I was 12 years old in 1975. There were only two important things in my life at that age – music and sports. It was a good time for both. My beloved Broad Street Bullies had just won back to back Stanley Cups and destroyed the Russian Red Army team. The Phillies were on the verge of becoming great, with future hall of famers Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton leading the way. The Sixers were one year away from acquiring Doctor J and becoming a dominant team for a decade. And the number of awesome rock bands putting out great music was astounding. Here are a few hits from 1975.
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It is my sincere desire to provide readers of this site with the best unbiased information available, and a forum where it can be discussed openly, as our Founders intended. But it is not easy nor inexpensive to do so, especially when those who wish to prevent us from making the truth known, attack us without mercy on all fronts on a daily basis. So each time you visit the site, I would ask that you consider the value that you receive and have received from The Burning Platform and the community of which you are a vital part. I can't do it all alone, and I need your help and support to keep it alive. Please consider contributing an amount commensurate to the value that you receive from this site and community, or even by becoming a sustaining supporter through periodic contributions. [Burning Platform LLC - PO Box 1520 Kulpsville, PA 19443] or Paypal
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Yeah, those were the days my friend…in many ways, care-free, happier and better times.
That’s cause mom and dad were pampering your single ass. Now you have to work, support the battle-ax and pay your own bills or you don’t eat.
“Fame,” David Bowie with John Lennon as the second voice. You can really hear John at the end.
Full version of “Fame.” (Remastered)
I grew up at that time near the Jersey shore, Springsteen was exploding about that time.
Could not wait to get of of high school everyday, work for some money and go dirt bike riding, that was all I cared about.
1975 was the middle of the disco era, Maggie was tripping the light fantastic.
https://youtu.be/_pHT9yYFdZg
Our theme during that era was Disco sucks.
You’ve made me think a bit. I turned 14 December 1975, was in 7th/8th grade and was making the transition from tomboy farmgirl to post-pubescent teen attracting the wrong sort of predator.
Oh, what a night!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDxhugRKZ8g
My best friend and I were picked up after volleyball practice by my older sister, driven in his 1968 Chevy Pickup. They asked if we minded if they detoured to the old gravel pit to do some smooching. Karen and I got into the back of the pickup and listened to this on our battery operated 8 track/radio in the back of the truck while my sister and whatshisname swapped spit and possibly engaged in what my husband calls “Upstairs Outsidies.”
I just remember we kept clicking the 8 track through to the start of this track again and again… at least there wasn’t any “rocking” going on, so after twenty minutes, this guy starts the truck and takes off without realizing that he needs Karen and I OUT of the bed of that truck in that sand. We ended up having to get out and help push him out of the sand pit.
I never let my sister forget that.
I was 13 in 1975, and also transitioning from tomboy to gal.
1975 was when Paul McCartney and Wings released “Venus and Mars.” They toured in ’75 and ’76. I loved this song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjC7eaKOWzY&list=RDQjC7eaKOWzY
I don’t remember 1975. 85 was great though.
LOL. I hear you. I have a few those lost remembrances myself.
I never lost it – I was only two years old. I just don’t remember it. Not everyone who posts here is a senior citizen 🙂
Great! I have children older than you FM……….I guess I’ll go lay down for a while and rest my old bones. Sigh….
Coming to this place is a bit like going to my grandpa’s nursing home… it has a certain smell to it that says “old people live here”. 🙂
Yep,getting older can suck(beats in most cases the alternative),am looking at double nickels in a month.That said still stand tall at 6’2’/still weigh 190/still have a full head of hair with long flowing locks so not feeling too bad about it.Hell,getting a new scoot this summer/going to build up a 70’s 4×4/going to start training in a new martial art this Spring/going to backpack a few countries in Europe this summer I hope/wake up and the body still seems to work fine/oh, and I am not Canadian,so,so far so good and am grateful,yep,could be a lot worse!
