176 Fun Facts About 70s Music

Whose late-1970s hit 'Stayin' Alive' became shorthand for the disco era?

The Bee Gees wrote and sang it for Saturday Night Fever, the 1977 soundtrack that pushed disco into the global mainstream; its beat is now used to time CPR compressions.

What is Pink Floyd's influential 1973 album, with a prism refracting light on its cover, called?

The Dark Side of the Moon came out in March 1973 and stayed on the Billboard chart for over 14 years, its prism cover now as famous as the music.

The epic rock ballad 'Stairway to Heaven' is famously associated with which British band?

'Stairway to Heaven,' released in 1971, is one of Led Zeppelin's most enduring and recognizable songs, often considered a masterpiece of progressive rock.

Which 1977 Bob Marley and the Wailers album was recorded in London after an assassination attempt in Jamaica?

Exodus was recorded in London after Marley survived a December 1976 shooting at his Kingston home; its songs include 'Jamming', 'One Love' and 'Three Little Birds'.

Which 1971 Marvin Gaye concept album, on war, poverty and the environment, did Motown initially resist releasing?

What's Going On broke from the Motown formula: Gaye produced it himself, singing as a Vietnam veteran coming home to an America of poverty and pollution.

In what year did Boston release their self-titled debut album featuring 'More Than a Feeling'?

Boston's debut came out in August 1976 and became one of the best-selling debuts in US history, built largely in Tom Scholz's basement studio.

Which 1975 Led Zeppelin double album mixed new songs with leftovers from earlier sessions?

Physical Graffiti was Zeppelin's first double album, and its die-cut sleeve of a New York tenement, with windows that change, became a design landmark.

What is Thin Lizzy's 1976 breakthrough album, featuring 'The Boys Are Back in Town', called?

Jailbreak, Thin Lizzy's sixth album, carried 'The Boys Are Back in Town' to the band's biggest US hit and the 1976 NME award for Best Single.

What is Joni Mitchell's acclaimed 1971 album featuring 'A Case of You' and 'River' titled?

Blue, released in June 1971, is Mitchell's fourth album and the benchmark for confessional songwriting; 'River' borrows its opening from 'Jingle Bells'.

At which ballpark did the 1979 Disco Demolition Night riot take place?

Comiskey Park, home of the Chicago White Sox, hosted the 12 July 1979 promotion; thousands stormed the field after a crate of disco records was blown up between games of a doubleheader.

In which English seaside town did ABBA win the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest?

ABBA won at the Brighton Dome on 6 April 1974, Sweden's first Eurovision victory; the group had nearly entered 'Hasta Mañana' instead.

How many weeks did 'Bohemian Rhapsody' spend at UK number one on its original 1975 release?

'Bohemian Rhapsody' spent nine weeks at UK number one from November 1975 to January 1976, then returned for a further five weeks after Freddie Mercury's death in 1991.

Fleetwood Mac's 1977 album Rumours was recorded amid the collapse of which two band members' marriage?

John and Christine McVie's marriage ended during the Rumours sessions while Buckingham and Nicks were also splitting up; the album won the 1978 Grammy for Album of the Year.

Before Thriller, which 1977 soundtrack was the best-selling album in music history?

Saturday Night Fever held the title until Thriller: it sat at number one for 24 straight weeks in the US and has sold over 40 million copies.

'Rapper's Delight' (1979) borrowed its bassline from which Chic song?

Sugarhill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight' replayed the bassline of Chic's 'Good Times' (1979); Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards threatened to sue and were given songwriting credits.

Chic wrote 'Le Freak' on New Year's Eve 1977 after being turned away at the door of which New York nightclub?

Rodgers and Edwards were refused entry to Studio 54 on New Year's Eve 1977 despite an invitation from Grace Jones; the original refrain 'Fuck off!' was softened to 'Freak out!'.

Which artist broke 'American Pie's' 50-year record as the longest song to reach number one in 2021?

Taylor Swift's 'All Too Well (10 Minute Version)' topped the Hot 100 in November 2021, beating the 8:42 'American Pie' as the longest number-one single.

Which 1973 debut album was Virgin Records' first release and took off after use in The Exorcist?

