Country, Classical, Opera, Blues? All in a Rhapsody of Rock & Roll!
There’s no disputing that this era was musical history in the making. And it all played out on Rock Radio music charts. Those Top Ten-Twenty-Thirty-Forty lists of the Seventies especially, told the history of Rock & Roll, while foretelling the future of it.
Bubblegum Pop evaporated into edgier lyrics and stretched to include instruments in other musical realms. By the middle ‘70s, a subtle battle waged up and down the charts between Pop, Disco, Glam Rock and mushrooming experimental melodies with unusual instruments and sounds. Lyrics continued to reflect events of the day, surrounded by the ever-present love songs. Every month brought more mind-altering music and wild-‘n’-crazy DJs to test the limits of former boundaries and what Radio stations would allow.
This month’s Featured Radio Survey heads into the decade’s end flaunting ever-growing raw talent on the charts. For better or worse, those on the inside were often fueled by the Seventies’ banner of “Sex, Drugs & Rock & Roll.” The rest of us gobbled it up and craved more. We weren’t disappointed.
Even those who were too young to understand it or care, found the early progressive Rock as the years tore on, never letting go of the essence of Rock & Roll—innovation. Welcome to APRIL 1976 as we Spring into memories or learn anew, true tales behind the mic …Enjoy 50 Years Ago this Month …
What was your fave DJ playing when you turned on your tinny transistor radio 50 Years Ago? Oh, I’m well aware that many of you readers, like me, have forgotten many details of “back in the day.” And then there are those who love Rock & Roll, but aren’t blessed with the memories, so let’s look back together, to pioneering Rock & Roll Radio in the making …
You
might find interesting, April 1976’s KRIZ 1230/Phoenix,
Arizona, Top 30 survey (ARSA link is NOT
secure; enter at own risk). Their “Hits” list for April 17th – 30th,
flaunts WINGS’ new “Silly Love
Songs”
at #2, while their album, [Wings] At The Speed of Sound, is firmly
entrenched at #1 of their Top 10 Albums list.
Or
were you around in the mid-‘70s to enjoy the dulcet tones of DJ Dennis
Elliot on the short-lived WPEZ in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania?
From 1976 to sometime in ‘77, Pittsburgh listeners tuned into Dennis’s spirited
commentary and smooth, energetic voice.
We know from this
aircheck
that he was there at least through New Year’s 1977, giving away t-shirts and
making winners of his listeners … take a listen
and enjoy the past with Dennis and our history-making music. Last heard,
Dennis spent 1996 (and more?) in Pittsburgh with WZPT during
their radio tenure 1994-2011. But couldn’t find further current news.
WPEZ’s hits were heard over
the airwaves from November 1973 until it, too, gave up on Top 40 and opted for
an adult contemporary format in September 1980, flipping to WWSW-FM. It’s now broadcasting
classic hits as 94.5 3WS.
Movin’ on … notes & news about music of the day …
Grab a cuppa something, sit back and enjoy the read. It’s gonna be a long one … just like the song …
During the 1950s and ‘60s there were one or two songs and artists that defined each decade. But the 1970s was an era in transition that continued building on the late ‘60s’ creative energy.
The first half-decade represented a sound mix of Pop and a little edgier Rock, while the second half split the sound between even more musical nuances as we explored with innovative enthusiasm. The APRIL 1976 Song of Note is tinged with Disco, infused with waning Pop, even hinting at the Blues and Opera, while reverberating with ever-edgier, Rock & Roll. Coined “progressive Rock,” you’ll find it at #6 on the WPEZ Featured Radio Survey …
There is nothing about British band Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” (from their fourth album, A Night at the Opera) that hasn’t already been said … over … and over … and over. But maybe you’ve forgotten or don’t even know who Queen was (!). There are great, classic Rock & Roll songs and artists, and then there are those that transcend all musical genres.
Without the 1970s story context, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the song, could be construed as depressing, morose, or simply sad, and an extremely long musical piece for that era, that doesn’t know what it wants to be when it grows up. But there’s no denying Freddie Mercury (1946-1991) was a one-of-a-kind person and a music innovator/genius. He didn’t just create the music. He felt it in every fiber of his being.
It didn’t matter that Freddie had prominent buckteeth that belied his worth as a band frontman. Would he fix those teeth? Heck no. Freddie credited the anomaly he was born with, four extra incisors, for his incredible vocal range.
