younger generation enjoys 70s oldies every bit as much as the Boomer-beloved 60s music.
Does this mean that Rupert Holmes has triumphed over The Beatles? Can we finally say that Pablo Cruise has emerged victorious and the 70s have finally arrived? Well, I think it's a bit early to tell. Besides, I think there's a lot of the 70s that I think is best left behind...
