Yohe 1

Parker Yohe

Mrs. Cramer

Comp Pd. 6b

4/14/22

No other decade can compare to the music of the 70’s.

Music has an ever-expanding catalog that can be researched and analyzed to uncover the

views of society, or a message that the world needed to hear. Some pieces of music have wildly

different meanings, and the artists behind the music can change the entire genre with one song.

Keeping that in mind, there has never been a more changing and progressive time for music than

the decade of 1970. This decade of music was the most exceptional out of any other decade due

to the progression of music, creation of new genres, and new development of advanced formats.

Music before the 70’s was calm and peaceful, which represented most of the world’s

view on society. Peace was a major focus for this time which was influenced by World War 2

ending in 1945. There were a handful of exceptions towards the end of the 1960’s, which gave

way to the 70’s. Some examples of these exceptions were Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, and Eric

Clapton. During this time, music began to part ways with the tranquil genres and ideas that were

widely popular, opting instead for a new approach to the whole industry. “Fans of the music

loved the punk culture largely because it was underground; it bonded them into an alternative

‘family,’ especially as they became targets of criticism and even violence from those who were

angered and alienated by punk” (Baughman). This new energy is what made this decade unique

and is unlike any other decade of music.

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Genres took on a new meaning during the 1970’s, as they helped organize the new

diverse collection that was becoming popular in different parts of the world. Genre as a topic

grew in importance and polarized some listeners of the decade. Some liked the new direction that

the era was forming around music, others thought it could have been the downfall of music

altogether. “Classic rock sounds began to push more disco music off the airwaves, and new

forms of rock music, punk, and new wave, reenergized the original spirit of rock music that

many felt disco ignored” (Berg). This new growth and diversity within the music industry was

the necessary push to make the 1970’s the best year for music. Even after and before the decade,

the 80’s and beyond could not match up to the creativeness that some of the artists in the 70’s

had and before the 60’s was relatively calm and uninteresting. This was the perfect time to make

a change in the world of music.

The limitations of different formats were a formidable barrier to the masses. Vinyl

Records were becoming a large investment for companies and were widely available to the

public from new record shops that were opening because of the new format. This created new

jobs for the business and supported the growth of music far beyond the 70’s, which can be seen

today with the multiple different streaming platforms that are easily available for free today. For

reference, “The Record Industry Association of America estimated total sales for 1976 at $2.7

billion. The following year, record sales increased to $3.3 billion” (Cayton). This shows that the

new formats being published were a huge success and begun to attract the attention of not only

the fans, but also large companies that wanted to commercialize it. Bands during this period were

not in favor of the commercialization of the art, but it made it more accessible by creating a

unified format that every band can take advantage of, and customers can easily buy.
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Music and its interpretation are in the eyes of the beholder and pinpointing a specific

decade’s worth of the massive library that is music to suggest that it was the best for music

overall, is arduous. Some would say that the 80’s was by far the most popular and recognizable

period for everything about music. Top hits were being incorporated into movies and media and

making important mainstream news for the first time. Concerts were becoming popular events to

attend and had a distinguished reputation of their own for their theatrics and performance along

with the music. While this was undoubtably the most popular time for music, it was not

correlative with the quality that the 70’s was equipped with. The amount of effort and creativity

that was show within the 70’s music and genres was unmatched and made it stand out with a

characteristic style that no other decade could match. It can also be said that without this new

movement in the 70’s, much of what became of 80’s music and beyond would have never

happened.

To summarize, the 1970’s was a progressive time for music, but also for its culture.

Society had its views changed about how music should be interpreted, and how its messages

connected with the youth. The progression of music was dramatic and innovative at the same

time, which spawned a new era of music by itself and provided the foundation for the next

couple decades of music to come. No other decade created the massive amount of new genres as

the 70’s did, which grabbed the attention of the public and let almost everybody have their own

interpretation of music and its meaning. Lastly, the new formats that were created during this

decade, such as the vinyl record, became iconic and is considerably still a great way to appreciate

the music from that time with the new rise in popularity for vinyl recordings in the 21st century.

No other decade has accomplished this much in terms of music and is undoubtedly the best

decade of music.
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Works Cited

Berg, Timothy, et al. "1970s: Music." Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of
20th- and 21st-Century America, edited by Cynthia Johnson and Lawrence W. Baker, 2nd ed.,
vol. 4, UXL, 2012, pp. 1073-87. Gale in Context: U.S. History,
link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX1303400082/UHIC?u=pl1949&sid=bookmark-UHIC&xid=2b3f9a74.
Accessed 24 Mar. 2022.

"The Punk Rock and New Wave Movements." American Decades, edited by Judith S.
Baughman et al., vol. 8, Gale, 2001. Gale in Context: U.S. History,
link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3468302577/UHIC?u=pl1949&sid=bookmark-UHIC&xid=5cf647aa.
Accessed 24 Mar. 2022.

"Rock Music." Encyclopedia of American Social History, edited by Mary Kupiec Cayton et al.,
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1993. Gale in Context: U.S. History,
link.gale.com/apps/doc/BT2313027023/UHIC?u=pl1949&sid=bookmark-UHIC&xid=c0d187c8.
Accessed 24 Mar. 2022.