Musiclectic

"Come and Get Your Love" - Redbone

It wasn't one of my favorite songs in the 70's, but it's a pleasant way to pass a few minutes.  The Native American rock band, Redbone, had a hit single with this song in 1974 (from their album, Wovoka).  According to the Wikipedia:

...the name Redbone itself is a joking reference to a Cajun term for a mixed-race person ("half-breed"), the band's members being of mixed blood ancestry.The band referenced Cajun and New Orleans culture many times in their lyrics and performing style. ...According to [co-founder] Patrick Vasquez, it was Jimi Hendrix who talked the musicians into forming an all-Native American rock group and so they signed as the band "Redbone" to Epic Records in 1969... Redbone played primarily rock music with R&B, Cajun, Jazz, tribal, and Latin roots.

Here's their 1976 performance from The Midnight Special:

"Amoreena" - Elton John

I thought I was familiar  with all of Elton John's hits in the 1970's so I was surprised to hear Amoreena at the opening of Dog Day Afternoon (which we recently watched, but which I was too young to watch when it came out in 1975):

 

Amoreena comes from his 1970 album, Tumbleweed Connection, which I need to get someday.

• Popdose article:  Cratedigger:  Elton John, Tumbleweed Connection.  
• Rolling Stone:  1971 Review of Tumbleweed Connection:

...Tumbleweed Connection is simpler than John's last album and next time around I hope he goes all the way and gets down to nothing but the basics. He is one of the few who is good enough not to need anything else.

"Fly By Night" - Rush

I had forgotten this song until I saw it mentioned at At Water's Edge.  Our high school had a "radio" station, which played in the lunch rooms.  The DJs enjoyed playing certain songs unusually fast, and this was one of them. 

I still enjoy it, and I love the cover art.

• Rush website

"Mockingbird/Proud Mary/Ain't No Mountain High Enough/Never Can Say Goodbye" - Elton John, Bette Midler, and Cher (with Flip Wilson)

There's not much to say about this one - a fun video from some of my favorite singers from the 70's.

"Elected" - Alice Cooper

In honor of voting day, here's "Elected" from Alice Cooper's 1973 album, Billion Dollar Babies.  "Elected" came out as a single in 1972, a presidential election year:

It's so funny that people think I actually ran for President. I am maybe the most un-political person you're ever going to meet. When I put "Elected" out, it was definitely a satire ... "Alice Cooper for President" ... when everybody realized I was running against Nixon, you known, even on a joke level, I think I got a lot of write-in votes. (Wikiquote)

When I go onstage as Alice to this day, I play Alice to the hilt — I play him for everything he is worth, but when I’m offstage, I never think about Alice Cooper. He never occurs to me. .. I walk off stage though and I turn away from the audience, I go back to being me again. Whenever I see an audience, that’s when I turn into Alice. If there was no audience there, there would be no reason to be Alice. . If I tried to be Alice Cooper all the time — I’d either be in an insane asylum or in jail or dead. Alice is just too intense, and you just can’t be Alice all the time. (Wikiquote)

[Hat tip to Best Election Songs at Cahl's Juke Joint:  A rock, blues, and jazz blog]

"Hibernian Rhapsody" - De Dannan (homage to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody)

I enjoyed Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody - about the first 500 times I heard it.  There are many 70's songs that have been overplayed for me, and Bohemian Rhapsody is almost at the top of the list.  De Dannan has given it a Celtic twist here, and I can actually listen to it again.

 

The penny whistle makes the opening theme sound haunting.  At around 3 minutes (3:00), the section which, after 500+ listens, was the most wearing (the "Scaramouche" section), gets revitalized with some wonderful harmonies, and a responsive section with the penny whistles and the accordion, and then they turn it into a joyous reel at 3:48. 

De Dannan was one of the first groups I got to know when I started listening to Celtic music.  Some of my favorite Celtic musicians (Maura O'Connell, Andy Irvine, Dolores Kean, and Mary Black) got their start in De Dannan. 

"Everlasting Love" - Carl Carlton

This song was originally a hit in 1967 for Robert Knight.  It's been recorded by a number of different artists, including Gloria Estefan and U2, but my favorite version is Carl Carlton's from 1974.

So You Think You Can Dance reminded me of this song because, on their top eight show, one of the dances was to Gloria Estefan's version.

"Enter My Dream" - Kenny Loggins

I used to have the 45 of "I Believe in Love" by Kenny Loggins (click here for a clip).  It's a nice, bouncy song with interesting instrumentation.  The B side, "Enter My Dream," from his album, Celebrate Me Home,  is a favorite of my husband's.  I like the dynamics and the orchestration on this one also. 

"Goodnight Vienna" - Ringo Starr

Maybe I should have a category labeled "Songs I'd forgotten."  I ran across this song while wandering on YouTube.  It's from Ringo Starr's, 1974 album of the same name.   Some of the album's other songs  ("Only You," "The No, No Song") did better; "Goodnight Vienna" only made it to #31 on the American charts.

Still, it's a fun song, with odd words, written by John Lennon (who also played the piano and spoke in the intro), and with clavinet playing by Billy Preston (particularly noticeable in the bridge).  The cover art comes from the sci-fi movie, The Day the Earth Stood Still, with Ringo Starr's head replacing that of one of the actors.

• Goodnight Vienna cover art and liner notes
• Ringo Starr's website