Seventies Almanac - 1971

 
 

n July 31, George Harrison played host at a rock'n'roll benefit held in New York's Madison Square Garden -- The Concert for Bangla Desh. The production, filmed for theatrical release, was also issued as a three-record box set, complete with a souvenir booklet (the LP package later won a Grammy Award). Among the stars who stopped by to perform that night were Billy Preston, Badfinger, Leon Russell, Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, and Eric Clapton. The concert sold twenty thousand tickets in two hours, and raised more than $4.5 million for that impoverished Asian country. Harrison added to that total by starting the Material World Charitable Foundation, and, as the first contributor, pledged all the publishing royalties from his next album, Living in the Material World. That album sold a million copies in two days.

The new sounds of the seventies were taking shape, growing and developing each day. In January, "Your Song" became the first Top 10 hit for Elton John, while in February, Gordon Lightfoot emerged with "If You Could Read My Mind." In April, "Another Day" kicked off the solo career of Paul McCartney, who went on to form Wings in August. That same month, "Take Me Home, Country Roads" introduced John Denver; we first heard of Olivia Newton-John via "If Not For You;" and a California band got together as the Eagles. Other groups that formed in 1971 include Supertramp, Foghat, Kansas, and Queen.

Other Music Highlights of 1971:

• On Saturday, January 9, the U.S. Jaycees present an award to Elvis Presley, citing him as one of the 10 outstanding young men in America.
• Alice Cooper emerges as the leading exponent of theatrical "shock rock." Rock'n'roll begins to fragment into many different styles: "Latin rock," "jazz rock," "soul rock," and "religious rock," to name a few.
• Producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and arranger Thom Bell develop the "Philly sound" and put Philadelphia on the map as a major rival to Detroit's Motown.
• The Beatles officially confirm the long-circulating rumor that they are separating permanently to pursue individual careers. The split is attributed to both musical and managerial differences.
• The Rolling Stones release their first single on their new label, Rolling Stones Records, "Brown Sugar." It goes to number one on the charts.
• On Sunday evening, June 27, Bill Graham closes his New York club, the Fillmore East.
• Rod Stewart, after leaving the Faces, has his first major hit single when "Maggie May" rises to number one.
• Michael Jackson, age 13, scores his first solo hit with "Got To Be There."
• In November, Don McLean releases the album American Pie, whose title single catapults him to worldwide fame. A chronicle of rock history, "American Pie" becomes one of the largest sellers of the seventies and, at more than 8 minutes in length, the longest number one hit in the history of rock'n'roll.
• Simon & Garfunkel announce that they are separating to pursue individual careers.

The Top 40 Singles of 1971:

1. "Joy To The World" - Three Dog Night (First chart appearance: 3/27/71; Highest position: #1)
2. "It's Too Late" - Carole King (5/22/71; #1)
3. "How Do You Mend A Broken Heart" - Bee Gees (7/3/71; #1)
4. "Indian Reservation" - The Raiders (5/29/71; #1)
5. "One Bad Apple" - The Osmonds (1/23/71; #1)
6. "Go Away Little Girl" - Donny Osmond (8/21/71; #1)
7. "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)" - The Temptations (2/20/71; #1)
8. "Take Me Home, Country Roads" - John Denver with Fat City (6/26/71; #2)
9. "Maggie May" - Rod Stewart (8/28/71; #1)
10. "Knock Three Times" - Dawn (12/5/70; #1)
11. "Want Ads" - The Honey Cone (5/1/71; #1)
12. "Treat Her Like A Lady" - Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose (5/15/71; #3)
13. "She's A Lady" - Tom Jones (2/20/71; #2)
14. "Smiling Faces Sometimes" - The Undisputed Truth (7/31/71; #3)
15. "Me And Bobby McGee" - Janis Joplin (2/20/71; #1)
16. "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" - Joan Baez (8/28/71; #3)
17. "Signs" - Five Man Electrical Band (7/10/71; #3)
18. "What's Going On" - Marvin Gaye (3/6/71; #2)
19. "You've Got A Friend" - James Taylor (6/19/71; #1)
20. "Tired Of Being Alone" - Al Green (8/21/71; #11)
21. "Ain't No Sunshine" - Bill Withers (8/14/71; #3)
22. "Rose Garden" - Lynn Anderson (12/19/70; #3)
23. "Never Can Say Goodbye" - The Jackson 5 (4/10/71; #2)
24. "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" - Paul & Linda McCartney (8/21/71; #1)
25. "Draggin' The Line" - Tommy James (6/26/71; #4)
26. "Put Your Hand In The Hand" - Ocean (3/27/71; #2)
27. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" - Aretha Franklin (4/24/71; #6)
28. "Doesn't Somebody Want To Be Wanted" - The Partridge Family (2/20/71; #6)
29. "Temptation Eyes" - The Grass Roots (2/13/71; #15)
30. "Don't Pull Your Love" - Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds (6/12/71; #4)
31. "Mr. Big Stuff" - Jean Knight (6/19/71; #2)
32. "Do You Know What I Mean?" - Lee Michaels (9/4/71; #6)
33. "It Don't Come Easy" - Ringo Starr (5/8/71; #4)
34. "Superstar" - Carpenters (9/11/71; #2)
35. "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" - Marvin Gaye (7/17/71; #4)
36. "I've Found Someone Of My Own" - The Free Movement (9/18/71; #5)
37. "Superstar" - Murray Head (5/8/71; #14)
38. "Amos Moses" - Jerry Reed (1/9/71; #8)
39. "For All We Know" - Carpenters (2/13/71; #3)
40. "Rainy Days And Mondays" - Carpenters (5/22/71; #2)

