Roller skating fit the 1970s like a glove. Two trademarks of the decade were (1) environmental concerns and (2) fitness, so it shouldn't be a surprise to learn that something which captalized on both would become a huge sensation. Roller skating was a fuel-less means of travel, and it burned calories - a match made in heaven!
When you added disco into the mix, the lid blew off, and the roller skate quickly became a symbol of the decade. So, get ready. This post is literally bursting at the seams with roller skating dynamite. So, sit back, relax and enjoy the sights and sounds of rollermania!
It wasn't long before the craze entered the pop culture arena via movies like Roller Boogie, Skatetown USA and Xanadu, and it kept popping up on TV (i.e. Donnie & Marie skatin' to the oldies on The Brady Bunch Variety Show). Even the likes of Raquel Welch and James Caan were playing roller skaters in films! Rollermania was truly everywhere.
Magazines such as People, Tiger Beat and Jet regularly featured celebs on skates. And if you know America, you know that if the celebs are doing it, the "common folk" will be lining up to do it too. Here's a few celebs caught with their skates on...
I remember owning a pair of skates which looked like a cheap pair of sneakers. They weren't allowed on the roller rink and their lack of ankle support rendered them useless on the sidewalk. A bad idea all the way around. Here's the exact skate I'm talking about:
Magazines such as People, Tiger Beat and Jet regularly featured celebs on skates. And if you know America, you know that if the celebs are doing it, the "common folk" will be lining up to do it too. Here's a few celebs caught with their skates on...
Olivia
Suzanne
Cher
Catherine Bach
Diana
....and, oh yes, Jimmy Walker on skates! Roller skating is officially DY-NO-MITE!
I remember owning a pair of skates which looked like a cheap pair of sneakers. They weren't allowed on the roller rink and their lack of ankle support rendered them useless on the sidewalk. A bad idea all the way around. Here's the exact skate I'm talking about:
Here's another example of an attempt to make roller skating more practical and less cumbersome. I have a feeling these were a far cry from our modern day "Heelys".
Of course it wasn't just about health and conserving the environment... it was about disco! The two fads, roller skating and disco, collided with epic force resulting in some of the
Follow this link to check out some of the worst roller skating I've ever seen on an episode of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.... proving once and for all that roller skating will still be around for hundreds of years to come.
Are you ready to get funky in your brand new roller skates? Francois Feldman is about to lay down some roller skatin' funk in his song "Can you feel it?". Enjoy.
I could easily go on for hours, but I'd hate to give your computer a roller disco overload. So, I'll save the rest for another post. Till then, here's a few roller babes for the road. Cheers!
