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General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: WildRanger on March 30, 2020, 11:43:29 AM
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In your opinion who was the greatest rock act of the 70's? Who owned that decade?
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KISS
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Aerosmith
Judas Priest
Thin Lizzy
UFO
Black Sabbath
Scorpions
Saxon
Cheap Trick
Too hard to just name one
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Aerosmith is a good call.
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Aerosmith is a good call.
Thanks so many good ones Kiss was also
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Led Zeppelin
Yes, two albums were in '69, yes, most of their stuff was very early 70s. Still gets my pick.
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Pink Floyd?
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was gonna come in here and post "the shaggs" but their album released in 1969 i'm upset now
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was gonna come in here and post "the shaggs" but their album released in 1969 i'm upset now
What a shame :(
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Zeppelin
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First inclination, not having lived it, is to say Zep. Looking backwith retrospect in 2020, I might be inclined to say Floyd, because of how history has treated the big 4 albums they released in that decade. Do we need to factor Eagles in this conversion? Again I don't know how big they were in real time in the 70s.
Regardless, hard to say any band/artist "owned" the decade.
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I would give Pink Floyd the nod.
Led Zeppelin is probably the band many would say, but like Kattlelox said, their first two albums, which are two of their best, are from 1969.
Queen has to be in this conversation as well, and of course we cannot forget the early prog giants like Yes and Genesis.
Oh, and Black Sabbath.
I could go on and on and on...
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As much as I love the Kiss answer - and for about 18 months or so in late '77, '78, that is unequivocally the right answer - it's got to be either Zeppelin or Floyd. Both bands spanned the decade to a greater degree than either the Eagles or Queen. The only other band that went wire to wire was the Dead, but they were still largely doing regional theater legs of tours in the 70's.
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Led Zeppelin
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...and of course we cannot forget the early prog giants like Yes and Genesis.
Personal tastes aside, wasn't prog still a bit of a niche market even in the 70s?
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...and of course we cannot forget the early prog giants like Yes and Genesis.
Personal tastes aside, wasn't prog still a bit of a niche market even in the 70s?
The 70's were the only time that prog was NOT as much a niche market.
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I would give Pink Floyd the nod.
Led Zeppelin is probably the band many would say, but like Kattlelox said, their first two albums, which are two of their best, are from 1969.
I would not say their 1st & 2nd are the best, 4 through 6 would be. In my estimation.
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...and of course we cannot forget the early prog giants like Yes and Genesis.
Personal tastes aside, wasn't prog still a bit of a niche market even in the 70s?
The 70's were the only time that prog was NOT as much a niche market.
Ha! But I still can't think prog bands were at the level of a more traditional "rock" band like Zep/Floyd/Queen even in the 70s, no?
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Aerosmith
Judas Priest
Thin Lizzy
UFO
Black Sabbath
Scorpions
Saxon
Cheap Trick
Too hard to just name one
If there's any objective element to this, I'm not sure any of those, with the possible exception of Sabbath and Aerosmith, would even crack a top 10.
Zeppelin
Journey
KISS
Fleetwood Mac
Eagles
Queen
Floyd
Elton John
Van Halen (although only for the second half of the decade)
On the other hand, if it's entirely subjective, then I'm going with Yes or Rush.
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I would give Pink Floyd the nod.
Led Zeppelin is probably the band many would say, but like Kattlelox said, their first two albums, which are two of their best, are from 1969.
I would not say their 1st & 2nd are the best, 4 through 6 would be. In my estimation.
I did say, "two OF their best." ;)
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I would say Boston, Styx, and Bad Company deserve a honorable mention.
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I would go with Kiss. They were gigantic and hugely successful with both men and women, adults and children. Comics, cereal, tv shows, lunch boxes, whatever else. I see Kiss madness in the same light as what happened with Star Wars. Huge over the top success. They were one of the definitions of the 70s. They obviously fell off at the end of the 70s due to a few issues, but their time at the top was massive.
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...and of course we cannot forget the early prog giants like Yes and Genesis.
Personal tastes aside, wasn't prog still a bit of a niche market even in the 70s?
