Rock Music in the Seventies:
The Beatles break up in 1970, but all four members continue to impact the decade with successful solo careers. The early seventies are marked by the deaths of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison who all die at the age of 27. Pyschedelic music declines, but morphs into hard rock, progressive rock and heavy metal. Touring bands move from playing clubs and theaters, to playing sports arenas. Big time bands, many of them formed in the '60's, such as the Rolling Stones, Pink
Floyd, The Who, Grand Funk and Led Zeppelin travel in private jets and play to thousands in arenas and outdoor stadiums.
A clear distinction emerges between Top 40 radio and FM album oriented rock radio stations. Car stereos become common, first with FM stereo radio, then 8-Track tapes, followed by cassette tapes.
This diversity of music distribution channels, along with an expanding market allows for a wide variety of new rock styles to emerge. The early seventies are dominated by singer songwriters and soft rock. Glam or Glitter Rock shines briefly in the first half of the seventies. Live albums are popular, with huge hits for Rare Earth, Peter Frampton, and Kiss. Reggae moves out of Jamaica to become a world wide genre. Disco dominates the radio and dance floors in the late seventies. Punk rock, a throwback to sixties garage rock, emerges in the late seventies as a reaction to arena rock, progressive rock and disco. Punk becomes New Wave as bands move beyond guitars and drums, and begin incorporating synthesizers.
Elvis Presley dies in 1977 at age 42. Huge crowds begin flocking to his Memphis home, Graceland.
Seventies Genres / Key Artists:
Singer Songwriters: James Taylor, Carole King, Don McClean, Cat Stevens, Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, Harry Chapin, Jim Croce, John Denver, Carly Simon, Steve Forbert.
Soft Rock: Elton John, The Carpenters, Bread, Billy Joel, Chicago, Fleetwood Mac, America, Olivia Newton-John, Roberta Flack.
Pop: Abba, Jackson Five, The Osmonds, David Cassidy, Barry Manilow, Bay City Rollers, Helen Reddy, Leo Sayer, Cher, Tom Jones, Rod Stewart, Dionne Warwick, Barbara Streisand, Dianna Ross, Neil Diamond.
R&B / Urban: Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers, Al Green, Teddy Pendergrass, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, Marvin Gaye, Issaac Hayes.
Disco: Bee Gees, Earth Wind and Fire, KC and the Sunshine Band, Van McCoy, Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor, Average White Band, Brothers Johnson, The Sylvers, The Village People.
Funk: James Brown, The Meters, Parliament-Funkadelic, Tower of Power, Rufus, Bootsy's Rubber Band, Ohio Players, Kool & The Gang, War.
Hard Rock / Arena Rock / Heavy Metal: Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, Kiss, Blue Oyster Cult, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Rush, Boston, Journey, Peter Frampton, Uriah Heep, Jethro Tull, Nazareth, Ted Nugent, Styx, Queen, Van Halen.
Heartland Rock: Bruce Springsteen, Credence Clearwater Revial, Bob Seger, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Eddie Money.
Progressive Rock: Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Can, Gentle Giant, Soft Machine, King Crimson, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Kansas, Utopia, Rush, Supertramp, Focus, Van Der Graaf Generator, Hawkwind.
Glam / Glitter Rock: David Bowie, T.Rex, The Sweet, Roxy Music, Slade, Gary Glitter, Mott the Hoople, New York Dolls, Lou Reed, Iggy and the Stooges, Mud, Roy Wood, Silverhead, Wizzard, Sparks.
Southern Rock: The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Marshall Tucker, Charlie Daniels Band, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Black Oak Arkansas, Elvin Bishop, Wet Willie.
Country Rock: Gram Parsons, The Eagles, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Poco, Pure Prairie League, Neil Young, The Doobie Brothers.
Outlaw Country: Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, David Allan Coe, Kris Kristofferson, Jessi Coulter, The Flatlanders, Jerry Jeff Walker, Michael Martin Murphey, Sammi Smith.
Punk Rock: The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, The Damned, The Clash, The Dictators, Patti Smith, Television, Richard Hell, The Buzzcocks, 999, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Adverts, The Slits, The Saints, The Stranglers, Generation X, The Vibrators, Xray Spex, The Germs, X.
New Wave: Blondie, Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, Nick Lowe, Graham Parker, The Jam, Boomtown Rats, The Cure, Adam and the Ants, Bow Wow Wow, Gang of Four, XTC, Split Enz, The Undertones, Devo.
Power Pop: Cheap Trick, The Records, 20/20, Shoes, The Plimsouls, The Motors, The Romantics, Off Broadway, The Knack, The Beat, Nick Lowe, The Motors, Squeeze, The Vapors.
Blues Rock: Eric Clapton, ZZ Top, Free, George Thorogood, Steve Miller Band, Bad Company, Taste, Rory Gallagher, Robin Trower, Status Quo, Dr. Feelgood, Foghat.
Reggae: Bob Marley and the Wailers, Toots and the Maytals, John Holt, Jimmy Cliff, Peter Tosh, Burning Spear, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Max Romeo, Culture.
Rap / Hip-Hop: Emerges at the end of the seventies on the East Coast with Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five and The Sugarhill Gang scoring a minor hit with "Rapper's Delight".
Electronic Music: Also called Krautrock because of it's German origins, Electronic Music is an offshoot of progressive rock with synthesizers replacing all instruments. Proponents include Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Brian Eno and others.
Top 50 Music Artists of the 1970's
Based on Worldwide Sales of Singles and Albums
1: Elton John
2: The Rolling Stones
3: Pink Floyd
4: Abba
5: Led Zeppelin
6: Bee Gees
7: Wings
8: David Bowie
9: Bob Dylan
10: Rod Stewart
11: Elvis Presley
12: The Beatles
13: Deep Purple
14: Santana
15: Eagles
16: Neil Diamond
17: Neil Young
18: John Lennon
19: Cat Stevens
20: Queen
21: Chicago
22: The Who
23: Donna Summer
24: Jethro Tull
25: Stevie Wonder
26: James Last
27: Fleetwood Mac
28: The Carpenters
29: Creedence Clearwater Revival
30: Boney M
31: Simon & Garfunkel
32: Electric Light Orchestra
33: George Harrison 34: John Denver
35: Bob Marley
36: Earth, Wind & Fire
37: Yes
38: Black Sabbath
39: Slade
40: Billy Joel
41: Alice Cooper
42: Carole King
43: Supertramp
44: Genesis
45: Barry White
46: Emerson, Lake & Palmer
47: The Sweet
48: Joni Mitchell
49: Eric Clapton
50: Paul Simon