Been thinking lately that life goes through stages and it’s best when you enjoy each one. Staying ‘healthy’ is sure a lot harder now than it was when I was twenty and I sure as hell don’t look like I did back then. But Mrs. Marion says I’m more distinguished these days and that bald is sexy. I think she lies a little bit but I’m good with it. Looking forward to the next twenty with her and trying to stay fit and spending as much time in the mountains as I can through each proceeding stage.
Life is grand.
James,
Health and energy are a trifecta: Genes – Nutrition – Exercise
You can’t control the first…but the next two is were too many Americans ruin their health and their quality of life and energy.
I just came back from a shopping trip at Cosco – man, it seemed like the place was full of mostly sickly looking obese people…of all ages.
If you are careful what you put into the hole under your nose (I grow and raise a lot of what I eat) exercise, keep your weight right, detox (I’m a life long Sauna enthusiast) don’t poison yourself with slow motion suicide smoking (I enjoy an occasional cigar) drink in moderation (or at least only tie one on once in a while not every weekend) you can live a vibrant life.
I’m 68 and get taken by strangers for 50 often. My Mon is 91 and looks 71, her mind still razor sharp. My Dad went the smoking route and went home early.
I have friends much younger then me that I doubt will make my age, let alone experience a vibrant 7th decade. Overweight, eat shit junk food, drink too much, never exercise…turning into a sack full of doorknobs.
Good for you on the martial art…I was into Judo for years. I hit the barn heavy bag constantly.
LOL.
Hi Vic,
What is really sad is I probably have socks older than FM. 🙂
I had a black Addidas t-shirt that lasted twenty years. I loved that shirt. One day it just vanished. My wife swears on the Bible that she never tossed it. Six years later I’m still blaming her. Truthfully though I think it turned into a pile of lint in the dryer on the last clean. Never to be seen again.
True story.
My sweatshirt (see below) is still with me though I’ve had to threaten the wife should it ever go missing. It wouldn’t even make a decent rag at this point but I love that shirt.
FM……They vaporize and go to T shirt heaven. At least that is what Jerry Seinfeld said……….LOL!
BL, I probably have blue jeans older than FM. I’m still wearing my blue jeans from high school, so I’ve had them since 1978, ’79, ’80. LOL.
When I was in high school, painter’s paints and overalls were popular. Not like farmer’s overalls. These were fancier and body forming, showing your assets well. Still have my high school overalls and still wear them.
You have jeans older than 45 years old.
Bull-fucking-shit.
It’s true. I’ve had them since high school. I don’t wear them as much as I used to, and most are a bit worn out with patches on the ass, some with many patches, some have tears in the front, but I still wear them. Of course, in the summer I don’t wear jeans anymore like I did because I get too hot in them now. But when I was younger that was my everyday outfit no matter what time of year. And when I worked outside of my home in offices I basically wore my work clothes all day and only wore my jeans on the weekends, so I guess that’s how they’ve held up.
When my son comes home from college, I’ll have him take a picture of my overalls and post it.
Edit: Actually, it’s about 40 years, not “older than 45.”
Another edit: I actually have a photo of me wearing these overalls from when I was in high school, so I can do a side-by-side comparison. They don’t fit the same of course since I’m out of shape.
Nah, you over-played your hand.
Rdawg, I’ve got a Hanes sweatshirt and several concert shirts from HS that are now at least 33 years old. The sweatshirt looks like swiss cheese but it’s comfortable. One concert T is the marching hammers from The Wall given to me by David Gilmour when I won a radio contest in Madrid Spain. I’m too fat to fit it currently.
Hell, I’ve got some incredible socks that I’ve had for every bit of 15 years that I wear monthly. Gold Toe is the brand name. Tough as hell. No holes, not even stretched out!
Socks older then FM,not so hard to believe if they are from the darn tough sock company out of Vt.,of course,they are guaranteed for life,and priced accordingly!
FM, most kids develop amnesia around age 3 and forget everything prior. I think that horrible, I forgot my great-grandparents who I never saw again. My grandma was disappointed that I couldn’t remember.