I don't know; Genesis don't have a platinum record until 1978 (And Then There Were Three), and Yes has The Yes Album, Fragile, and Close To The Edge... but Zeppelin has three DIAMOND (ten times platinum) records in a row (IV, Houses Of The Holy, and Physical Graffiti). Floyd has two (Dark Side... and The Wall), with two multi-platinum records in between.
Genesis didn't tour stadiums as far as I know until at least the mid-80's, Yes did stadium dates on occasion (they played Yale Bowl here in CT in '71, with intermittent stadium dates in the mid-70's), but Zeppelin and Floyd were touring stadia - in certain markets, anyway - fairly regularly in the mid- to late-70's. Still with arena dates interspersed, no doubt, but I think Zeppelin and Floyd were on another level.
EDIT: Saw Elton John; didn't think of him. That's not a bad suggestion either.
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Kansas
Blue Oyster Cult
The Who
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If there's any objective element to this, I'm not sure any of those, with the possible exception of Sabbath and Aerosmith, would even crack a top 10.
Zeppelin
Journey
KISS
Fleetwood Mac
Eagles
Queen
Floyd
Elton John
Van Halen (although only for the second half of the decade)
No David Bowie and Bruce Springsteen on your list? But you have Elton John?
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Kansas
Blue Oyster Cult
These two bands were far from mass popularity.
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For the "'70s band" that actually put out good music, I much prefer their '80s output. That said, if I had to pick one, it would be Y&T.
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\We considering Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles?
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I would give Pink Floyd the nod.
Led Zeppelin is probably the band many would say, but like Kattlelox said, their first two albums, which are two of their best, are from 1969.
Queen has to be in this conversation as well, and of course we cannot forget the early prog giants like Yes and Genesis.
Oh, and Black Sabbath.
I could go on and on and on...
Queen and Zep No doubt way high up on the list,,, I vaper locked
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For the "'70s band" that actually put out good music....
That should rule out KISS.
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Perhaps I'm reading more into the "act" part of the question than I should be. I'm thinking about popularity, concerts, merchandising, crappy movies, the whole big picture. Not just biggest band of the 70s, which would be Zeppelin. KISS just had a whole lot more going on, starting from some time in 75 and being huge for the rest of the decade.
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For the "'70s band" that actually put out good music....
That should rule out KISS.
I was trying to be nice, but, yeah, this.
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For the "'70s band" that actually put out good music....
That should rule out KISS.
I was trying to be nice, but, yeah, this.
I think you all have corona virus in your ears.
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Doobie Brothers
Yes
Deep Purple
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If there's any objective element to this, I'm not sure any of those, with the possible exception of Sabbath and Aerosmith, would even crack a top 10.
Zeppelin
Journey
KISS
Fleetwood Mac
Eagles
Queen
Floyd
Elton John
Van Halen (although only for the second half of the decade)
No David Bowie and Bruce Springsteen on your list? But you have Elton John?
I'm not a fan of either, but as far as I can tell, Bowie's biggest success was in the 80s. In the 70s, he put out three platinum albums in a row, but it doesn't look like any of them hit platinum status in the 70s. I'm not sufficiently educated about Springsteen to comment. That said, if you wanted to add the two of them to a list, I wouldn't argue.
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KISS.
KISS ruled the 70s.
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Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Crack The Sky
Paul McCartney and Wings
edit : Steve Miller
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Just for kicks, and expanding the borders of "rock music", Stevie Wonder had a lot to say in the 70's.
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If we are going by a combination of musical/cultural/sales impact it’s hard to beat Led Zeppelin.
Elton John would be up there.
Aerosmith were pretty much kings in America for a brief portion of the 70s.
Bee Gees rank high in the songwriting output category + insane sales of Saturday Night Fever
The Carpenters had a VERY good run.
Fleetwood Mac/Peter Frampton/Pink Floyd all put out MEGA albums
KISS revolutionized live shows and merchandising
ABBA probably “owned” Europe.
Springsteen was starting to make MAJOR waves but didn’t reach the stratosphere until the 80s.
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I’d already posted Zeppelin, but I’ll also toss in a vote for The Clash.
Especially seeing as they haven’t been mentioned yet.
London Calling was monumental.
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I’d already posted Zeppelin, but I’ll also toss in a vote for The Clash.
Especially seeing as they haven’t been mentioned yet.
