THE FORMATIVE YEARS PART I
The ’70s were an interesting time to be a young kid. Ahhhh, the sights, the sounds…the smells. I remember as if it were only yesterday…(record scratch). Wait! This might be true for my older siblings, but I was only seven when the decade closed. As such, most of what pass for memories probably more realistically fall into the category of brief, vivid impressions, really…
Whatever. The ’70s were awesome! Humor me for a bit.
summarizing The ’70s
Digging back through a minefield of repression, I recall the omnipresence of olive green-yellow-orange-brown earth tones. Everything seemed dirtier, somehow: sun-soaked in a haze of air pollution; perma-stained a grimy nicotine-maize. Fashions were appallingly tacky and everyone’s hair was at least a little bit longer.
The existential crises of the times played out in pop culture as revisionist romanticism of an idealized 1950s America (Happy Days; Grease; Sha Na Na) clashed with paranoid fears of technology and the future (Planet of the Apes; Westworld; Logan’s Run). Oh yeah… And there was that Disco thing, too…
At the end of the decade, portions of society increasingly (sometimes brutally) rejected selected ’70s touchstones for being criminally uncool. But what did I know or care? I was simultaneously processing a kaleidoscopic barrage of disparate sights and sounds with, as yet, unbiased eyes and ears. Overwhelmed by curiosity and the newness of everything, how could I be much of a cynic about anything.
how I experienced the ’70s
In short, I sum-up my personal account of the decade thusly: Dr. Seuss, Mego, monster movies, Lite Brite, Wheaties, cartoons, Krofft productions, M.A.S.H., and Star Wars; John-Boy, the Brady Bunch, schmaltzy variety shows, “the agony of defeat”, Farrah hair, Kiss, and ABBA.
Digging Deeper
My sheltered indoctrination into the world occurred in the pocket universe that was my parent’s home via media that, just as often as not, hailed from the preceding decades.
Early morning experiences were defined by the smell of coffee brewing in the kitchen, industrial-size boxes of Cheerios, and J.P. McCarthy on “The Great Voice of the Great Lakes,” AM 760 WJR – once a lightly conservative mix of news, commentary, and vanilla, awkwardly cropped music – on the radio.
Before the cable/home video revolution, television as a popular medium had only functionally existed for around 25 years. Further, we only had three networks, PBS, and a small handful of indie channels to deliver content. The net effect of having fewer outlets was that all viewers consumed a dizzyingly compressed full-history of 20th century pop-media. One never knew what era might be represented next when switching channels… Would it be the ’50s (I Love Lucy)? The ’70s (Partridge Family)? The ’30…the ’40s (Little Rascals)? No one knew and no one cared. It was all good.
Daily Routines
My daily viewing routines covered a lot of ground. In the mornings, I watched Sesame Street, Popeye cartoons, and the Gong Show. Early afternoons typically involved a nap and/or watching Bill Kennedy at the Movies with Mom. Mid-late afternoons meant Bugs Bunny, Bullwinkle and ’60s reruns (The Munsters; Leave It to Beaver; Batman; Lost In Space). Capping things off in the evenings between dinner and bedtime, I caught an hour of family fare (Little House On the Prairie), variety shows (the Muppets), or adventure (Six Million Dollar Man).
Being a little kid, I always did other things while the TV was on, of course. Drawing superheroes (on any available surface) and sneaking snacks (shhhhhhh). I often bounced up randomly to (figuratively) pop open cans of spinach for extra strength. Threw on capes to act out fight scenes (“KAPOW!”) and fly (run) full speed through the house (whooshing” sounds). I climbed the stairs like Spidey and jumped unnaturally long distances (“buh buh buh buh na na na na“). On some occasions, I even beamed down to strange new worlds (“I’m a KID, not BRAIN surgeon!”).
