The Seventies
The Seventies were a time of financial hardships. There was a gas
shortage and the country was in a great recession. President Richard Nixon was
in trouble with the law for the Watergate from trying to hide tapes he had from
investigators. Nixon went so far as to have someone fired for trying to break
confidentiality practices. Jimmy Carter later took the presidency and had his
Camp David Accords. These were hearings to try to gain peace in the Middle
East from September 5-17, 1978. They included President Carter, Anwar Sadat
from Egypt, and Prime-Minister Begin from Israel. There was also a nuclear
disaster at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania when nuclear wastes leakes from
the nuclear generator there. The controversial Roe vs. Wade court case was also
fought which legalized abortions and caused the great fuss we have over
Pro-Life/Pro-Choice today.
1976 marked the bicentennial anniversary of our nation’s independence.
This was the cause for much rejoicing because the British never thought we
would ever make it this far when we first made the break so many years ago.
Some of the fads of the time were pet rocks, lava lamps, platform shoes,
mood rings, and streaking. Pet rocks are simply rocks that were sold in boxes.
They were simple, easy to care for "pets" which anyone could have. Lava lamps
are still very popular today. They were first introduced, however, in 1963. They
have liquid inside with a lava-like substance that moves when the heat from the
lightbulb inside the base of the unit turmss it into a more maleable form. Mood
rings are also still popular today. They consist of some kind of liquid inside a
crystal rock that changes color with changes in body heat that show you how your
"moods" change. Streaking was also very popular. This was when a person
would take off all of their clothes and run naked wherever they dared to go.
Music made some big changes in the Seventies. Disco was introduced and
made popular by such groups as the Bee Gees, KC and the Sunshine Band, and
Disco Inferno. Reggae also became popular. Rock and Roll was of course still
going strong. "The Boss", Bruce Springsteen, made his debut, proud of being
"Born in the USA." Led Zeppelin also took the stage with such well-loved songs
as "Rock and Roll" and the always memorable "Stairway to Heaven." (This song
is immortalized in the movie Wayne’s World when Wayne and Garth go into a
music store and over the guitar display it says to not play Stairway which is a
very hard song to play, by the way.) Punk rock made it’s debut with REAL
punk bands such as The Sex Pistols, unlike the new cop-out punk like Greenday.
Movies such asAmerican Graffiti with Ron Howard and the epic story of
Alex Haley’s family, Roots, which starred Lavar Burton as Kunta Kinte. John
Travolta made his debut which started his phenomenal film career. Jaws, one of
the most famous horror movies of all times debuted, as well as Rocky, which has
become one of longest running movie series (I think they’re on Rocky 27: Rocky
Goes to the Nursing HomeStar Wars also made its debut
in 1977 which will be enlarged upon later in the portfolio. Clint Eastwood, most
notably known for his part inDirty Harry and also made a good performance in
my personal favorite, Two Mules for Sister Sara.
In sports basketball was very big. Ervin "Magic" Johnson, who was later
diagnosed with AIDS, became a favorite player in the NBA alnog with Larry
Bird.
In television, sit-coms became very popular, some of these being" All in the
Family"," The Mary Tyler Moore Show", and "Saturday Night Live" which isn’t
really a sit-com, but it’s funny anyway. There were many dramas that also
became popular such as" M*A*S*H", "The Waltons", and "Charlie’s Angels" Some
of the family programming was "The Brady Bunch", "Happy Days", and" The
Partridge Family. "
Here Are Some Links
this is a site 'bout Delta Burke.....
this is my page on Lynyrd Skynyrd...