The pastors were Mexican nationals and had this theory of personality based on the 5 humors; an old theory. Anyway, I heard a Mexican character in a movie say, the first 7 years are for the parents, the next 7 years are the child’s and the 7 years after are for their partner. Maggie’s story dovetails neatly with this outline.
Of course, American culture is totally different and kids can’t really marry at 14. Most Americans now marry at an age when folks from other countries have become grandparents. There was the story of a Mormon missionary who was irrevocably excommunicated by an outraged elder because the kid had carnal relations outside of marriage and worse still, the woman was already a grandmother in the foreign country.
That means she was at a minimum 26 years old. That is how old one of the girls in our church was when she became a granny. OTOH, we had 40+ yo girls still waiting for a husband from heaven. My buddy Robert got a kick out of the news. He said, imagine, Aguila Uno (the Univision chopper) is going to show up to report on a 40 yo old virgin getting married. He added, it must be something in the water.
One of your best stories to date EC. And I’m sure it is completely true.
I wish I could write more about my personal observations but I’m afraid the aliens would then be able to triangulate on my location. It’s all true. It’s hard to make up stuff on the fly, real authors have story outlines. I just rely on my war stories, it’s less work.
We got married in our early twenties. Normal for a small town midwest country bumpkin type like me. My wife’s friends gave her a hard time (she was from the coast). Said she was too young and wasting her life.
At around 40 the ones that could started to get married and have kids (in a panic). Some of them, having nothing to offer older successful men, will probably die alone with their cats. Nothing against cats mind you. I just don’t like litter boxes.
1975. Alice Cooper. Welcome to my Nightmare.
And you booed Mike Schmidt in the World Series…and you booed your Flyers in the Stanley Cup, your 76ers in the NBS championship, and your Eagles, too. Oh yeah, Santa Claus too…That’s Yankee shit….
Blow me.
I graduated from high school in 1975. I wouldnt trade those days for anything. Please God, take me back.
High school was the zenith of your life?
M’kay.
Please, God, take him back. Pretty please with a cherry on top!
Did it work? Is he gone?
Doesn’t even make sense. I thought he was supposed to supplicate to Ahura Mazda – not God – anyway?
Ahura Mazda means wise lord. Khoda means God
He’ll be gone tomorrow, LLPOH. For over 1000 years reliving the same day until he learns selflessness.
Ramis once said Phil was trapped in Groundhog Day for 10 years, even though the original plan was to have him trapped for 10,000 years. According to the website Wolf Gnards, which ran the numbers, Phil was actually trapped for eight years, eight months and 16 days. Wikipedia
I also was 12 in 75,was into going out on the river fishing/still building forts(am a builder now)/introduced that year to tobacco and alcohol.The music as others mentioned while also T-
Rex/Queen/Yes/Sabbath/Sweet/Purple and well of course what became me favorite band.My parents left me with friends older sister as babysitter for weekend,as long as kept me mouth shut would take me to a concert at Boston Garden,was Jethro Tull!They had great seats and though not familiar with all the music then was great and had folks dressed as animals on stage/bombs going off on stage ect.,was the circus with rock,was the timing of the Warchild/Minstrel In Gallery Tours,thus a lot from both albums,became me favorite band and have seen them in different incarnations over a 100 times since thru the decades.I am hoping to go to the Czech Republic this June,have always wanted to and will catch a few shows of Tull celebrating(gulp!)50 years there if I can get the time,yep,the 70’s was a cool time as a kid.
I can wax nostalgic about 75….had a tricked out Dodge van (they were all the rage). Captain’s chairs, sunroof, exhaust fan (to quickly remove the ahhh interior smoke) two beds, book case, and lots of camping gear.
Watched Route 66 as a boy…me and a buddy spent most of that year traveling around the South living out the young man’s road fantasy adventures. Just looking for cold beer and hot girls and the occasional cougar. (We didn’t call them cougars then – we just called ourselves lucky).
We use to pull into motels in the morning, out of sight of the office, then when somebody left their room see if they locked the door behind them. Some didn’t, we would run in for HOT SHOWER TIME!
Ended up working on an oil rig in the Gulf throwing lead tong for Noble Drilling out of Morgan City LA., contracted out to Texaco, 7 days on 7 days off, 12 hour shifts (the off time usually spent in the French Quarter in the Big Easy) 144 hours a week, $5.55 an hour, 104 hours of time and a half a week. That was big blue collar money in 75. Two men were disabled for life in four months next to me…dangerous work.
75 was a hard year on Nam Vets, the south we left our youth and innocence and a lot of buddies in fell.
One off week from the rig I met a petite cutie pie from West Texas on Bourbon Street. I was alone and she was with four friends. She actually whistled at me! (I had been flirted with but I had never had a girl whistle at me before). I caught up to her and asked if she was whistling at me…she smiled and batted her blue eyes and then proceeded to run over me like a Mack truck…the next thing I knew I had a daughter and a 30 year mortgage!
SHE JUST WHISTLED
I FELL IN LOVE WITH A YOUNG GIRL
WE WERE BOTH LIVING AIMLESS
MAYBE A LITTLE TOO FREE
I WAS A LONG WAY FROM HOME
LOOKING FOR A MAN CALLED ME
IT CAUGHT ME BY SURPRISE
WHEN I LOOKED INTO HER LIQUID BLUE EYES
THERE HE WAS
THE REAL ME!
That was a great ending to the wandering life. 🙂
In an interview, Robert Plant said “Stairway to Heaven was not Led Zeppelin. Led Zeppelin was Kashmir.”
Just so happens Kashmir is my favorite Led Zep song.
I read that Stairway to Heaven was Robert Plant’s least favorite song.
Yup. He said he wished he never wrote it.
I was 19 in ’75. ‘Fame’ ignites a strong memory. Takes me back to a hot Memphis (Millington) barracks, 4 guys laying in the dark on our racks sweating in a 95dg, and 95% humidity night. We had my ass-kicking stereo running through my roomie’s ass-kicking stereo. Always had the WAVES making song requests from the next barracks over.
I remember that night, even though it was just another in a endless stream of steamy southern nights like it was yesterday.
TS , I was at Millington same time. I remember lots of loud music at the barracks. I was waiting for a slot to open at the ATC school. Did my service week(s) at the marine chow hall. I was right out of boot and had nothing but my sea bag. The music was about the only feel good thing I had at the time. Kept me going while I learned how to be a squid. I flash back to then when I hear Todd, Tull, Doors, Heap, Steppenwolf, ELO and Yes.
1975….I guess I don’t remember all that much about kindergarten and first grade. I got a bike for Christmas.
What? No Becker and Fagen fans?…..
Steely Dan – Bad Sneakers
Five names that I can hardly stand to hear
Including yours and mine
And one more chimp who isn’t here
I can see the ladies talking
How the times are getting hard,
And that fearsome excavation
On Magnolia Boulevard.
Yes I’m going insane
And I’m laughing at the frozen rain
Well I’m so alone
Honey when they gonna send me home.
Bad sneakers and a Pina Colada my friend
Stompin’ on the avenue
By Radio City with a
Transistor and a large sum of money to spend.
You fellah, you tearin’ up the street
You wear that white tuxedo
How you gonna beat the heat
Do you take me for a fool
Do you think that I don’t see
That ditch out in the valley
That they’re digging just for me.
Yes I’ve gone insane
You know I’m laughing at the frozen rain
I feel like I’m so alone
Honey when they gonna send me home……..
On the 6th November 1975, the Sex Pistols played their first gig at St. Martin’s College of Art in London.
Ah, 1975, may first concert: ZZ Top
I saw Admin’s post on this last night, but Mr. Sandman came early and I caught my zzzz’s before the majority weighed in. Some of you are night owls {BTW…a great song by Little River Band}
I think the 70’s were the best decade for creative rock music. Arguably. But, not.
So much more creative than most of the garbage put forth nowadays, with few noticeable exceptions.
