Who “owned” the 1970s musically?

Give me up to three picks..


After some thought I really think the right answer is:


Neil Young
David Bowie
Steely Dan

1. Elton John
2. BeeGees
3. Chicago

https://rateyourmusic.com/list/abyss89/who_ruled_the_70s__the_100_biggest_acts_of_the_decade_in_the_usa/

Was getting ready to say Elton John and Queen
I'd have to say Led Zep had a pretty good run in the 70s too

It’s hard to leave out Pink Floyd…

I mean, we can look back and see what happened, but at the time, Peter Frampton was king.

"Frampton Comes Alive was released in early January, debuting on the charts on 14 February at number 191. The album was on the Billboard 200 for 97 weeks, of which 55 were in the top 40, of which 10 were at the top. The album beat, among others, Fleetwood Mac's Fleetwood Mac to become the top selling album of 1976, and it was also the 14th best seller of 1977. With sales of eight million copies it became the biggest selling live album" at the time.

It begins and ends with Bowie. But Neil Young deserves it too. But Bowie's decade of product is by far the most diverse, groundbreaking, influential, dynamic, prolific, and deserving of that crown.

Just imagine…in one decade, the classic LPs he released include:

Hunky Dory
Ziggy Stardust
Aladdin Sane
Young Americans
Station to Station
Low
Heroes
Lodger

bearman🐻 wrote:
It begins and ends with Bowie. But Neil Young deserves it too. But Bowie's decade of product is by far the most diverse, groundbreaking, influential, dynamic, prolific, and deserving of that crown.

co-signed
while an incredible one decade output and deserved praise…would say that most of this output was lost on the masses
while a lot of the music the masses would later go on to enjoy owes much debt, doubt the average listener knows or cares

no Diamond Dogs !
David Live and Stage aren't too shabby either

Pulitzer wrote:

no Diamond Dogs !
David Live and Stage aren't too shabby either

I guess Diamond Dogs gets overlooked, but it's pretty awesome too.

I will take Diamond Dogs over Alladin Sane


My favorite is Low


The first side of Low holy moly

The problem with Zep is they drop off after Houses of the Holy


Obviously Frampton is a nonstarter

Neil Young put out about 12 great albums in the 70s including important work with CSNY


Steely Dan starts in 72 and puts out 6 incredible albums in a row..one each year

Pink Floyd though also has to be in the conversation

Meddle
Dark Side
Wish you were here
Animals
The Wall

Elton John is a solid pic but I think his work really falls off after 1975 so

hutch wrote:
I will take Diamond Dogs over Alladin Sane


My favorite is Low


The first side of Low holy moly

Low is amazing…but Station to Station is perfect, start to finish. As is Ziggy. But I sooner go to S2S.

I think we are burnt out on Ziggy


That’s the appeal of the 75-79 stuff..and the fact the music still sounds modern

hutch wrote:
Neil Young put out about 12 great albums in the 70s including important work with CSNY

Steely Dan starts in 72 and puts out 6 incredible albums in a row..one each year

Pink Floyd though also has to be in the conversation

Meddle
Dark Side
Wish you were here
Animals
The Wall

Elton John is a solid pic but I think his work really falls off after 1975 so

All amazing LPs..and Neil Young is definitely a contender. But Bowie tried on so many different hats, and kept reinventing himself…he made some really daring choices and took huge steps to create music in his vision. Though when you consider "After the Gold Rush" to "Rust Never Sleeps", he's got some incredible output too. I don't appreciate or know Steely Dan well enough. Pink Floyd sure did release great stuff in the 70's. 

bearman🐻 wrote:

hutch wrote:
I will take Diamond Dogs over Alladin Sane


My favorite is Low


The first side of Low holy moly

Low is amazing…but Station to Station is perfect, start to finish. As is Ziggy. But I sooner go to S2S.

For some reason, I never really listened to S2S as an album, had heard many of the 'hits' and never dug deep for one reason or another
friend of mine told me to give it a spin last week and it's been on heavy rotation ever since
didn't realize until now it's one of Bowie's top 5 for sure
Earl Slick…damn he just rips

This looks interesting…came out in 2016 …same year he died

some of the extras on this look amazing

Yeah I was giving myself three picks


If I could only pick one it would have to be Bowie I should think….although sales wise I don’t believe Bowie did well in the second half of the 70s

Still you have to factor it all in: sales, influence and I guess judgment on quality

Bowie also had huge influence helping other acts like Lou Reed, Mott, and Iggy… can’t discount that…heck he even covered Springsteen before anyone knew who he was although was it on Pin ups or just a bonus on reissue?

You have other friends you talk about Bowie with?

I don’t even know you anymore

hutch wrote:
You have other friends you talk about Bowie with?

I don’t even know you anymore

Harry of all people…rarely talked bowie with him, so was a surprise

Agree with Steely Dan
Maybe Springsteen even though the real fame didn't come until Born in the USA.  The genius however was the first 5 albums, 4 of which were in the 70's.

Ok…so what 70's album almost didn't happen and went on to be one of the best-selling albums of all time with over 43 million copies worldwide.
trying to find a record company willing to sign them….the band spent most of 1975 writing and recording material, and two and a half years auditioning the record and being rejected.  Their Manager joked that they were creating record companies just so they could be rejected