Episode 34: A 70s Pop Manifesto: Finding Meaning in 70s Pop

PLAYLIST

  1. Every Time I Think of You by The Babys (1979)

  2. Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves by Cher (1971)

  3. Superstar by The Carpenters (1971)

  4. Could it Be Magic by Barry Manilow (1975)

  5. Why Can’t We Be Friends by War (1975)

  6. Dancing Queen  by ABBA (1977)

  7. (Love Is) Thicker than Water  by Andy Gibb (1977)

  8. My Sharona by The Knack (1979)

SOURCES

Briehan, Tom. "The Number Ones: ABBA's "Dancing Queen"." Stereogum. March 18, 2021. https://www.stereogum.com/2061188/the-number-ones-abbas-dancing-queen/columns/the-number-ones/.

Briehan, Tom. "The Number Ones: Andy Gibb's "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water"." Stereogum. March 18, 2021. https://www.stereogum.com/2066548/the-number-ones-andy-gibbs-love-is-thicker-than-water/columns/the-number-ones/.

Boyer, Peter J. “Andy Makes His Own Music.” Shreveport Journal. July 5, 1977.

Campbell, Mary. “Andy Gibb: He’s Willing to Be the Fourth Bee Gee.” Green Bay Press-Gazette. July 23, 1978.

Campos, Susan and Gwynedd Stuart. "In 1979, a Hit Song Made This L.A. Real Estate Agent a Pop Culture Icon." Los Angeles Magazine. June 11, 2019. https://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/my-sharona-40/.

Clark, Rodger. “Rachmaninoff: How Russian Romanticism Inspired 1970s Hits.” WDAV Classical Public Radio

“Close to You: The Story of the Carpenters, Part 3.” BBC. 2002. 10 minutes, 9 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJSKvdc7HpE

Frith, Simon. The Cambridge Companion to Pop and Rock. Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Grossman, Jay. “War: True to Its Roots.” The Courier News (Blytheville, AR). July 15, 1975.

Hillburn, Robert. “Feedback.” Los Angeles Times. September 10, 1978.

Hillburn, Robert. “LPS from Carpenters, Jane Olivor.” Los Angeles Times. October 4, 1977.

Jones, Chris. "Stuff of Dreams: Karen Carpenter's Voice." Chicagotribune.com. June 16, 2018. https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/ct-karen-carpenter-article-2006-20151224-story.html.

Jonez, Tim. "Why Abba's Dancing Queen Is the Best Pop Song Ever." The Guardian. September 08, 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/sep/08/40-years-abba-dancing-queen-people-just-surrender-to-it.

Lethem, Jonathan, and Kevin J. H. Dettmar. Shake It Up: Great American Writing on Rock and Pop from Elvis to Jay Z. Library of America, 2017. 

Lott, Eric. “PERFECT IS DEAD: KAREN CARPENTER, THEODOR ADORNO, AND THE RADIO; OR, IF HOOKS COULD KILL.” Criticism 50, no. 2 (2008): 219–34. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23128741.

“Manilow: They Write the Letters.” Los Angeles Times. September 10, 1978.

"M-m-m-my Career in Real Estate." Los Angeles Times. February 18, 2010. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-feb-18-la-fi-sharona18-2010feb18-story.html.

Morris, Mitchell. The Persistence of Sentiment: Display and Feeling in Popular Music of the 1970s. Berkely and Los Angeles: University of California Press. 2013.

“Only Yesterday: The Carpenters’ Story.” BBC. 2007. 59 min, 30 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t97I-pBIEk&t=39s

Sanneh, Kelefa. Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres. Penguin Press, 2021.

Songfacts. "Why Can't We Be Friends? by War - Songfacts." Song Meanings at Songfacts. https://www.songfacts.com/facts/war/why-cant-we-be-friends.

Tannenbaum, Rob. "Cher's 'Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves': Why It's One of the 20th Century's Greatest Songs." Billboard. May 19, 2017. https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7801038/cher-gypsys-tramps-thieves-greatest-song.

Willman, Chris. "Brandi Carlile 'Disappointed' to Be Shifted From Grammys' American Roots Category to Pop." Variety. October 26, 2021. https://variety.com/2021/music/news/brandi-carlile-grammy-categories-disappointed-american-roots-pop-1235097968/.