Which great bands of the 70's could be successful today

Marvin Gaye would still be making hit songs. James Brown would do OK.

 

I have no idea why the amazon ads are on this.....but George Jones it is.

 

I don't hear a word they're sayin'.

 

OK
Good
Great

 

Bob Seger, Allmans, Petty, Waylon, etc...

 

Sorry to do it again (not really!), but I enjoy remembering this stuff. I saw the Steve Miller Band (with some friends) at the Vulcan Gas Company in Austin in 1968 (Love Street opened first - the Vulcan was a very similar layout), and again at the Music Hall the same year. Actually saw him more times than I can remember. Always a great show.

Interesting thread. I think a number of the bands back then that were successful would be popular today. The Kinks, Jethro Tull, Frank Zappa and the Mothers, Deep Purple, The Who, Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Queen, Santana, Elton, and on and on. Most of the few I mentioned are obvious, but they were well into their prime then. The early '70's were essentially an extension of the '60's. A continuation of an enormous amount of great music. Far too many of the LP's from the '60's didn't reflect how great the music was live. That was largely solved in the '70's.

Things started to change significantly around 1975. The war ended (February, '73 - at least for us), the draft ended (end of March, '73), and a big driver of the counter-culture movement that I was a part of was gone. Gradually, the atmosphere changed and disco in the latter part of the '70's was the last nail in the coffin. Still a lot of great music, despite the disco craze. A really great decade. I had an amazing amount of fun in the '60's, and an amazing amount of fun in the '70's, as well. Fun for me amounted to music and girls. Music was cheap to see in concerts and clubs, cheap to buy at a record store, and it was absurdly cheap to take a chick out and have a great time. Anyone who experienced the '70's in Houston and Austin would know what I'm talking about. I miss it far too frequently for my own good. It's a bummer to look in a mirror. "Who is this guy??"

 

Brother and I and friends polished off a pack of Karbach's Love Street this afternoon, that's quality beverage.

 

I saw nearly every band mentioned in the thread, Buck. I didn't see the Sargent Pepper wannabes or George Jones, but nearly everyone else, and a bunch of the groups/performers named by others. Humble Pie, Harry Nilsson, Little Feat, Seger, the Allmans, Waylon (I've always had eclectic tastes, apparently), Willie, Alan Parsons, Genesis and so many more (trying to name people that were mentioned, and failing miserably, I'm sure). Clubs like Liberty Hall were outstanding. I saw the Velvet Underground (3 bucks?) and Springsteen there (played a hair short of 3 hours - my significant other was there with a date, and we didn't meet until years later).

There were frequently 3 or even 4 groups playing the Music Hall or the Coliseum on a playbill. I saw groups 3rd billed that later became legends. Sure, a lot of them would struggle to get a big following today, but many would play clubs, cut records (or today's equivalent), or play larger venues with a "name" band. They were driven to make music, and I don't know why that would change. Again, I think a lot of them would be more popular than some realize. Of course, there is a caveat. Today is vastly different than the '70's. Astoundingly different, so the music would be different.

Yes, I even saw the Eagles, and I agree that they desperately needed Joe Walsh. I always crack up when I see The Big Lebowski again and watch the Dude get tossed from his cab for slamming the Eagles. He was on target. Gotta add (again - it's a pet peeve) ticket prices for name bands today are absurdly high. It's ridiculous. I don't know how young people can afford to go. The "fees" are worse. There didn't use to be any. I don't know how folks can do much more than go to clubs, unless they're well fixed or save up for a concert. Thank goodness for the clubs in Austin (and I assume in Houston). Where would we be without them?

There's a Love Street beer? You're kidding!

 

I can't believe you've never seen George Jones. For shame.

eta: these guys are also great, they're my buddies so support them if and when you can:



Not my buddies, but good lowered this stuff is delicious (the bottling parties are a great time, check it out some day):

 

Will do. Thanks!

 

You missed the Stonewall/Hye Peach Jamboree and parade. The bourbon brothers had a fried chicken social afterwards. I did not go either.

 

If Adore came out today, it would have been a huge success and the smashing pumpkins would have never broken up.

 

You picked the wrong Nilsson song (NSFW)

 

I Tweeted to Van Dyke Parks about a possible connection btw Nilsson and Lowell George and if he was the link; he confirmed he introduced them to each other. Sometimes Twitter is cool...

 

This thread made me think of so many bands from the past.

Emerson Lake and Palmer
Yes
Rare Earth
Grand Funk Railroad
REO Speedwagon
War
Guess Who
Velvet Underground / Lou Reed
ELO
Rush
Styx
Deep Purple
Blue Oyster Cult
Supertramp
Kansas
Triumph
Montrose
Traffic
Uriah Heep
Steppenwolf

 

Want to say that it's great to see a Mango post! I saw every group on your list, Mango, except for Triumph. It inspired me to dig around a little and I found this. It's an interview with Jon Anderson of Yes, and it captures very well what fans like me were feeling at the time, during the late '60's and early '70's. The whole thing is at the link (too long to post), but this bit is what I really enjoyed reading. It's from Seconds Magazine, whatever the heck that was or is. I think it's a British source.

SECONDS: Discuss the early psychedelic years of Yes.

ANDERSON: It was an amazing time because at the time Yes started, Zeppelin started. Deep Purple, ELP, genesis, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report - there was alot of great music going on. In so many ways it was like an incredible explosion of music ideology. Whatever way you turned you would find Zappa, you would find Pink Floyd - you were busy buying people's albums because it was so damn exciting. The only music I buy now is World music, ancient Chinese music, South American Salsa band music. I don't buy modern Rock & Roll because there isn't that explosion anymore in terms of music prowess. at the time, in the late 60s, early 70s, there was a lot of musicianship around. King Crimson were around at that time. It was an amazing period. To watch a band perform great music, you want to do better. you do battle with record companies, you do battle with the business because you're a par t of the avant-garde, your part of the revolution of music. Today, we're still pushing the revolution, we're not letting go. Whoever gets into the music is in for life.

http://zenponies.com/yitp/1994/jul/jul_94.html