 

Top Albums of 1971:
 

All Things Must Pass - George Harrison * Chicago III - Chicago Close To You - Carpenters Every Picture Tells a Story - Rod Stewart * Greatest Hits - Sly & The Family Stone Jesus Christ Superstar - Soundtrack * Love Story - Soundtrack Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon - James Taylor The Partridge Family Album - The Partridge Family Pearl - Janis Joplin * Shaft - Soundtrack Sticky Fingers - The Rolling Stones Sweet Baby James - James Taylor Tapestry - Carole King Tea for the Tillerman - Cat Stevens

20 Popular Movies of 1971:
 

Fiddler On The Roof Billy Jack The French Connection Diamonds Are Forever Carnal Knowledge A Clockwork Orange Dirty Harry Harold And Maude Shaft Play Misty For Me The Last Picture Show Summer Of '42 Bananas The Hospital I Never Sang For My Father Klute McCabe and Mrs. Miller Silent Running Sunday Bloody Sunday Willard

The Top 20 Television Shows of 1971:
 

All in the Family The Flip Wilson Show Marcus Welby, M.D. Gunsmoke The ABC Movie of the Week Sanford and Son Mannix Funny Face Adam 12 The Mary Tyler Moore Show Here's Lucy Hawaii Five-0 Medical Center The NBC Mystery Movie Ironside The Partridge Family The F.B.I. The New Dick Van Dyke Show The Wonderful World of Disney Bonanza

 

News Highlights of 1971:

• A cholera epidemic in newly independent but impoverished Bangladesh (East Pakistan) causes worldwide concern.
• South Dakota's Senator George McGovern opens his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.
• Ida Amin and rebels topple the government in Uganda and seize power.
• Rolls-Royce, Ltd., declares bankruptcy after suffering huge losses in developing a new jet engine for Lockheed.
• In New York City's Madison Square Garden, Joe Frazier defeats Muhammed Ali to retain the heavyweight boxing championship.
• The Soviet Union wins the world hockey championship for the ninth consecutive time.
• Three Soviet cosmonauts are found dead in their spaceship after its return to earth.
• The Apollo 15 astronauts explore the moon's surface riding in a battery-operated vehicle known as Lunar Rover.
• To combat runaway inflation, President Nixon orders a 90-day freeze on prices and wages.
• After 34 years, Look magazine ceases publication.
• The British House of Commons ends a 14-year debate and allows the United Kingdom to join the European Common Market.

Sports Winners of 1971:

• Baseball: The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Baltimore Orioles 4 games to 3.
• Football: The Dallas Cowboys beat the Miami Dolphins 24-3 on January 16, 1972 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans in Super Bowl VI.
• Basketball: The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Baltimore Bullets 4 games to 0.
• Hockey: The Montreal Canadiens beat the Chicago Black Hawks 4 games to 3.

 

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