70s Rock Groups

THE 70S ROCK

PHENOMENON

It is said that the 1960s was the ultimate decade of wild psychedelia, but in reality it was the period between the end of that decade and the first half of the 1970s – an era of untamed, unfettered excess and experimentation that truly gave birth to the concept of Rock. WORDS MICHEL CRUZ

Arguably the most legendary of all 70s rock groups, this band formed in London in 1968 made cultural icons out of guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant, whose style as frontman of the band so embodies the era. His high-pitched but powerful vocals similarly echo a time forever cast in musical and social history, producing timeless anthems such as the chilling Stairway to Heaven, which helped the band sell 300 million albums. In 1977, Zep set a world record indoor attendance of almost 80,00, and they could almost do it again today, so undying has been the following. › LED ZEPPELIN

PINK FLOYD

If Led Zeppelin’s raw sound was rock in its purest form, instilled though it was with the symphonic grandeur typical of the (later) era, then Pink Floyd’s music was rock infused with an otherworldly, ethereal quality derived from the band’s early experimentation with electronic synthesisers. Melancholic rather than angry, Pink Floyd’s sound however found a classic expression of passionate political stance in Another Brick in the Wall, a track whose message is perhaps even more thought-provoking than it was in 1979. A quarter of a billion albums later, Pink Floyd remains one of the pillars upon which modern music was built.

Formed (also in London) in 1970, Queen originally looked more like a Glam Rock band but soon merged rock and pop to become one of the greatest acts of all time. Though guitarist Brian May can be called the brains of the operation, it was the artistic genius and charisma of frontman Freddie Mercury that sent this multifaceted outfit into higher planes of success. Some may regard the band as too commercial and light to be considered a true rock band, but listen to their earlier creations and it’s very clear that, during the classic 1970s era at least, this was a group of artists very much rooted in the new British rock scene of the time, and in the process they have gone on to inspire much of what followed.

QUEEN

ACROSS THE ATLANTIC

As had been happening since the birth of rock & roll and pop music back in the 1950s, British and American music continued to crossfertilise, sending inspiration back and forth across the Atlantic as both old and new world vied for world domination in (rock) music. As always in matters of art and taste, there is no definitive ‘winner’, but rather a profusion of creativity that came out of this musical rivalry and the social setting it was cast within. And don’t underestimate the influence of drugs, for this was the ultimate psychedelic era. ›

AEROSMITH

We tend to think of Aerosmith as an 80s or maybe even 90s band, but these rockers have been around since 1970 and unlike many others have basically retained the same line-up ever since. The faces of the band are enigmatic American rock heroes Steven Tyler (vocals) and Joe Perry (guitar), and they’ve been hailed as the country’s Rock and Roll band, fusing elements of blues, pop, R&B and even glam metal into their animated brand of rock.

Sleeker and more commercially mainstream in later years, Aerosmith has its roots in the era of classic American rebel rouser rockers of the anti-Vietnam era – i.e. late 1960s and early 1970s. Where contemporary US bands such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Doobie Brothers had a more southern Tex-Mex sound, Aerosmith represents the urban rock tradition of the USA, heading up a list that includes the likes of Journey, Foreigner and Van Halen. ›

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To be fair, The Eagles were not all that ‘hard-sounding’ themselves, for this was a pop/rock band born out of a country tradition, but so huge was their commercial success and their impact on the American music scene that they’re hard to ignore. Essentially a Californian band formed in LA in 1971, their skirting between rock, pop and country had a more polished tone than the raw hillbilly appeal of CCR and co, making The Eagles one of the most successful bands ever – a fact that recently even led to their Greatest Hits becoming the best-selling album of all time!

THE EAGLES

FLEETWOOD MAC

Even ‘softer’ and more romantically inclined than The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac is also a truly Transatlantic (BritishAmerican) group that rose to new heights of fame as it blended mainstream pop with elements of rock. This led to over 100 million album sales and a following that remains faithful to this day. The band’s heyday, like that of many of its contemporaries, continued into the 1980s, but by then they had already acquired a classic/legendary status earned in the formative early 1970s. Fleetwood Mac was also different in that its definitive line-up includes two women, Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks, maybe the reason why its creations were that little bit more harmonious and happy. There are many other rock stars, icons and pioneers of the classic rock genre that have helped to shape not only that era, but everything that has come since, but the ones mentioned above form the inner core of a movement that affected not only music, but also fashion, art, (youth) culture, as well as social and political thinking, creating a societal watershed that not even the Beatles can emulate. e