by Kevin Burton The television shows produced by Norman Lear were a cultural backbone for 1970s America. In this case, the backbone was connected to the funny bone. When I read that Lear died Tuesday at 101, my mind went immediately to that instrumental piano-driven song that played over the closing credits for …
Tag Archives: 1970s
Dictionary Words Are Funky, Stylish And Cool
by Kevin Burton If the 60s were groovy, the 70s were nothing if not funky. The funk was everywhere then, beginning with music, first seeping then flowing into just about everything else. The funk was the soup we swam in. But I was a little surprised to see funky show up on …
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Motown’s Move To LA Stifled The Magic
by Kevin Burton There is more than a little irony in the 1971 Jackson 5 song “Going Back To Indiana.” That makes for an easy choice to make Indiana a destination for our summer rock and roll road trip, Coast to Coast. For Coast to Coast we are talking rock and roll history, …
Does Merriam-Webster Hate Spunk?
by Kevin Burton I was sure I would see it. Lead-pipe sinch said I. Metaphysical certitude, as John McLaughlin used to say on The McLaughlin Group. Merriam -Webster put together a list of words about energy and enthusiasm and I happily scrolled to see what they had to say about the word “spunk.” …
Raised On Radio: National Disc Jockey Day
by Kevin Burton The other day I was researching music and stumbled upon the Raised On Radio podcast. I thought, yeah, wish I had thought of that. That’s me. I was raised on radio. When I got back online to find it again, I found something entirely different called Raised On The …
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Musical Genius Thom Bell Dead At 79
by Kevin Burton Just as Philly Soul is unfairly overshadowed by Motown and Stax, Thom Bell didn’t always get the credit he deserved. The producer, arranger and songwriter died Dec. 22 at the age of 79. I never heard his name mentioned in the 70s when I was soaking in his Sound of …
Christmas Top 40: Up On The Housetop
by Kevin Burton We don’t have Santa images at my house. For us, Christmas is about Jesus. But there is one Christmas song I have always loved that doesn’t fit that mode. Hundreds of artists have recorded it. Possibly the most famous version was made by Gene Autry in 1953. It was …
The Bible Is What’s Happening Now
by Kevin Burton The late comedian Flip Wilson had an ongoing gag featuring a hip, fast-talking preacher who strayed for comedic effect, far from a right interpretation of the Bible. His Flip Wilson Show aired Thursday nights on NBC from 1970 to 1974. The recurring preacher segment came from what he called “The …
Disco Tunes That Rockers Can Tolerate
by Kevin Burton Found another story last week on the animosity toward disco from rock and rollers in the 1970s. This one contained a little surprise. The story was under the headline, “Surviving the 70s: 12 disco songs even rock fans enjoy.” It was written by Greg Brodsky on the Best Classic bands …
Of OSSB And A Bright Sunshiny Day
by Kevin Burton How do you get to 50 years? It starts with a day, or a night. Then, you turn your heart toward the sunrise, again and again. There was a night when my parents put me into the family Delta 88 and drove me from our home in Yellow Springs …
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