I was 15 in ’75.
The love of music seed was planted, listening to my older brother’s .45’s from the 60’s.
There’s a couple songs by the Turtles that I love still. You Baby, It Ain’t Me Babe.
But, for 70’s, I need to take you to 1976, when Boston’s debut album launched.
We wore out the .33 LP, 8-tracks and later cassettes of that one we played it so much.
That’s my pick, if I was stranded on a desert island with only 1 album allowed.
More Than A Feeling is of course the signature song, but there isn’t a bad song on that album.
Personal fave: Peace of Mind.
Great guitar, bass, lyrics, harmonies, percussion…just a hard driving song that rocks.
Radio volume immediately goes to 10 when it comes on. Thanks Admin. Great topic.
If you loved music in ’75 and you lived within 50 miles of Philly you were listening to WMMR on Wednesday night. They would play whatever album came out that week in it’s entirety without commercial interruption so you knew exactly which album to buy when you got your paycheck on Friday. I absolutely remember going to the Record Exchange in Princeton to buy Face The Music (ELO) and taking it to a friend’s and putting it on the Technics turntable.
That was the year Wish You Were Here came out and after I listened to it (it came with two free stickers) I made my Father come into the study and listen to the whole thing with me.
All I bought that year were record albums and art books and I can still remember most of them- Still Crazy After All These Years, Red Octopus, Physical Graffiti, Blow By Blow (WOW), Katy Lied, Born To Run, That’s The Way of The World, Fleetwood Mac, Ommadawn, The Hissing of Summer Lawns, One of These Nights, Night At The Opera….
Man that was a great year for an anxsty teenager to hole up in their bedroom and drift off to great music.
Thick as a Brick – Jethro Tull
I was honorably discharged from the USAF in Sept 1975. I was in college three days later …. driving my brand new car I paid for in cash, driving from Victorville, CA to New Jersey.
Courtesy of the USAF I spent time in Kansas, Colorado, California, Greenland, Germany, and Greece. All of it hugely fun and eye-opening for a Joisey teenager.
But, the best thing I remember about 1975 was December, when the first semester grades came out … 18 credit hours, and a perfect 4.0 (computer science major). No big deal, you might say. Except that it was, for me. You see, four years prior I BARELY graduated high school … graduating in the bottom 20% in a class of 425. I mean, I got a “D” in Algebra 1 …. as a Fucken senior. December 1975 was the first year in a very very long time where I didn’t feel like a stupid shithead. Really, it was so nice to feel good about myself.
Of course, all that is coming full circle …. as reading Andrea’s posts are turning me into Full Retardation, my IQ is dangerously close to absolute zero, and I can’t chew gum and shit at the same time.
What kind of car in ’75
Maff ain’t easy when we’re yutes, w/ some exceptions.
Ignore her. When I see that mug and all those links, I scroll right past. Always.
Next!
Gum and pizza cheese tend to clog the pipes. More fiber! 😉
edit / add:
If you’re a former flyboy, I recommend that book…Flyboys…interesting read.
I left out the car for a reason. I don’t want people to laugh at me and call me a pussy.
Well, what the hell …. it was a Mercury Capri.
— 2.8 litre V6
— produced a whopping 110hp
— o-60 in a blazingly fast 11 seconds
— about $3,800
Blow me. It was a fun little ride. Had it for fours years of college, plus one year afterward. About 85k when I totalled it on an icy Fort Wayne road. Not one thin dime in repairs, other than scheduled maintenance.
It’s this one … including the correct color.
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Stucky, my husband is a Capri fanatic. Seriously. You can find those restored for as high as 10K now. I love them too! There is a whole world of guys who belong to what they call Four Eyed Pride clubs, mostly Mustangs from the late 70’s and early 80’s but there is a subset that is dedicated the the Capri.
I had a silver 76 Capri that my brother bought from an auto auction and rebuilt for me. Man I loved that car. They were fast.
The Capri was a dressed up Pinto, LOL!
