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Did The Seventies Really Happen?
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Awesome David – LOL! Homer has to be one of the all-time classic characters. The Simpsons was a brilliantly scripted show. Unfortunately though, now I’m not going to be able to get that particular scene out of my head either now when I hear those songs! Very funny indeed. Just the sort of character you don’t need near you when you are at a live concert.
I wonder if The MLT had fans screaming out for their favourites like that when they were playing live. I have no doubt that I’d want to put my two bobs worth in for my favourite MLT numbers, and there are so many of them it would be hard to choose!
Brilliant clip. Thank you for sharing!
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Lol… Jung I was going to post the same idea, Abba is not MLT’s cup of tea but you beat me to it….
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Hi David. As Jung and Jacki, those famous Canadian MLT Club members have already advised and Jung put so “Britishly” diplomatically, Abba is not MLT’s cup of tea musically.
This issue was discussed at length in the early days of this awesome Club and if you are interested in more detail, I refer you to the much-debated Topic, “The Eurovision song contest…or, will MLT become the next ABBA?”, 01/12/2018 AT 22:47. I suggest you use the much enhanced (by the MLT Superman, Mr. Wagner), “Search” function. Following is part of a response from Lisa at the time:
“And lastly just to settle the ABBA argument and what we have allegedly said or haven’t said: Yes, it’s true we aren’t very keen on their music but then again we aren’t very keen on a whole lot of music out there. The only reason ABBA seems to come up somewhat frequently and has led us to express our personal dislike for their music publicly (though I would think in a lighthearted, joking way) is because we get compared to them so much. And like you pointed out, there are a surprising amount of similarities, many of which we weren’t aware of, so I guess it’s no surprise their name comes up so much
Again, sorry for not getting back to this sooner and we really appreciate all the nice things and supportive words you wrote!
Thanks,
Lisa”Suffice it for me to say, in true John Cleese (Fawlty Towers), spirit, “whatever you do, don’t mention the war!”.
The subject actually resulted in the eventual departure from the Club of a long term MLT fan!
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Okay, thanks, guys. I wasn’t aware of the sore history with regard to ABBA, so I retract my suggestion that MLT cover them.
My main point was that I was surprised that no one in this group had mentioned ABBA as a favorite of theirs. Maybe I’m unique here in that I discovered them after their star had faded, and I had no idea that they were propelled to fame by winning a contest. I just heard a group with great melodies and harmonies that I fell in love with, which is exactly what drew me to MLT.
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I don’t think you are necessarily unique in regard to your liking ABBA David. I have no doubt there are many in the Club who appreciate ABBA in the same way I do. Following is an extract from a post of mine from 01/02/2019 AT 09:25″
“That doesn’t mean we don’t now appreciate the brilliant composing abilities of Benny and Bjorn and the amazing songs and performances of the four of them. They first really made it in Australia, thanks to Ian (Molly) Meldrum and the ‘Countdown’ weekly music show.”
I particularly like the movie “Mamma Mia!” with all the stars actually singing the songs, no matter how poor their singing might have been. Pierce Brosnan was a revelation to me in that he could have chosen to lipsync someone else but instead used his own voice, even though he knew he wasn’t a good singer. This took a lot of courage but I believe it enhanced the movie’s credentials.
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Yes David, I echo what Howard said. We are all very accepting and respectful of everyone’s individual musical preferences here, all joined in a common bond of love for MLT music and all they do. MLT have touched us all in many different and profound ways with their music and ray of joy and sunshine they bring to our lives. For some, they have brought us back to music. We love to discuss music, of all genre and styles here.
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I think for many new bands, being compared with famous, former bands can be a distraction. If they are trying to forge their own identity, they certainly don’t need the comparisons, which are usually the preserve of music journalists trying to gain an audience.
For a very young Mona and Lisa at the time, I can well imagine their reactions to ABBA comparisons, and I totally understand this. ABBA was unique and so are The MonaLisa Twins. Comparisons with the Beatles etcetera are different as this is their favourite music.
There have been many examples in the past. Following are some of the more famous:
Badfinger seemed poised to become the “next Beatles” when they signed with Apple Records and scored a Top 10 hit in 1970 with ‘Come and Get It,’ written and produced by Paul McCartney. Comparisons with the Beatles increased as members of the band performed on records by John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison.
“After a while it got a little bit tiresome,” guitarist Joey Molland told WROK. “People expected John to show up or George, maybe Paul would come and play a bit of bass. A lot of people actually thought it was the Beatles playing under different names. What do you do about that? There was nothing we could do.”
The tragedies and bad luck that followed for Badfinger have, of course, become legend.
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When Rolling Stone in 1979 christened the Knack “the new fab four,” comparisons to the Beatles were inevitable. Then there was their contract with Capitol Records — which was, of course, once the Beatles’ U.S. label. Capitol hardly discouraged the association, using their Beatles-era orange and yellow label for the Knack’s 1979 debut hit, ‘My Sharona.’ The group was staged against a black background, a la ‘Meet the Beatles!,’ for the cover photo of their platinum LP ‘Get the Knack.’
