None of the great '80's metal would even exist without the bands that paved the road in the '70's. Alot of these bands started in the '60's but had a major influence on us that grew up in the '70's. They were more accepted and accessible during the '70's. Bands like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple... among many, many others...My friends older sister played nothing but Zeppelin on a week long vacation to the beach the summer after 6th grade. I came home and bought every Zep album I could find. That was the mid-'70's for me...then came the older girl at school who played Bad Company for me in 7th grade...then I heard "Rock'n'Roll All Night" on the radio the same year...the rest is history. There were many others that were actually my generation...AC/DC, Ozzy/Rhoads, Aerosmith, Rush, UFO, Cheap Trick...the list goes on...