Tubular Bells was Virgin's first release, catalogue number V2001, in May 1973; Mike Oldfield played almost every instrument himself, and its opening theme featured in The Exorcist.

Gloria Gaynor's 'I Will Survive' was released in 1978 as the B-side to which forgotten single?

'I Will Survive' was the B-side of Gloria Gaynor's October 1978 single 'Substitute'; DJs flipped the record and the B-side topped the US and UK charts in 1979.

Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell grew from a Jim Steinman musical that was a futuristic rock version of which story?

Jim Steinman's musical Neverland, a futuristic retelling of Peter Pan, supplied the core songs; Todd Rundgren produced the 1977 album, which has sold more than 43 million copies.

Never Mind the Bollocks, released in October 1977, was the one and only full-length record by which band?

The Sex Pistols' one album got a Nottingham shop prosecuted for obscenity over the word 'bollocks'; Time later named it one of the 100 greatest albums.

Which former Beatle organised the Concert for Bangladesh with Ravi Shankar in August 1971?

George Harrison staged two shows at Madison Square Garden on 1 August 1971 with Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Leon Russell; the benefit model later inspired Live Aid.

Peter Frampton's best-selling 1976 live album made him synonymous with which guitar effect?

Frampton's talk box on 'Show Me the Way' and 'Do You Feel Like We Do' defined Frampton Comes Alive!, which climbed from a number 191 debut to ten weeks at number one.

The word 'disco' is short for the French 'discothèque', which literally means what?

The term was coined on the model of 'bibliothèque'; in occupied Paris, hidden basement discothèques were where people met to hear banned jazz.

In which city did Régine Zylberberg make Le Whisky à Gogo the first discothèque in 1953?

Paris: Régine replaced the jukebox with two turntables she worked herself, so the music never stopped between records, an idea every DJ since has taken for granted.

Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love' (1977) was built almost entirely on which instrument?

The track was built on a Moog modular synthesizer, with only the kick drum played live; Brian Eno reportedly told David Bowie he had heard 'the sound of the future'.

Before disco fame, Donna Summer moved to Munich in 1968 to perform in which musical?

Summer joined the Munich production of Hair in 1968 and stayed in Germany for years, where she met the producers behind her 1975 breakthrough 'Love to Love You Baby'.

What jailed Manhattan's Studio 54 owners Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager in January 1980?

Rubell and Schrager pleaded guilty to tax evasion after investigators found about $2.5 million in skimmed cash receipts; each was sentenced to three and a half years.

In 1998, the former Studio 54 building at 254 West 54th Street reopened as what?

It began life as the Gallo Opera House in 1927 and spent decades as CBS Studio 52 before the disco years; the Roundabout Theatre Company has run it as a Broadway house since 1998.

How many straight weeks did the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack spend at No. 1 on the Billboard 200?

The soundtrack held number one for 24 consecutive weeks, from January to July 1978, and has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide.

What did Nik Cohn admit in the 1990s about his 1976 article that inspired Saturday Night Fever?

He had invented most of it: 'Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night' was sold as reporting from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, but the disco king at its centre was largely made up.

Which film critic bought John Travolta's white Saturday Night Fever suit at a charity auction?

Gene Siskel, the Chicago Tribune critic, bought the suit at a 1978 charity auction for about $2,000 and called Saturday Night Fever his favourite film.

At about 103 beats per minute, 'Stayin' Alive' is widely used to teach the rhythm for what?

'Stayin' Alive' runs at about 103 beats per minute, inside the 100–120 range recommended for CPR chest compressions, so the American Heart Association used it in training campaigns.

The disco group behind 'Macho Man' and 'Y.M.C.A.' took its name from which Manhattan neighbourhood?

Morali and Belolo named the group after Greenwich Village, whose gay scene inspired the costumed characters; their 1980 film Can't Stop the Music won the first Golden Raspberry for Worst Picture.

The arm-spelling dance to 'Y.M.C.A.' was born in January 1979 during a performance on which TV show?

On American Bandstand in January 1979, Dick Clark pointed out the audience spelling the letters with their arms, and the group adopted the gestures into its routine.

Which branch of the US armed forces considered using a Village People single for recruiting in 1979?

It even lent ships and facilities for the 'In the Navy' video before the idea sank.

