MUSIC IN THE 70s

Every student reads a passage from a artists or bands biography and then everyone can
explain to their classmates what they have learned from it.

Here are some extracts from artists and bands biographies.




Bob Marley & The Wailers
Politics and Assassination Attempt
Back in Jamaica, where he had been born, Marley continued to be seen as a supporter of
the People's National Party. And his influence in his native land was seen as a threat to
the PNP's rivals. This may have led to the assassination attempt on Marley in 1976. A
group of gunmen attacked Marley and the Wailers while they were rehearsing on the
night of December 3, 1976, two days before a planned concert in Kingston's National
Heroes Park. One bullet struck Marley in the sternum and the bicep, and another hit his
wife, Rita, in the head. Fortunately, the Marleys were not severely injured, but manager
Don Taylor was not as fortunate. Shot five times, Taylor had to undergo surgery to save
his life. Despite the attack and after much deliberation, Marley still played at the show.
The motivation behind the attack was never uncovered, and Marley fled the country the
day after the concert.






Elvis Presley
Health deterioration and death (197377)
Medical crises and last studio sessions
Presley's divorce took effect on October 9, 1973. He was now becoming increasingly
unwell. Twice during the year he overdosed on barbiturates, spending three days in a
coma in his hotel suite after the first incident. Toward the end of 1973, he was
hospitalized, semicomatose from the effects of Demerol addiction. According to his main
physician, Dr. George C. Nichopoulos, Presley "felt that by getting [drugs] from a doctor,
he wasn't the common everyday junkie getting something off the street." Since his
comeback, he had staged more live shows with each passing year, and 1973 saw 168
concerts, his busiest schedule ever. Despite his failing health, in 1974 he undertook
another intensive touring schedule.


John Lennon
Initial solo success and activism
In 1970, Lennon and Ono went through primal therapy with Dr. Arthur Janov in Los
Angeles, California. Designed to release emotional pain from early childhood, the therapy
entailed two half-days a week with Janov for four months; he had wanted to treat the
couple for longer, but they felt no need to continue and returned to London. Lennon's
emotional debut solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970), was received with high
praise. Critic Greil Marcus remarked, "John's singing in the last verse of 'God' may be
the finest in all of rock."
Retirement and return
With the birth of his second son Sean on 9 October 1975, Lennon took on the role of
househusband, beginning what would be a five-year hiatus from the music industry during
which he gave all his attention to his family.
He formally announced his break from music in Tokyo in 1977, saying, "we have basically
decided, without any great decision, to be with our baby as much as we can until we feel
we can take time off to indulge ourselves in creating things outside of the family." During
his career break he created several series of drawings, and drafted a book containing a
mix of autobiographical material and what he termed "mad stuff", all of which would be
published posthumously.






Queen
The band
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1970, originally consisting of Freddie
Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar, vocals), John Deacon (bass guitar), and
Roger Taylor (drums, vocals). Queen's earliest works were influenced by progressive
rock, hard rock and heavy metal, but the band gradually ventured into more conventional
and radio-friendly works, incorporating further diverse styles into their music.
Queen have been recognised as having made significant contributions to such genres as
hard rock, and heavy metal, amongst others. Hence, the band have been cited as an
influence by many other musicians. Moreover, like their music, the bands and artists that
have claimed to be influenced by Queen are diverse and span different generations,
countries, and genres.


Rod Stewart
197578: Height of fame and critical reaction
In 1975, Stewart moved to Los Angeles as a tax exile to escape escalating taxes on top
earners in the UK. The first single, a cover of the Sutherland Brothers song "Sailing",
was a number one hit in the UK, but it only reached the Top 60 of the US charts. The
single returned to the UK Top 10 a year later when used as the theme music for a BBC
documentary series about HMS Ark Royal. Having been a hit twice over, "Sailing" became,
and remains, Stewart's biggest-selling single in the UK. Additionally in 1976 Stewart
covered The Beatles' song "Get Back" for the ephemeral musical documentary All This
and World War II.
A focal point of criticisms about this period was his biggest-selling 1978 disco hit "Da Ya
Think I'm Sexy?", which was atypical of his earlier output, and disparaged by critics. In
interviews, Stewart, while admitting his accompanying look had become "tarty", has
defended the lyrics by pointing out that the song is a third-person narrative slice-of-life
portrayal, not unlike those in his earlier work, and that it is not about him. The song's
refrain was identical to Brazilian Jorge Ben Jor's earlier "Taj Mahal" and a lawsuit
ensued. Stewart donated his royalties from "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" to UNICEF, and he
performed it with his band at the Music for UNICEF Concert at the United Nations
General Assembly in 1979.






Rolling Stones
Success and a bands member quit
The band continued to make successful records through the 1970s and selling many
albums with Some Girls (1978) and Tattoo You (1981) being their two most sold albums
worldwide.
Near the end of 1974, Taylor, one of the rock bands members, began to lose patience.
The band's situation made normal functioning complicated, with band members living in
different countries and legal barriers restricting where they could tour. In addition,
drug use was affecting Richards' creativity and productivity, and Taylor felt some of his
own creative contributions were going unrecognised. At the end of 1974, with a recording
session already booked in Munich to record another album, Taylor quit the Rolling Stones.