When Paul Kantner was asked in 1975 about the musical changes in his band, which formed a decade earlier in San Francisco, he said the music they made in the 60s was a phase that they simply grew out of. Jefferson Airplane was as iconic as any 60s rock band and their San Francisco sound has literally been used as the soundtrack of films and documentaries of that era. But, like millions of other Baby Boomers, life looks different in your 30s than your 20s, especially if you managed to survive drag races and lots of drugs – and I am just talking about Grace Slick.

history, music, music historyAmy LivelyOctober 13, 2024soft rock, little river band, america band, 70s music

Episode 50: The Travolta Trilogy

Like Odyssey offered escape for the characters – real and fictional – in the form of a place to dance to disco in SNF, Gilley’s offered escape for the characters – real and fictional – in the form of a place to do the two-step. And, as “Saturday Night Fever” ultimately leads to the oversaturation of disco and contributes to its downfall, something similar will happen to Gilley’s. “Urban Cowboy” brings countryish music and a glimpse inside Gilley’s to millions of people who were nowhere near Houston — making it so popular that the locals soon wanted no more to do with it when it became a haven for tourists…

Episode 48: The Worst of the 70s? The Music of 1974

To hell with what they think! There are people out there who like to go to bed and have babies!

Episode 47: Dick Clark's Entertainment Empire

So, what was the New Year’s Eve show in your house? I had pretty young parents, so I am pretty confident that Guy Lombardo was not quite their cup of tea…It was always “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” in my house and Clark produced the first one in 1972 with his co-hosts, Three Dog Night. That means Three Dog Night had the distinction of having the first song played on “American Top 40” and “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.” Clark was definitely taking aim at the king of New Year’s Eve traditions, Guy Lombardo, who played big band music on his New Year’s Eve special. For many years, if you didn’t have plans on New Year’s Eve, Guy Lombardo from The Roosevelt Grille, and then for the last couple of years, the Waldorf-Astoria, was appointment TV. But Clark thought it was too dated.

Episode 38: The Influence of Jazz on 70s Popular Music

Clayton-Thomas said that without him, [Blood, Sweat, and Tears] was just a jazz band but he brought the R&B and soul to make it more of a rock band.

Episode 35: Cosmic American Music: 70s Country Rock

If you got an invitation to the release party for “The Gilded Palace of Sin,” you also got a package of hay. It was a publicity stunt, designed to signal “country” but it was tested to see if it might be marijuana, at the suggestion of the US Postal Service. But nope. No pot, just hay -- but the publicity and the image that it created -- Bob Proehl, the author of a book on “The Gilded Palace,” wrote, “the media buzz the seizure created was better than anything the A&M marketing department could have dreamed up. Before anyone had heard a note of the album, the Burrito Brothers had the exact image A&M wanted: psychedelic cow-punks, drug-addled.”

Episode 33: Zaire '74, Muhammad Ali, and "The Rumble in the Jungle"

“They’ve…said I’m the most powerful black man in the world.” —- James Brown

history, music, music historyAmy LivelySeptember 27, 202170s music, 70s boxing, zaire 74, rumble in the jungle, zaire 74 podcast

Episode 31: The Spirit of '76: Pop Music in America's Bicentennial

Silly Love Songs by Paul McCartney and Wings from the album Wings at the Speed of Sound. It was the #1 song in America on July 4, 1776. Fitting that one of our favorite British invaders would have the #1 song on that day.

Episode 29: Every Little Thing is Gonna Be All Right: The Influence of 70s Reggae

Marley said of the critics and fans who tried to compare him to Mick Jagger that they were not listening to what he was saying. He said the message is not the same and “Reggae is not the Twist.”

music history, music, historyAmy LivelyMarch 10, 202170s music, reggae, bob marley, 70s music podcast

Episode 27: That's Entertainment! TV Variety Shows of the 70s

Is there anybody out there who could pull off a musical comedy variety show nowadays?

“Nobody. It’s not possible because the audiences got to the point where the desire is on reality and the desire is on shock. And the Donny & Marie Show was (built) on simplicity and innocence, and we just don’t have that anymore. Nobody could pull that off — not even Donny and Marie” — Donny Osmond

Episode 25: The Hispanic Influence on 70s Popular Music

history, music, music historyAmy LivelyOctober 4, 202070s podcast, 70s history, 70s music, 70s rock, 70s country, freddy fender, santana, mocedades, freddie prinze, tony orlando, chico and the man, jose feliciano

Episode 22: Power to the People: The Music of the Black Power Movement

Don't let the handshake and the smile fool ya

Take my advice, I'm only tryin' to school ya

— Smiling Faces by The Undisputed Truth

history, musicAmy LivelyJune 25, 2020black panthers, black power, power to the people, 70s music, 70s history, 70s soul

Episode 20: I Hear a Symphony: 70s Progressive Rock

Challenging the idea of art, which is entirely subjective, in the 70s is a very 70s thing. This is the “Me Decade.” The decade of psychotherapy and liberation -- or at least attempts to move toward liberation -- raising consciousness. We did not have a collective vision of what progress meant. It was up to us to explore that, as individuals.

Episode 19: Mercy Mercy Me: 70s Songwriters and Mother Earth

Dewey Bunnell of the band, America, said that even though “Ventura Highway” is not a real highway, it was inspired by the Pacific Coast Highway and his thoughts of returning there while he was a kid living in Omaha. Also, alligator lizards in the air are clouds.

Episode 17: These Are Their Confessions: 70s Singer-Songwriters

“Although I prefer the heavier beer of rock and roll, the sweet white wine of Joni Mitchell is welcome.”

Episode 16: Seventies Funk: Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow

If Bruce Springsteen’s music can be called the sound of a ‘56 Chevy fueled by ground up Crystals records, then Parliament’s records must surely be the result of James Brown and Isaac Hayes records mixed in a high-speed Waring blender in the backseat of a leopardskin Cadillac pimpmobile.”

music, historyAmy LivelyDecember 28, 2019funk, pfunk, earth wind and fire, james brown, chaka khan, prince, black panthers, 70s music

Episode 15: Why 11 Fans of The Who Died in Cincinnati in 1979

The festival seating system was designed to squeeze as much money as possible out of the fans who made the industry possible. Safety was secondary, if it was a concern at all.

Episode 14 Waylon, Willie, and the Boys: 70s Outlaw Country

history, musicAmy LivelyOctober 22, 2019outlaw country, progressive country, willie nelson, waylon jennings, kris kristofferson, 70s music, 70s country, 70s country music

Episode 13: Soul Train: Peace, Love, and Soul in the Seventies

Amy cites Professor Laurence Ralph, who said that “Soul Train” showed young African Americans doing things that were “radically ordinary.” Just like American Bandstand.

history, musicAmy LivelySeptember 25, 2019soul train, 70s music, 70s history, don cornelius, soul unlimited, al green, 70s soul, 70s podcast

Episode 12: The Birth of the 1979 No Nukes Concert

The people behind No Nukes learned from the Concert for Bangladesh and avoided much of the financial drama, although the festival did not come close to achieving its goal. Still, $600,000 got into the right hands.

history, musicAmy LivelyAugust 27, 2019no nukes, bangladesh, dylan, beatles, clapton, springsteen, tom petty, nuclear, three mile island