1970s music

The 1970s was a decade full of funk, disco, rock including hard rock and punk. Similar to African inspired music, funk typically consists of a groove with rhythm with use of instruments like the electric guitar, election bass and Hammond organ. Artists such as Sly & The Family Stone and the Isley Brothers were very successful in getting radio play. Disco is one of the genres most associated with the 1970s especially in dance clubs with disco divas like Donna Summer. Blondie, the Knack and Devo soon also became associated with disco. The 1970s brought the beginning of hard rock with bands like Alice Cooper and Deep Purple. By the end of the decade, many bands had achieved success in this genre, namely, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Aerosmith. Psychedelic rock had lost popularity in the 1970s with the deaths of Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison. Punk Rock developed during the end of the decade. Bands created fast and hard-edged music with often political anti-establishment lyrics. Bands like The Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Ramones were recognized as a new music movement. In 1978 there was a beginning of a distinct style of Punk Rock that consisted of aggressive beats and screaming lyrics. The movement soon spread through North-America and then internationally. This new style of punk even made parents move their children out of the city and into the suburbs to keep them away from "the new breed of monster". In addition to that, another style was created forming punk together with pop. UK bands like The Buzzcocks and The Undertones combined pop-style music and lyrics with punks fast paced sound and chaotic edge. With punk music came the return of motorcycle jackets and jeans ensemble. There was also a huge craze for safety pins as a fashion statement that soon became the British Punk style. In time tattoos, piercings and metal studs became another element in punk fashion.

Suggested 1970s songs

• Hotel California by The Eagles
• American Pie by Don McLean
• Bennie and the Jets by Elton John
• Dancing Queen by Abba
• My Sharona by The Knack
• Heart of Glass by Blondie
• Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin
• Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen