• the second major fragmentation of rock

• just like the early 1960s, the beginning of rock in the 1970s starts with rock genres fragmenting into much smaller sub-genres.

70s british mainstream rock

eric clapton

• one of the most successful rock guitar players of all time.

• clapton’s career starts in two popular British invasion bands: the yardbirds (which would later become led zeppelin after member changes) and john mayall’s bluesbreakers.

• cream

  • clapton forms cream in 1966 with bassist jack bruce and drummer ginger baker.

  • cream is a power trio and considered one of the first “supergroups” in rock.

  • although cream is only together for about two years, they release four very successful albums.

  • fresh cream

    • released in 1966

    • top songs

      • i feel free

      • i’m so glad

  • disraeli gears

    • released in 1967

    • top songs

      • strangebrew

        • til that this isn’t strange fruit.

      • sunshine of your love

  • wheels of fire

    • released in 1968

    • top songs

      • white room

      • crossroads

  • can’t believe i’m saying this rn but he’s up there on the gender envy tier list.

  • goodbye

    • released in 1969

    • released after the band broke up

    • top song

      • badge

• blind faith

  • after cream breaks up in 1968, clapton forms a new group called blind faith in 1969. the drummer from cream comes back (ginger baker.) singer and keyboard player Steve winwood joins the band and bass player rick gretsch.

  • blind faith (self titled)

    • blind faith releases one album before the members go their separate ways.

    • released in 1969

    • top songs

      • had to cry today

      • can’t find my way home

• derek and the dominos

  • formed in 1970 originally as eric clapton and the friends. he changed the name to counteract the star power image that he didn’t like.

  • this clapton band is heavily influenced by the folk rock band the band.

  • layla and other assorted love songs

    • released in 1970

    • most of the songs on layla are influenced by clapton’s growing infatuation with pattie boyd, george harrison’s wife.

    • clapton invited guitarist duane allman of the allman brothers band to the studio to play on the album.

    • the two became close friends with clapton and clapton stated that duane was “the musical brother i never had but i wish i did.”

    • top songs

      • bell bottom blues

      • who does love got to be so sad

      • little wing

      • layla

• after dereck

  • after the first derek and the dominos album is released, the band gets into a fight and clapton leaves, breaking up the band.

  • coupled with the death of his friends duane allman and jimi hendrix and his on and off again relationship with pattie boyd, clapton enters a dark period of depression, alcoholism, and drug use. we lose track of him for a while.

  • he stopped recording and touring and rarely left his house. he developed heroin and alcohol addiction.

  • the who’s pete townshend organized a comeback concert for clapton in 1973 to help him kick his addictions. the concert was called the rainbow concert. it was a rock and roll intervention. this concert saved eric clapton. he was able to tour and record again.

• 50+ years of success: here’s a collection of his top stuff.

  • eric clapton (self titled)

    • released in 1970

    • top songs

      • after midnight

      • blues power

      • let it rain

  • 461 ocean boulevard

    • released in 1971

    • top song

      • i shot the sheriff

        • this is a cover of a bob marley song and brought him to the mainstream.

  • slowhand

    • released in 1977

    • one of clapton’s most commercially successful albums.

    • top songs

      • cocaine

      • wonderful tonight

        • this one is sweet

      • lay down sally

      • the core

  • journeyman

    • released in 1989

    • top song

      • pretending

  • later hits

    • rush soundtrack - 1992

      • tears in heaven

    • phenomenon soundtrack - 1996

      • change the world

    • pilgrim - 1998

      • my father’s eyes

• eric clapton is still alive today

elton john

• elton john is one of the most popular rock stars of the 1970s.

• elton has over fifty top-40 hits that span his career.

• elton began his career as a pub musician at the age of 15.

• bernie taupin

  • bernie taupin is a talented lyricist who met elton john in 1967 through a record company.

  • elton and bernie begin to write music together, starting a working relationship that would last over fifty years.

• major success

  • between 1970 and 1975, elton and bernie released eight albums that reach gold and platinum status on the charts.

• elton john (self titled)

  • released in 1970

  • reached gold status

  • top songs

    • your song

      • if i was a sculptor- but then again! no! but a man!

    • take me to the pilot

• madman across the water

  • released in 1971

  • reached 2x platinum status

  • top songs

    • tiny dancer

    • levon

• honky chateau

  • it’s named after the place in france he recorded the album

  • released in 1972

  • top songs

    • honky cat

    • rocket man

• don’t shoot me i’m only the piano player

  • released in 1972

  • reaches 3x platinum stats

  • top songs

    • daniel

    • crocodile rock

• goodbye yellow brick road

  • released in 1973

  • reaches 8x platinum

  • top songs

    • candle in the wind

      • this was the only friend elton asked bernie to rewrite the lyrics to correspond to the life of princess diana. originally it was about marylin monroe.

    • bennie and the jets

    • goodbye yellow brick road

    • saturday night’s alright for fighting

• caribou

  • released in 1974

  • reaches 2x platinum

  • top songs

    • the bitch is back

    • don’t let the sun go down on me

• captain fantastic and the brown dirt cowboy

  • released in 1975

  • reaches 3x platinum status

  • top songs

    • someone saved my life tonight

• in total elton has released over 70 albums during his career

• musical theater

  • john also has success with writing music for musical theater

  • his albums for the lion king, aida, and billy elliot are regarded as some of the best theater music of all time.

rod stewart

• rod stewart is a british rock and pop singer

• stewart is one of the best selling artists of all time

• stewart’s career is unique because he was in a band and had a solo career at the same time.

• the faces

  • rod stewart joins the faces in 1969

  • their third album, a nod as good as a wink… to a blind horse, contains the hit single:

    • stay with me

      • everyone in this video is gender as fuck. the suits are sick.

• solo career

  • at the same time he was in the faces, stewart had a solo artist record deal

  • stewart had major success starting with his third album, every picture tells a story

• every picture tells a story

  • released in 1971

  • #1 in the us and uk

  • top songs

    • every picture tells a story

    • maggie may

      • this one is nice

• a night on the town

  • released in 1975

  • top songs

    • tonight’s the night

    • first cut is the deepest

• foot loose and fancy free

  • released in 1977

  • top song

    • hot legs

• blondes have more fun

  • released in 1978

  • top song

    • do ya think i’m sexy

• out of order

  • released in 1988

  • top song

    • forever young

american mainstream rock

fleetwood mac

• fleetwood mac is a british american rock band formed in london in 1967 as a blues band.

• drummer mick fleetwood forms a new version of the band in 1974 with americans lindsey buckingham and stevie nicks.

• this new lineup changes their style to pop rock

• fleetwood mac (the white album)

  • released in 1975

  • technically their 10th album but the first with new members and new sound

  • top songs

    • rhiannon

    • say you love me

• rumors

  • this is one of the best albums of all time

  • released in 1977

  • sold 13 million copies by 1980

  • considered the band’s best album and one of the best albums of all time

  • rumors was recorded while the band is going through a lot of personal turmoil.

  • the album is essentially an album of breakup songs about looking towards the future in both optimistic and pessimistic ways.

  • top songs

    • dreams

    • don’t stop

    • go your own way

    • the chain

    • gold dust woman

• tusk

  • released in 1979

  • considered more experimental than rumors

  • top songs

    • tusk

    • sara

• in total, the reformed fleetwood mac has a total of eight albums

• the band continues to tour with various original and new members to this day

billy joel

• billy joel is a singer songwriter from long island, ny.

• between 1971 and 1993, joel released twelve albums that are considered some of the best american rock albums of all time.

• he is one of the best selling artists of all time in the entire world. over 160 million records sold worldwide.

• that career that almost wasn’t

  • in 1979, joel signs a record deal with a small label called family productions

• cold spring harbor

  • joel records cold spring harbor for family productions in 1971

  • due to an error while mastering, the record played too fast, making joel’s voice sound too high. he compared it to sounding like alvin and the chipmunks. it’s been fixed.

  • because of the production error, the album is a flop.

• let’s time travel to 1983 - cold spring harbor re-released

  • the album is finally remixed and released at the correct speed in 1983

  • top songs

    • she’s got a way

    • everybody loves you now

• back to 1971 - the career that almost wasn’t continued

  • the cold spring harbor error made joel second guess his music career

• WMMR saves the day.

  • in 1972, rock station in philadelphia called WMMR (93.3) invited Joel to play in their studio. joel is hesitant but does show.

  • WMMR starts to play a live version of a song called captain jack from the session.

  • the performance catches the attention of columbia records who signs joel to a record deal. these are the same people that signed bruce springsteen.

• piano man

  • piano man is billy joel’s first album for columbia records

  • it is released in 1973

  • the title track, piano man, was written over a period of six months when joel worked in a piano bar in los angeles.

  • top songs

    • piano man

    • you’re my home

    • the ballad of billy the kid

    • captain jack

  • the album is a moderate success, reaching #27 in the us. the song piano man becomes joel’s signature song.

• streetlife serenade

  • released in 1974

  • peaked at #35 on the us charts

  • eventually goes platinum

  • top song

    • the entertainer

• turnstiles

  • released in 1976

  • turnstiles is recorded twice. joel did not like the original version so he returns to ny and re-records the album with his own band.

  • top songs

    • say goodbye to hollywood

    • new york state of mind

    • james

    • prelude/angry young man

    • miami 2017

• the stranger

  • released in 1977

  • with only moderate success with his previous albums, columbia records considered dropping joel if the stranger was not successful.

  • the stranger becomes billy joel’s commercial breakthrough and spends six weeks at #2 on the us charts.

  • top songs

    • movin’ out (anthony’s song)

    • just the way you are

    • scenes from an italian restaurant

    • vienna

    • only the good die young

    • she’s always a woman

• 52nd street

  • released in 1978

  • 52nd street is the first billy joel album to reach #1 on the charts.

  • 52nd street is much different than the stranger, it is more jazz forward.

  • top songs

    • big shot

    • my life

    • zanzibar

    • stiletto

• glass houses

  • released in 1980

  • features joel’s first song to go #1 - it’s still rock and roll to me

  • the album is one of the top selling albums of the 80s

  • top songs

    • you may be right

    • don’t ask me why

    • it’s still rock and roll to me

• the nylon curtain

  • released in 1982

  • one of the first albums to be digitally recorded

  • top songs

    • allentown

    • pressure

    • goodnight saigon

• an innocent man

  • released in 1983

  • was developed as a concept album that paid homage to joel’s musical idols.

  • top songs

    • the longest time

    • tell her about it

    • uptown girl

    • keeping the faith

• storm front

  • released in 1989

  • this is joel’s third album to reach #1

  • top songs

    • we didn’t start the fire

    • the downeaster alexa

    • i go to extremes

      • this fucks

    • shameless

• river of dreams

  • released in 1993

  • river of dreams is billy joel’s most serious album

  • it is joel’s last rock album released to this day. all albums since have been live albums or classical music.

  • top songs

    • great wall of china

    • river of dreams

• joel continues to play live

• a lot of his recent concerts are for opening or closing of famous stadiums like shea stadium in nyc. paul came out and sang with him then.

• he is currently in the last part of an historic run of over 100 shows at madison square garden.