We could even argue Freddie was tinged with mysticism. “Bohemian Rhapsody’s” lyrics were begun as a teen, way back in 1960 … was it a metaphor for his life? How would he know then, his life would end so early? Perhaps he didn’t know the how then, but he surely foretold the way-too-soon final outcome.
Freddie suspected he’d contracted Aids by the time Queen reunited and performed at Wimbley Stadium for the first Live Aid concert in 1985 (for the Ethiopian famine). And yet, he kept performing.
♪ …
Why the extended section on the Song of Note? I delved more into Queen largely due to my son, Scott, who was too young to know them in the ‘70s and became an ardent fan near the end of their journey, in the mid-1980s. I’m so glad he urged me to look further into the incredible story of Queen, proving we’re never too old to learn a thing or two. I’m embarrassed to admit that back in the '70s, though I loved Queen’s music, I didn’t care about the background. I just wanted to know … can I dance to it?!
While you may think you don’t like them, I guarantee you’ve had a reason to sing at least one refrain of Queen’s 1977 mega-hit, “We Are The Champions.” They certainly were. And like true monarchs, they meant the “royal we,” to include us all. ♪ … We are the champions, my friends | And we'll keep on fighting 'til the end … ♪
April 1st – April 30th: No one
disputed Paul and
Linda McCartney’s love when they co-wrote the April 1976 hit, "Silly Love
Songs."
For an April 1st US release date, it didn’t waste any time climbing
the charts. By April 16th its album At the Speed of Sound by WINGS reached #6
on WPEZ/Philadelphia’s “Albums” Top 20, without the song’s appearance
yet in the singles; but KRIZ/Phoenix listeners must have been crazy
about love, speeding it up to #2 by April 17th on their singles
“Hits” Top 30 and the album already at #1. With a whole month of accolades
under its belt, “Silly Love Songs” is finally released on April 30th
in the UK.
Rumor has it, McCartney hasn’t had
the heart to sing it again on stage since Wings’ breakup in 1981. That’s too
bad. It’s really something we all need to
remember
… ♪ …
You'd think that people would have had enough of silly love songs | But
I look around me and I see it isn't so, oh no | Some people want to fill
the world | With silly love songs | And what's wrong with that?
… ♪
April 20th: Did you know, former Beatles member, George Harrison, had a sneaky sense of humor? On this date, oh, so long ago, he blended into the cast on Monty Python’s "The Lumberjack Song" in New York City. Dressed as a Mountie, he surreptitiously slipped into the chorus role.
Can you spot the tunes on this month’s Featured Radio Survey with the best guitar solos? Don’t ask me, I love ‘em all! But you music aficionados can likely pick them out just by the titles. Since it’s International Guitar Month, what better way to take a break and enjoy a few riffs?
Although by the time I was able to post this article, the first two dates were done and over with, they’re still notable and worthy of your thoughts and memories …
April 11th: Holy moly, it’s 8-track Tape Day! If you were listening to music from mid-1960s through the early 1980s, you’ll remember the quality sound. But, man, I don’t miss messing with one that was all wound up!
April 18th: Not really for “the public,” today’s Record Store Day is meant for the industry to pat themselves on the back. However, it’s also a great time for you to actually visit—yes, get up off your duff and GO TO—a record store. Amazingly, vinyl records are still being produced, and in record numbers. 😊 Groovy.
♪♪ BFYP Featured
Radio Survey ♪♪
April 16, 1976 ~ WPEZ/Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania … normally, I’d chat about a survey’s ‘70s graphics when it’s as
prevalent as this month’s WPEZ chart, but we’ve seen this one before …
and before that … and before that … and … In fact, most of this station’s
surveys sported the same graphics for a couple of years (at least). So, I’ll
just point out how progressive their listeners were to have picked up on
“Bohemian Rhapsody’s” unique sound and reveled in its 6-minute length. MORE … 50 Years Ago this Month in Rock &
Roll Radio! Where were you that groovy day
when your radio played …
Rock APRIL 1976 with a little … avant-garde rhapsody!
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LinDee Rochelle is a writer and editor by trade, and author by way of Rock & Roll. Two books (of three planned) are published in her Blast from Your PastTM series, available on Amazon: Book 1 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959TM (eBook only; coming soon in updated print edition) and Book 2 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging SixtiesTM (eBook & print). Coming soon-ish … Book 3 – The Psychedelic Seventies!TM
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