As the 1970s dawned, the world witnessed the demise of the most popular and consequential band in recording history, The Beatles, and the rise of the singer/songwriter era- Carole King, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Carly Simon, Cat Stevens. The ’70s was also a time of increasing musical fragmentation and polarization as fans became more and more intolerant of other styles and genres. You had the hard rock dominance of Led Zeppelin and the emergence of Heavy Metal with Black Sabbath versus the softer sounds of the Carpenters or Billy Joel. James Brown, Stevie Wonder, and Curtis Mayfield were in the forefront of funk; the Eagles soared with country rock, while T-Rex and David Bowie became the face of so-called glam rock. Meanwhile, two new styles were developing- disco and punk.

            Disco, or dance club music, came out of New York and Philly and swept through the Americas and Europe by mid-decade, declining by around 1980. Donna Summer was the Queen of Disco; Sweden’s ABBA became a worldwide commercial force, while the Bee Gees, formerly a Beatlesque pop rock trio out of Australia, had a second life and came to dominate the disco scene following the 1977 release of the film and soundtrack Saturday Night Fever.

            Punk rock emerged in the middle of the decade, as much a rebellion against mainstream commercial rock as anything. Looking to recapture the freshness, the energy, the spirit of rebellion that characterized early rock & roll, punk emerged in two different locales- in New York City where Patti Smith and the Ramones made their names, and in London where the Sex Pistols and the Clash became stars.

            Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings left the Nashville country trappings behind and created what became known as the outlaw country sound. Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn were, perhaps, the biggest female country names. 

            The 1970s also saw the LP grow as an art form with some of the most highly acclaimed or best-selling (or both) works created by the likes of the Who, Carol King, Marvin Gaye, Joni Mitchell, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Elton John, the Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, Meat loaf, and Fleetwood Mac.

         -Steve Williams (8/3/23) Greatest Recording Artists Blog Post #33