That 70's Ish

I have the coolest dad in the world. Much of who I am today is because of the major role he plays in my life. It would only make sense that much of my taste in music was influenced heavily by this man, and his taste happens to be the 70s. The 70s would be the period where my dad was walking around, young stud in his early 20s; shirt buttoned down, chest hair showing, gold chain dangling with perfectly groomed messy hair much like our friend Neil below.

What a stud aye? His words not mine.

Being the owner of a pretty impressive record collection, which my sister hopes to one day inherit, my dad put those records to good use almost every Sunday from 6AM to 6PM. What a complete nightmare it was to my younger self but now there is no stopping me from belting out lyrics from the giants of this musical era.

Since the 70s' hits was pretty much all I heard, from the house to the car, living the rest of my life out with only the 70s would be a piece of cake. One I would happily indulge in now that I am grown and waking up to the reality that good music is really hard to come by these days. Who doesn’t enjoy singing along to the song below and shouting “Sweet Caroline Ba ba ba, good times never seemed so good. So Good! So Good! So Good!” Yes, the song was technically released in 1969 but it lived it’s glory days in the 70s for sure.

After the restless 60s, where they found their voices and fought back against ‘the man’ for justice and liberation, it was time for dancing. This was the period where bell-bottoms became “a thing” from the rise of disco and the BEE GEES. One of my dad’s favourite movies of all time happens to be Saturday Night Fever for two reasons - one, lead actress Karen Lynn Gourney and two, the music. The soundtrack for this movie was composed and performed primarily by The BeeGees and happens to be the best-selling soundtrack album of all time after The Bodyguard according to Google. My personal favorite, however, is not as mainstream as their most popular hits like "Staying Alive" and "You Should Be Dancing" or even "More Than A Woman" but the classic tug on the heartstrings below.

You have to hear this number on vinyl. Perfection.

Another jewel my dad introduced me to was Bread. Bread? Yes, Bread. A soft rock band of 4 with lyrics and vocals smoother than silk. Their songs are popular but for some reason people never seem to remember the name Bread. Bread? Yes. Bread! I remember laughing as a kid in the car when my dad told me their name. If you’re not familiar with the name, check out the tunes below, you’re bound to recognise one if not all. My dad’s favourite would be Aubrey but their single Guitar man was one of the songs that inspired me to learn how to play the guitar. We clearly do not agree on everything but he does get points for introducing Bread into my life.

Another huge influence of this era that would be a constant in my ear is none other than his majesty’s favourite - Sir Elton John. He was established in the late 60’s but in 1970, he released “Your Song” and well the rest is history. Ellie Goulding did a lovely cover of “Your Song” but nothing beats a classic. My sister, apparently, got her name from one of Elton’s songs - Nikita.

Funny thing is, her first name was also inspired by the song “Jolene”, a single released in 1973 by our favorite country sweetheart Dolly Parton. Growing up, she would be teased constantly about stealing Dolly’s man. But according to the 2019 8 part Netflix series Heartstrings, which features the singer’s memories and inspirations behind some of her most beloved songs, the name Jolene was inspired by an 8 year old little girl named Jolene who attended one of Dolly’s shows. The story-line for Jolene, however, was inspired by true events that occurred in the singer’s life but Jolene was not “her” name. The below clip is a favorite of mine. It’s a live show of her discussing the “Jolene” issue and performing her hit single.

To wrap this up, we’ll end with another big one from the 70’s. Brother Bob. This is another artist for which my dad owns almost every LP record and CD for. There are some voices that just cannot be replicated, Bob Marley’s is one. Jamaica is on my list of destinations to travel to with the Bob Marley Museum sitting pretty on top of my list of things to do when I get there. I remember choosing the song below at a Karaoke Party and everyone singing along because you just can’t help yourself sometimes. When a song is that good you just cannot remain silent. The lyrics may seem cryptic but this is just one of his many hits that took Reggae international.