Author Topic: #1 Rock Act of the 70's?  (Read 2822 times)

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Offline Lowdz

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Re: #1 Rock Act of the 70's?
« Reply #35 on: March 30, 2020, 03:55:33 PM »
KISS.
KISS ruled the 70s.

Offline max_security

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Re: #1 Rock Act of the 70's?
« Reply #36 on: March 30, 2020, 04:31:04 PM »
Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Crack The Sky
Paul McCartney and Wings

edit : Steve Miller
« Last Edit: March 30, 2020, 04:49:07 PM by max_security »

Offline Indiscipline

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Re: #1 Rock Act of the 70's?
« Reply #37 on: March 30, 2020, 04:43:57 PM »
Just for kicks, and expanding the borders of "rock music", Stevie Wonder had a lot to say in the 70's.

Offline Volante99

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Re: #1 Rock Act of the 70's?
« Reply #38 on: March 30, 2020, 10:00:48 PM »
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.
« Last Edit: March 30, 2020, 10:07:13 PM by Volante99 »

Offline LudwigVan

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Re: #1 Rock Act of the 70's?
« Reply #39 on: March 31, 2020, 04:37:54 PM »
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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Offline KevShmev

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Re: #1 Rock Act of the 70's?
« Reply #40 on: March 31, 2020, 04:47:47 PM »
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).

Offline LudwigVan

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Re: #1 Rock Act of the 70's?
« Reply #41 on: March 31, 2020, 04:56:37 PM »
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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Offline pg1067

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Re: #1 Rock Act of the 70's?
« Reply #42 on: March 31, 2020, 06:22:17 PM »
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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Offline max_security

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Re: #1 Rock Act of the 70's?
« Reply #43 on: March 31, 2020, 06:36:31 PM »
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.

Offline CrimsonE

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Re: #1 Rock Act of the 70's?
« Reply #44 on: March 31, 2020, 08:17:53 PM »
I'd say besides some of the bands mentioned, The Who was excellent, particularly in the early 70's. 
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Offline WildRanger

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Re: #1 Rock Act of the 70's?
« Reply #45 on: April 01, 2020, 04:35:32 AM »
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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Re: #1 Rock Act of the 70's?
« Reply #46 on: April 01, 2020, 04:51:27 AM »
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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Offline Fritzinger

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Re: #1 Rock Act of the 70's?
« Reply #47 on: April 01, 2020, 06:06:46 AM »
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


any rock can be made to roll

Offline Stadler

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Re: #1 Rock Act of the 70's?
« Reply #48 on: April 01, 2020, 07:10:20 AM »
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).

Offline ich bin besser

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Re: #1 Rock Act of the 70's?
« Reply #49 on: April 01, 2020, 08:29:56 AM »
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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Offline KevShmev

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Re: #1 Rock Act of the 70's?
« Reply #50 on: April 01, 2020, 08:36:56 AM »
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.

Offline Stadler

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Re: #1 Rock Act of the 70's?
« Reply #51 on: April 01, 2020, 08:55:58 AM »
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.)
« Last Edit: April 01, 2020, 09:07:26 AM by Stadler »

Offline pg1067

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Re: #1 Rock Act of the 70's?
« Reply #52 on: April 01, 2020, 09:30:24 AM »
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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Offline WildRanger

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Re: #1 Rock Act of the 70's?
« Reply #53 on: April 05, 2020, 04:02:23 AM »
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.






Offline Cruithne

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Re: #1 Rock Act of the 70's?
« Reply #54 on: April 06, 2020, 04:35:38 AM »
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/