10 Forgotten 70s Singles You Need To Hear
Funk, disco and punk rock - the '70s had a lot to offer!
If there was one event that signified the end of the '60s and the death of the hippie ideal, it was the breakup of the Beatles. They represented every stage of rock music throughout that decade; you had the pop-rock of the early '60s, the psychedelic middle era, and towards the later years, they became masters of studio experimentation.
The '60s was when the magic happened. It was a time of musical revolution and expanding consciousness. When the whole hippie thing amounted to nothing more than a bunch of folks getting high in a field, groups started moving into new territory. Heavy metal began to form into a recognisable beast, hard rock became flashier and punk made its first bid for social anarchy.
The '70s saw far more black artists break into the mainstream. The soul music of the '60s, began to evolve. Acts like Parliament-Funkadelic and James Brown found a space between the blues, and rock 'n' roll, and called it funk. Acts like Marvin Gaye developed a more sensual take on soul, and pretty soon it became the music of romance.
Of course, we also had the arrival of disco, with bright lights, flared pants and mountains of cocaine. Welcome to the '70s.
10. Boney M. - Daddy Cool (1976)
At a time when rock music dominated the popular stations, dance music was often considered a vacuous art form. Music purist found the use of electronically manufactured sounds to be the highest form of sacrilege. The guitar was seen as the holy relic of music, and the synthesiser was for anyone too lazy to put time into a real instrument.
By the '70s disco had emerged as the counter movement to rock. Artistic integrity was for the pretentious guitar purists, electronic dance music was for people who wanted to get down and have a good time. And no other group summed this up as well as Boney M.
Now, you could certainly call Boney M. a manufactured pop group. The original line up was put together by German producer Frank Farian, and consisted of three British and Jamaican female vocalists, and a dancer from Aruba - who for the most part lip-synced and busted moves for the audiences attention.
But who's to say that's a bad thing? This s**t was hella entertaining. Who else could make a disco song inspired by a Russian mystic, from the early 1900s, interesting?