Looking back, the best part of threatening the structural integrity of the house with the power of serious play may have been aping sound-effects and vocalizing theme music. “Proper” lessons, these were not, but these shows exposed me to a world of sound. I intuitively learned a lot about tone and dynamics by attempting to mimic what I heard and, in the process, developed control of a decent vocal range and ear for music. Sure, Pavarotti never lost work because of me, nor did I go on to be some great musician. But I remain grateful for those experiences all the same.
What’s Going on (Around the house)
I recall Mom singing Teresa Brewer and Doris Day songs around the house while doing ALL the many things that busy house Mom’s do. Dad crooned assorted “big band” era tunes while cleaning up for bowling nights. My older siblings spun borrowed Beatles and Beach Boys 45’s on the family hi-fi. Using yarn for strings, my eldest sister made me a corrugated cardboard guitar in the shape of the Monkees logo. My older brother recorded mix-tapes from our local rock oldies station AM 560 “Honey Radio“ and played “Surfin’ Bird” just to see me fall down laughing.
The house was incredibly drafty, so my weekly winter Saturday morning cartoons ritual was, at times, amended to include huddling under an afghan with my younger sister while we bogarted the living room heat register. Brrrr! No matter how disposable the cartoons generally were, almost all had themes that burrowed into the inner recesses my brain.
Once in a while, I devoted a day to lounging and listening to albums. I liked Peter Pan brand 45 rpm kiddie story records and LP’s like Rocking Horse Players’ Peter and the Wolf. Non-kid-specific favorites included Lawrence Welk’s Baby Elephant Walk, Herb Alpert’s Whipped Cream and Other Delights, and K-tel’s Pure Gold. I also listened to the Goldfinger, Saturday Night Fever, Fantasia and Star Wars movie soundtracks and examined every sleeve down to the last detail of each worn corner.
What’s Going on (On the Car Stereo)
I remember laying down in the back seat of the family wagon (or was it the black Chevy…), meditatively listening as sweetly melodic music played over the stereo. Don’t judge – this was back in the day before seat belts were mandatory. It’s hard to say now exactly what songs were playing in those moments but some of my favorite mellow jams from that period include “What’s Going On” (Marvin Gaye), “Livin’ Thing” (ELO), “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” (Stevie Wonder), “Do You Know the Way to San Jose“ (Dionne Warwick,), and “Saturday In the Park” (Chicago). Good times.
TV c. 1978 BC (before cable)
Speaking again of the age before home video and “on demand,” holiday shows and movies played once annually. If missed, that was that until the next year. CBS ran Peanuts cartoons like clockwork three times a year. Classic Disney films (Mary Poppins; 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) regularly rotated-in on NBC. Christmas time meant Rankin & Bass Animagic specials. ABC typically fit-in Bond films at least once a month. Networks ran epic Biblical films (Ten Commandments; Greatest Story Ever Told) on Easter and Christmas.
Big Hollywood musicals were regarded as special events. The Wizard of Oz aired once a year like clockwork. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory was an annual tradition at my elementary school. Parent-friendly musicals like Singin’ In the Rain, the Sound of Music, and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers stand out as well.
MUSIC ON TV IN THE ’70S
When I discovered that favored musical acts were scheduled to appear on TV, my instinct was to stop the world so as to not accidentally miss them. As I mentioned earlier, these were the “dark times” – long before streaming media… There were no second chances to see that sort of thing.
Excepting the occasions when Frank Sinatra and/or other old Hollywood heavyweights appeared on TV variety shows, musical guests were always held back until the last segment. So, when Paul McCartney & Wings appeared on the MDA Telethon, I monitored the clock and waited them out. When Blondie performed on the Mike Douglas Show, I watched the ENTIRE show so as to ensure no mistakes were made. The excitement was just to great to take any chances.
Yes, the setting was very conventional (square). But a varied enough array of impactful visual and aural information got through, stimulating my imagination and leaving me wanting more.
To be continued in…
I love your writing it’s brilliant.
