Flashback to 1970
Twelve days after Easter Sunday, Paul McCartney broke up with the Beatles, later in the year, Elvis Presley the all-American rock and roll star met with President Richard M. Nixon, not only for a social call but to help the president with his war on drugs. The evolution of Heavy Metal ensued. Rock reviewers began using the term “heavy metal” to describe a certain musical genre in the early 1970s after it first appeared in the lyrics of Steppenwolf’s “Born to be Wild” (1968). Culturally, the Hard Rock and early Heavy Metal culture grew out of the waning Hippie milieu, but it had plenty of time to mature before the anti-establishment Punk movement gained traction. The rock and metal bands preserved their long hair, but they wore spike- and rivet-embellished black leather and denim on stage in place of the hippies’ tie-dyed shirts, bell bottoms, and headbands. Let’s take a deeper look at this landmark time in music and history….
Music Events:
Late 1960’s – Early 1970’s
The birth of heavy metal. Groups like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple were the first heavy metal bands.
Late 1970’s
The rise of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NHOBHM). Bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest become very popular.
The Who’s Keith Moon died.
Ozzy Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath and replaced by Ronnie James Dio.
Europe, Hanoi Rocks, Trouble, Venom, Dokken, Ratt, Whitesnake were formed.
The German band Accept releases their self-titled debut album. They are the first European power metal band.
Van Halen released their debut album. This began the Los Angeles/Sunset Strip scene.
Top 10 Albums of the 1970’s
- SCORPIONS — LOVE DRIVE (Mercury, 1979)
2. KISS — ALIVE (Cassablanca, 1975)
3. RAINBOW — RISING (Polydor, 1976)
4. VAN HALEN — VAN HALEN (Warner, 1978)
5. DEEP PURPLE — MACHINE HEAD (Harvest, 1972)
6. BLACK SABBATH — BLACK SABBATH (Sanctuary, 1970)
7. RUSH — 2112 (Mercury, 1976)
8.TED NUGENT — TED NUGENT (Epic, 1975)
9. JUDAS PRIEST — SAD WINGS OF DESTINY (Snapper, 1976)
10. MOTORHEAD — OVERKILL (Sanctuary, 1979)
World Events:
Abortion was legalized in the United States.
A Brazilian aircraft, Boeing 707 crashed near France, killing 123 passengers on board.
The Greek regime attacked Polytechnic students with tanks, killing 34 students and injuring around hundreds of them.
-Georgina Strilakos