London Calling was monumental.
Eh, aside from the fact that it was released in the last month of the 70's, it actually was not a monumental seller by any means. It only made the top 10 in a few countries and even now 40 years later it has sold only 5 million copies worldwide (impressive, yes, but certainly not monumental). It's just one of those albums that critics talk up like it was the greatest thing since deep dish pizza, so many think it did better than it really did (on a global scale).
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True enough with regard to London Calling as an album. But punk rock itself, whether it be the Pistols or Clash, definitely had its impact on the 70s. Did they define the 70s? That’s debatable, but on the whole I’d agree with you and say no.
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I’d already posted Zeppelin, but I’ll also toss in a vote for The Clash.
Especially seeing as they haven’t been mentioned yet.
London Calling was monumental.
Yes, London Calling was big, but it didn't really do anything and likely was unknown outside England until the 80s, so even mentioning the Clash in a discussion of "#1 Rock Act of the 70's" is probably the biggest stretch of this thread.
But punk rock itself, whether it be the Pistols or Clash, definitely had its impact on the 70s.
Sure, but that's a different discussion.
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I’d already posted Zeppelin, but I’ll also toss in a vote for The Clash.
Especially seeing as they haven’t been mentioned yet.
London Calling was monumental.
Yes, London Calling was big, but it didn't really do anything and likely was unknown outside England until the 80s, so even mentioning the Clash in a discussion of "#1 Rock Act of the 70's" is probably the biggest stretch of this
But punk rock itself, whether it be the Pistols or Clash, definitely had its impact on the 70s.
Sure, but that's a different discussion.
As well as Kansas being an " Unknown ". I guess it's just dust in the wind , I'll carry on. Thanks.
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I'd say besides some of the bands mentioned, The Who was excellent, particularly in the early 70's.
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True enough with regard to London Calling as an album. But punk rock itself, whether it be the Pistols or Clash, definitely had its impact on the 70s. Did they define the 70s? That’s debatable, but on the whole I’d agree with you and say no.
Sex Pistols were much bigger in Britain than America. In fact, they were a MAINSTREAM band there. Album The Bollocks hit #1 on the UK chart and singles off that album God Save the Queen, Pretty Vacant and Holidays in the Sun were top 10 hits. That was a big success for a punk band in their homeland. In America they were not remotely close in terms of popularity.
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From the perspective of touring and live shows, there is only one answer by the criteria of "owned", and that's Zeppelin. They revolutionized the concert business the way The Beatles revolutionized the rock music genre - they basically reinvented it. Some may want to think Kiss is a good answer, and they are right, but in a different (and less revolutionary way).
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Kansas
Blue Oyster Cult
These two bands were far from mass popularity.
I think, Kansas were pretty big!
Still, my votes would definitely go to
Led Zeppelin
Pink Floyd
Queen (although they might have been even bigger in the 80s)
(Subjectively, however:
Genesis
Yes
King Crimson
Steely Dan)
And please, stop all this Kiss talk :lol
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True enough with regard to London Calling as an album. But punk rock itself, whether it be the Pistols or Clash, definitely had its impact on the 70s. Did they define the 70s? That’s debatable, but on the whole I’d agree with you and say no.
Sex Pistols were much bigger in Britain than America. In fact, they were a MAINSTREAM band there. Album The Bollocks hit #1 on the UK chart and singles off that album God Save the Queen, Pretty Vacant and Holidays in the Sun were top 10 hits. That was a big success for a punk band in their homeland. In America they were not remotely close in terms of popularity.
As an aside, I LOVE that record for what it is. I'm not the hugest punk fan, and the "sneering" vocal style gets tiresome very quickly, but that record is just a good, hard rock album (and if you like that, you might like the neurotic Outsiders record with Steve Jones, Duff McKagan and John Taylor as well).
