By Frank “Smokin” Truatt
As time passes it still amazes me how music from half a decade ago still has its place in our modern world. 50 years ago, feels like a lifetime ago, but it really doesn’t seem to be that far in the past when we remember the tunes we were listening to on the radio. By 1975, most of us had made the move to FM radio, although AM radio was still riding high with a large listenership for the music of the day. This week in 1975 featured artists that today are considered the who’s who in the history of musical entertainment. The top ten fifty years ago this week included Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Wonder, The Eagles, Grand Funk, The Doobie Brothers, Neil Sedaka and America. It’s hard to imagine a lineup of artists with that much talent, but it all happened the same week in 1975! Most of us were buying albums from these artists which meant a few trips to the record store to grab these hot artist’s latest releases. You’d have to feel sorry for new and upcoming acts trying to top the charts knowing that they’d have to surpass the record sales of these top performers. Artists that were in the top 20 this week in 1975, just outside of the top ten included Frankie Valli, John Lennon, Tony Orlando and Dawn, The Carpenters, Barry Manilow, John Denver and Carole King. It truly was a great time to listen to radio, a time when you couldn’t get enough of the music you heard on your favorite station. For those of us who were buying albums, I would say we had multiple albums from all these artists, as we know they each released a library full of hits. Debuting on the charts that same week fifty years ago were Queen, Loggins and Messina, The Charlie Daniels Band, Helen Reddy and Ringo Starr. Even the biggest artists in 1975 were lucky to have their song remain on the charts for more than 15 weeks. Today’s charts reflect fewer artists with songs that hang around a bit too long. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars song “Die with a Smile” has been in the Hot 100 for 23 weeks, almost half a year, something that would rarely happen in the 1970’s. “A Bar Song” by Shaboozey has survived on the charts for 41 weeks, just eleven shy of a year. But that’s not all, “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims has been on the charts for 75 weeks! In our fast-paced world, why does music have to rotate in a such a very slow way?