“It was a joke. It was a tongue-in-cheek joke,” singer Doug Fieger admitted to Classic Bands. “If you sell six million copies, people aren’t gonna look at you in the same way as if you sell 50,000 copies. They’re not gonna cut you the same slack.”Critics soon turned on the band, which was unable to repeat the overnight success of ‘My Sharona.’ A “Knuke the Knack” campaign was started and, in mid-1982, the band split up.
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Of historical note, this is the song that launched Weird Al Yankovic’s career via his parody “My Bologna”.
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My Sharona gets panned a lot these days…..part of it is due to it being overplayed. I enjoy it mostly because of the drum beat and, by far, the guitar riff in it. The riff has the Strat as a intro and the body of the riff is an LP. I have the belief that combing a Strat and an LP is among the best of pairings, e.g., Layla.
While I have your and other’s ears……I didn’t care much for ABBA in the 1970s. But, I have re-examined their music since then and it is still mostly just OK. The thing that stands out for me is the vocals by the girls. When they sing together, it almost sounds unnatural…..and I wonder if their vocals are synthesized some.
Concerning Badfinger…….that group is the classic case of “what could have been” and “the corruption in the music business in the 1970s”. One of my all time favorite groups. Mike.
Anyway……my 2 cents. Mike.
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The core of British rock group Oasis was brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, who have peppered their music with lyrical references to Beatles’ songs like ‘Yellow Submarine’ and ‘Helter Skelter.’ The band has even lifted whole riffs from Beatles’ tunes.
“It’s really important to be bigger than the Beatles,” Liam said in 1996. “I think we’re better than the Beatles. … They ain’t the best band in the world – we are.” By 2009, however, Oasis was over — thought the Gallaghers continue to cover Beatles’ songs with their new bands.
Paul McCartney told Q magazine that he was honored that his songs have been copied, “even when things happen like Oasis saying, ‘We are the next Beatles.’ But I also think, ‘Listen, lads, you can’t say that. And don’t say that because it’s probably the kiss of death!’”
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Ah, now I understand the Oasis reference in the recent “Yesterday” movie. I had never heard of them.
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In September 1975, the Bay City Rollers made their U.S. debut on ABC’s ‘Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell.’ The Scottish boy band, who wore tartan plaid on stage, was introduced by Cosell as the “new Beatles.”
“We’re not saying we’re bigger than the Beatles,” Rollers’ manager Tam Paton told Creem in 1976. “They were fantastic. They were great. And at the time, they were the biggest thing since sliced bread. I just hope people will talk about the Rollers the same way they talk about the Beatles in ten years’ time. And I believe, deeply, that they will.”
That didn’t happen. A few hits followed but, by 1978, the Bay City Rollers had disappeared from the charts.
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As for ABBA, all their music wasn’t necessarily disco/dance related. One of their hits in my country was number one for six straight weeks, much to the annoyance of local bands. Must have been similar to how local American bands felt about the Beatles in 1964.
At the time in my country, we had a pop programme where they counted down the top 40 and when they got to number one, played the video. However, after the third week of this ABBA song at number one, they broke their policy and played hit number two for the next three weeks!
This number also includes a case of misheard lyrics. “There was something in your hair that night, the stars stood bright”
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My first experience with ABBA’s music, before I knew who they were, was through the easy-listening format radio station that my parents listened to, which included “Fernando” and “The Winner Takes It All” in their playlist. When I learned much later that the latter was written shortly after Bjorn and Agnetha’s divorce, it became very poignant.
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The 70s? Dont remember too much about them.
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Maybe for you Daniel, the seventies are like the sixties were for many people. If you can remember them, then you weren’t there!
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Well… For the 70s music scene, my music tastes varied in different genres…. I did enjoy country music and the singers/bands of country music, I liked Abba, Elton John, Three Dog Night, Bread, Mike MacDonald, Christopher Cross, Air Supply, Blondie, Joan Jett, Bay City Rollers, Steve Miller, Doobie Brothers, Carol King, James Taylor, Styx, Kansas, Linda Ronstandt, Boston, and others, was never into heavy duty metal hard rock or punk. Same kind thing applies to 80s stuff, as for 90s – now… I’m not into hip-hop/rap/punk/alternative /hard&metal core rock…Lol….
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Actually, it was the period of my first marriage. I’ve tried to obliterate all memories concerning it. 😀
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When considering the Seventies, how could we not include the Boss, Bruce Springsteen!
On this day in 1949, the incomparable Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen was born in the beachside town of Long Branch, New Jersey.
That makes the singer, songwriter, musician – and seemingly immortal – 70 today.
Springsteen has sold more than 135 million records worldwide and more than 64 million records in the United States in a career spanning almost 50 years.
Inspired by the music of Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley in the early and mid-1950s, Springsteen bought his first guitar at age 15 after seeing The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show, and began playing local venues with a band called The Rogues.
His best-known songs include Born to Run (1975), Thunder Road (1975), Badlands (1978), Hungry Heart (1980), Dancing in the Dark (1984), Born in the USA (1984), Glory Days (1985), Brilliant Disguise (1987), Human Touch (1992) and Streets of Philadelphia (1994).
How about this gem from 1984!
“The Boss” has also won 20 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, an Academy Award, and a Tony Award for Springsteen on Broadway.
In 1999, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and in 2016, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
And at 70, Springsteen is still touring, with a tour of Australia planned in 2020. Yabba dabba do!
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