Gettin’ Groovy: The 1970s

       During my sophomore year in high school, I took Honors American History. The big project for the class was titled the ‘Decades Project,’ (which I guess had some influence on the idea for this blog) and consisted of compiling a board with facts about a certain decade, creating a ‘mixtape’ with songs of the generation, and dancing to those songs in a period long presentation to the class. The decade my group received for this project was the 1970s, which you probably could’ve guessed by the title. Initially not having much of a taste for disco music, arguably the defining genre of the 70s, this project opened my eyes to some great songs which I still listen to on a daily basis. Two iconic groups that were staples of this decade’s music were ABBA and Earth, Wind, & Fire.

       ABBA originally formed their group during 1966 in Sweden. The four members included Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Anderson,  Agnetha Fältskog, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, whose first letters of their first names fittingly arranged into the group’s name. In 1972, they found slight success with a song titled ‘People Need Love’ which ultimately gave them encouragement to enter Melodifestivalen, the Swedish selection for the the Eurovision Song Contest. Their first entry resulted in a third place finish, and in their second entry in 1974, they won international juries over with their song ‘Waterloo’ which would dominate charts around the world for some time. After this success, the group continued to smash out a number of hits and by 1976, they had established themselves as one of the most popular groups of the world. There are a plethora of great ABBA songs, but to narrow down my favorite picks, I would have to go with either “Dancing Queen” or “Voulez-Vous.”

       One of my personal favorite groups from this decade was Earth, Wind, & Fire. The American based funk group consisted of principle members Maurice White, Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Al McKay, Johnny Graham, Ralph Johnson, Larry Dunn, and Andrew Woolfolk. They found success with their second produced album, “Head to the Sky,” which sold a half-million copies and set the foundation for their future accomplishments.  Although the group achieved great popularity within the 70s, they continued to triumph throughout their later years and have actually performed as recently as 2019, with their most recent album being a Christmas (yes, Christmas) album titled ‘Holiday’ from 2014. My two top picks for Earth, Wind, & Fire songs has to be “September” and “Boogie Wonderland.”

       There’s something unique about the 1970s that makes you want to get. up and dance. I was never a huge fan of 70s music until compiling the mixtape for my project that I mentioned at the start of this post. My high school drama club performed Mamma Mia during my junior year, and the ABBA soundtrack was truly stunning to take in along with the fantastic sets and choreography which left a lasting image in my head every time I hear an ABBA song. I already stated four of my favorite songs from the two groups above, but my favorite song from this decade has to be “Mr. Blue Sky” by Electric Light Orchestra. This song is fairly well-known, yet it holds some sentimental value to me and my friends, as we always blast it at max volume on late night car rides. The main point of this blog is to try and do just that; to try and make you think about how music can really set a scene and how when you hear a certain song, a special memory is triggered within you. I would love to hear some stories about songs that are have a profound meaning on you, or that spark a special memory from your past!