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As far as sales go, check this German website: https://popkultur.de/die-20-erfolgreichsten-bands-der-70er-jahre/
Here are the Top 10 according to them:
1. The Eagles
2. Led Zeppelin
3. Pink Floyd
4. Aerosmith
5. Fleetwood Mac
6. CCR
7. Supertramp
8. Kiss
9. Lynyrd Skynyrd
10. Queen
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As far as sales go, check this German website: https://popkultur.de/die-20-erfolgreichsten-bands-der-70er-jahre/
Here are the Top 10 according to them:
1. The Eagles
2. Led Zeppelin
3. Pink Floyd
4. Aerosmith
5. Fleetwood Mac
6. CCR
7. Supertramp
8. Kiss
9. Lynyrd Skynyrd
10. Queen
Does that include total sales for just their 70's work or for all of it? Seems like half of CCR's output was from the 60's.
I suspect the Eagles sit at number 1 because their first greatest hits is like top 5 now in all-time sales.
As much as I like Supertramp, I am surprised to see them in the top 10 there.
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As far as sales go, check this German website: https://popkultur.de/die-20-erfolgreichsten-bands-der-70er-jahre/
Here are the Top 10 according to them:
1. The Eagles
2. Led Zeppelin
3. Pink Floyd
4. Aerosmith
5. Fleetwood Mac
6. CCR
7. Supertramp
8. Kiss
9. Lynyrd Skynyrd
10. Queen
Does that include total sales for just their 70's work or for all of it? Seems like half of CCR's output was from the 60's.
I suspect the Eagles sit at number 1 because their first greatest hits is like top 5 now in all-time sales.
As much as I like Supertramp, I am surprised to see them in the top 10 there.
I can tell you what it's NOT: US Sales for just the 70's albums. Because Rumours alone outsold the entire Aerosmith 70's catalogue (in other words, the total US sales of Aerosmith -> Right In The Nuts is about 20 million, and Rumours itself is two times Diamond, or 20 million.)
And again, using US sales for just the 70's albums, Led Zeppelin is just shy of 90 million sold (including FOUR Diamond albums). Eagles (it's "Eagles", not "THE Eagles") are at about 60, with the one massive Greatest Hits record (3 times Diamond, or 38 million).
(EDIT: By the way, not being a xenophobe; I understand it's a German site, and so not likely to rely JUST on U.S. sales; however, "gold" and "platinum" records are counted differently in each country. In the U.S., "gold" is 500,000 sales, and "platinum" is 1,000,000. For Great Britain, if memory serves, Gold is 400,000, and Platinum is 600,000. Rather than do the math for every country, I used U.S. sales as a proxy for global sales. It probably skews FOR Eagles and Aerosmith and AGAINST Zeppelin, Floyd and the Mac, but it's still an approximation.)
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Kansas
Blue Oyster Cult
These two bands were far from mass popularity.
I think, Kansas were pretty big!
. . .
And please, stop all this Kiss talk :lol
For starters, I don't know anything about how big either of these bands WAS outside the U.S. While Kansas had two 4x-platinum albums released in the second half of the 70s (no KISS album has sold better than 2x-platinum*), KISS was a far bigger band (even though, IMO, Kansas was a far better band).** Dust in the Wind was huge. Kansas was not. KISS was a massive part of youth and teen culture for a significant part of the 70s. KISS produced a (downright terrible) TV movie. Kansas did not. KISS released "solo" albums by each of its four members, all of which were certified platinum in the month after their release. Kansas did not.
* - Ironically, the KISS album Double Platinum has only certified single platinum.
** - According to the RIAA, Leftoverture earned platinum status in March 1977 (five months after it was released). It doesn't say when it got to double-platinum, but the 3x and 4x certifications didn't happen until 1986 and 1995, respectively. Point of Know Return was certified platinum in November 1977 (only a month after its release) and earned its 3x and 4x certifications around the same times as did Leftoverture. Kansas has had no other platinum albums.
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Rather than do the math for every country, I used U.S. sales as a proxy for global sales. It probably skews FOR Eagles and Aerosmith and AGAINST Zeppelin, Floyd and the Mac, but it's still an approximation.)
Unfortunately American Rock Royalty Aerosmith had no (chart) success outside of North America until 1986 (Walk This Way version with Run DMC). This might come as a shock to American rock fans, but it's true.
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For Great Britain, if memory serves, Gold is 400,000, and Platinum is 600,000. Rather than do the math for every country, I used U.S. sales as a proxy for global sales.
In the UK it's 100,000 for gold and 300,000 for Platinum albums https://www.bpi.co.uk/brit-certified/award-levels/