1970s Disco Music

If you love the jukebox musical “Mamma Mia,” you must be familiar with the musical group called ABBA. If you know ABBA, then you must know the music genre disco.

Disco took over the 1970s, along with the continuation of rock. The 1970s are described as a “tumultuous” time in history, and very similar to the 1960s. Many marginalized groups were still fighting for their equal rights and many continued to protest the Vietnam war.

Music was similar too as rock and roll progressed and expanded, along with soul, folk, and country music. There were also developments of funk, punk, and new electronic sounds.

However, a prominent difference from the 1960s to the 1970s was that the hippie era began to fade and Glam Rock, or Glitter Rock, took hold.

Glam Rock was developed in Britain during the 1970s and consisted of men who performed in extravagant costumes and decorative makeup. Two very famous artists in this genre are David Bowie and Elton John. Bowie and John were known for their expressive performances and Bowie even had the stage name “Ziggy Stardust.”

Furthermore, artists began playing larger audiences and therefore their concert sound improved. This also contributed to their studio sound as stereo recording also progressed. This allowed many more artists to rock out with more people and better sound.

During this decade, Pink Floyd had the two most celebrated albums: “Darkside of the Moon” and “The Wall.” The most popular songs of these albums include “Money” and “Another Brick in the Wall, pt. 2,” which you might be familiar with.

Pink Floyd’s music was based around a more psychedelic rock feel which was prominent in the 1960s as well as the 1970s. With that, there was also Hard Rock, which continued to get louder and meaner. Bands that ran the hard rock genre were Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and many more. However, rock and roll was still extremely popular through The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, etc.

Taking a full 180, folk music also stayed alive through the storytelling songwriting of artists like James Taylor, John Denver, Paul Simon, Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and more. Popular songs by these artists are respectively “Fire and Rain,” “Take me Home, Country Roads,” “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,” “Where You Lead” (the Gilmore Girl’s theme song), and “Big Yellow Taxi.”

Another important genre of the time was soul music, which gained considerable popularity. Artists that were already popular or took off during this time were Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, The Jackson 5, Diana Ross, etc. Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin had already made names for themselves in the 1960s. However, The Jackson 5 were discovered in the late 1960s but gained popularity in the 1970s through songs like “I Want You Back” and “ABC.” With that, Diana Ross also had a name for herself in her group The Supremes but began her solo career in 1970s and grew in fame.

Now onto the craze of the decade, Disco. This genre of dancing music was popularized in clubs in urban areas. It transformed the music industry especially from the soundtrack of Saturday Night Fever in 1977. This gave fame to the group of brothers called the Bee Gees through their song “Stayin’ Alive.” Other popular artists in this genre include Donna Summer (the said Queen of Disco), ABBA, Earth, Wind, and Fire, and many others.

There were also groups like The Ramones, New Directions, and The Sex Pistols that helped create what was known as “punk” in the 1970s. Punk continues to be prevalent today and has developed a lot since the start, but it all began in the 1970s.

Top 10 Songs of the 1970s:

• Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen
• Dreams – Fleetwood Mac
• Moonage Daydream – David Bowie
• Dancing Queen – ABBA
• Hotel California – Eagles
• Dream On – Aerosmith
• The Chain – Fleetwood Mac
• Blue Sky – Electric Light Orchestra
• Stayin’ Alive – Bee Gees
• Immigrant Song – Led Zeppelin

citations:

Top 100 artists of the 70s (2022) Top40Weekly.com. Available at: https://top40weekly.com/top-100-artists-of-the-70s/ (Accessed: October 13, 2022).