Thanks Ed!!! Much appreciated, man. Took a long time to edit down… As all over the place as it the finished product still feels, it was REALLY full of tangents before.
Did I shake any memories lose? Do you have any of your own you’d care to share?
All the memories are rushing back! Some things that I almost forgot about, too. This is quite a vivid picture you paint. A great slice of history for us forty-somethings soon to be FIFTY. Aargh! That graphic you created for this post really grabbed my attention. Great job all around. Looking forward to part II.
Thank you sir! Much appreciated! Glad You enjoyed the trip down memory lane. Care to share any of your own? As long as this was, I know there was a lot that I missed… Had a lot that was set aside in editing. Hoping to unearth some more good stuff for part II.
The graphics really make it.
Thanks Kiddo!! I aim to please.
Hi, Forrest! I really enjoyed my first read of your blog! You have an excellent command of the language! Nice job! BTW I am betting that is you, the cute blonde-haired kid in the picture collage!
When you were 7 and under in the late 70’s, my sons were early teens. Kiss was there favorite. I took them to Metro airport (to the executive hanger) and they were able to see (from behind the fence standing on a snow pile) Kiss disembark from a private jet and (in full custom) wave to the couple of dozen of us there! They still remember that as a cool childhood event!
I look forward to reading more … and reminiscing! Keep up the good work!
Phil
Thanks, Phil. I’m glad you enjoyed it! I write a bit more about Kiss in the Part 2, which will be posted shortly once the graphics are completed. Make sure to check out the highlighted red text… They are “easter eggs” that link to supplementary content.
What a special moment for you and your kids to witness Kiss this way and being able to see part of Kiss’s journey behind the scenes.
You bring up a good point that, because of limited TV channels and no internet yet, we had a common set of shows and music that we were all familiar with. It’s great to have so many choices these days, but it could also mean it’s harder to have cultural cohesion among the age groups.
It was fun to be reminded of old music and television favorites!
Your picture with the various 70’s theme really stands out.
I appreciated seeing the link for Lite Brite (and all the others in red) which showed the Lite Brite patterns I worked on in my cubby hole. Nicely done Lite Brite photo of yourself.
The link for the 70’s color tones brings me back to the many restaurants and friends homes I attended. I still like those color tones today. There is a restaurant I visit that still has the orange counter top that I remember when I was young.
I was thinking about how we would wait a year and look forward as a family to watch shows like Wizard of Oz and the Sound of Music while today we can watch it anytime on DVD. Including Charlie Brown.
Shows like The Brady Bunch, Little House on the Prairie, Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie were some of my favorites.
Fashion wise, I remember walking in my neighborhood and seeing a teen wearing these plaid and very wide bell bottom pants.
You’re so lucky that you weren’t immersed in a constant barrage of country music and your family members singing along to Hank Williams, Waylon Jennings and Julio Iglesias on WKDF. I think it’s a lot of why I revile the genre so heavily to this day. My appreciation for pop, blues and rock came much later as I headed out into the world in Junior High. Much of music of the 70s, especially rock and heavy metal, was reviled for being Satan’s personal tool for communication in an attempt to win us innocents to his side primed for the “stealing of our souls”.
It’s funny. I’m not sure at what age I totally rejected country because it didn’t seem to bother me that much as a young kid watching Hee Haw with Roy Clark and Buck Owens. Maybe because they were more bluegrass than country? I don’t know. In the ’70s & early ’80s there were a lot of country artists who crossed over in to the popular mainstream like Glenn Campbell, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Barbara Mandrell, Crystal Gayle, Ronnie Milsap, Juice Newton, etc. Johnny Cash was ALWAYS there. I still don’t like modern country apart from VERY few stray songs (“This Kiss” by Faith Hill sounds like it could have ben penned by Andy Partridge…), but the genre on the whole I sort of softened on a bit as I’ve expanded out and realized how influential the base form has been on many of favorite singer-songwriters like Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Elvis Costello, etc.