Oh, yeah? And you’re a transvestite! So, blow me.
“They were fast.”
You must be talking about a Chevy CapriCE …. surely not a Capri. Mine was slower than molasses in the winter. But, I’m with you, I loved the car also.
Lucky you to have had the 6 cyl. version built in Germany. The other version was a 4 cyl built in England. What a POS those were. Two entirely different cars that looked identical. These were Ford’s attempt to include an import in their lineup. G.M., on the other hand went with Vauxhall Vivas. Now there was a truly Epic ( the alternate version, no pun intended ) automotive failure. I worked at a Chevy dealership when these came out and can remember the salesmen ( who were not noted for being overly ethical creatures ) talking young women – who were the target market for these lemons – OUT of buying them. They were that bad. The parts dept ordered refrigerator sized boxes of radiator hoses on a regular basis. Seems the genius engineers in England designed a hose that had a vulcanized branch which went to the heater core and lasted about a month after purchase. The replacements were the exact same hose. These cars used to arrive at the docks with the carpets saturated with water because the seals leaked. People came in with door handles that had come off in their hands. Have you ever tried to remove a door handle? Damn near impossible. These geniuses managed to engineer ones that did it automatically. These were the pre- Thatcher days when the unions ran Britain and quality control was a foreign language. Be thankful you owned the German built version. There is a reason that Volkswagen and Honda destroyed the British sports car market.
I was 14 the summer of ’75. Had my first girlfriend and my first kiss. Still love to listen to the music from that summer.
Yo Jim, there’s hope for us Millennials yet. This band is tearing up the charts around here:
They are pretty damned good for a young band,been hearing em a lot on radio recently but heard them first about a year ago,sounds a lot like a young Robert,not hard to figure some of their influences.
Agreed. Very mid 70s, heavy Zepp feel, with some Rush and others thrown in for good measure.
Another example:
I have been listening to GVF and they are really good. They performed in Lawrence, Ks in December. Tickets were $10 and most of them got scalped for as much as $200 on Craigs List. The band never sees a dime of that. It’s a shame but it’s legal in Kansas.
I missed the party last night. My daughter woke us up at 2:30 yesterday morning. DUI…I left her ass in jail but her dad (my ex) rescued her. So I was sleepless all day and by 8:30 I was toast.
Been enjoying the stories, though.
Vic’s comment about disco sucks made me remember that a local rock station would have a weekly battle of the disco songs on Fridays and would play about 30 seconds on one then “blow it up”. They sponsored a rock concert where they blew up a pile of disco albums.
But if you listened to Fame, you will notice a disco beat. Disco was so popular that for a time, the record companies tried to require all the rock bands to put at least one song on their albums that had a disco beat. If I wanted to spend some time, I could find some more and post them, but I don’t really have time for that.
In Kansas the drinking age for 3.2 beer was 18 so there were a lot of 18 bars where that is all they served. There were several that had DJ’s and the revolving disco ball with dance floors. I used to bar hop with my best friend and we had far too much fun.
I graduated from HS in ’75. I almost got married the following September but broke it off 3 weeks before the wedding. My parents could not decide whether to be mad at me or happy I didn’t get married. I had to send out notes to everyone invited and send back a bunch of presents. My future mother in law had a shower for me and all those presents had to be returned.
Alice Cooper’s School’s Out came out in ’72 but it remained quite popular and still was played a lot in spring when we graduated.
Here’s a live version where he joins the Foo Fighters on stage. At the 1:16 mark he walks out and the crowd goes crazy and sings with him. That song really is the high school seniors theme song.
Here’s a band that I loved in the 70’s. I saw them at the Flying Dutchman in Charleston….Hell of a show….Head East .
One More….Black Oak Arkansas…in 1979 they had one of the best guitarists that ever lived…Shawn Lane….EVERY guitar player has been in awe of his talents..RIP
I saw BOA with Shawn Lane….I was a budding rocker with a college band…he blew me away.
This was my favorite BOA song…the red head was hot too.