After 1979's Disco Demolition Night riot, the White Sox forfeited the second game to which team?

The Detroit Tigers were awarded the nightcap by forfeit; the 12 July 1979 promotion drew well over 50,000 people, and rioters tore up the field after the records were blown up.

Why was DJ Rick Dees fired by his Memphis station after 'Disco Duck' hit No. 1 in 1976?

Management called it a conflict of interest; a rival station hired him and let him plug the record, which sold over four million copies.

Van McCoy's 1975 chart-topper 'The Hustle' won a Grammy in which category?

'The Hustle' won Best Pop Instrumental Performance at the 1976 Grammys; McCoy wrote it after his partner Charles Kipps saw dancers doing the step at a New York club.

The Grammy for Best Disco Recording was presented how many times before it was scrapped?

The award was handed out only once, to Gloria Gaynor's 'I Will Survive' at the 1980 ceremony, and was dropped as the disco backlash took hold.

Which 1976 ABBA single became the group's only number one in the United States?

Dancing Queen was ABBA's lone US chart-topper, though it went to number one across Europe and Australia; the name is an acronym of Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid.

Which band's break-up in the spring of 1970 was one of the first big music events of the decade?

The Beatles' split became public with McCartney's April 1970 press release, and he filed suit to dissolve the partnership on the last day of 1970.

Which Beatle told the others he wanted a 'divorce' at a September 1969 meeting?

McCartney's April 1970 press release is what most people remember as the announcement.

Which artist scored seven consecutive US number-one albums between 1972 and 1975?

Elton John's run of seven straight US chart-toppers began with Honky Château (1972) and ended with Rock of the Westies (1975); Goodbye Yellow Brick Road alone spent eight weeks at number one.

The pianist behind Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was born under what name?

Reginald Kenneth Dwight took his stage name from bandmates Elton Dean and Long John Baldry; he met lyricist Bernie Taupin in 1967 through an unopened envelope of lyrics from a Liberty Records executive.

Which 1977 single was Fleetwood Mac's only US number one?

'Dreams', written by Stevie Nicks, topped the Hot 100 for one week in June 1977, the band's only US number one; 'Go Your Own Way' had peaked at number ten.

Who engineered Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon at Abbey Road?

Alan Parsons, an Abbey Road staff engineer, engineered The Dark Side of the Moon in 1972–73 and earned a Grammy nomination for it before forming the Alan Parsons Project.

Which Grammy did the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack win in 1979?

Saturday Night Fever won Album of the Year at the February 1979 ceremony, beating the Rolling Stones' Some Girls and Jackson Browne's Running on Empty, the only disco album to win the award.

Which 1976 album was ABBA's first studio album to top the UK chart?

Arrival, released in late 1976 with 'Dancing Queen' and 'Money, Money, Money', became ABBA's first studio album to reach number one in the UK, where it held the top for ten weeks.

At Eurovision's 50th anniversary show in 2005, which ABBA song was voted the contest's best ever?

It had won for Sweden in Brighton in 1974, when a brief rule change let entries be sung in English.

Which band's 'New Rose' (1976) is generally regarded as the first UK punk single?

The Damned's 'New Rose' came out on Stiff Records on 22 October 1976, a month before the Sex Pistols' 'Anarchy in the UK'; their Damned Damned Damned (1977) was the first UK punk album.

The punk single 'God Save the Queen' was released during which royal event of 1977?

Released in May 1977 to coincide with the Silver Jubilee, 'God Save the Queen' was banned by the BBC and stalled at number two amid claims the chart had been fixed.

Whose single kept 'God Save the Queen' at number two on the official UK chart in June 1977?

His double A-side 'I Don't Want to Talk About It' held the top spot in Jubilee week.

In which English city was a shop prosecuted in 1977 for displaying Never Mind the Bollocks?

The Virgin shop on King Street, Nottingham, was prosecuted under the 1889 Indecent Advertisements Act; magistrates ruled 'bollocks' was not obscene and the album stayed on sale.

The Ramones formed in 1974 in which New York City neighbourhood?

The four met in Forest Hills, Queens, and took the shared surname Ramone from Paul McCartney's old alias Paul Ramon; none of the 'brothers' were related.

On what date did the Ramones make their debut at the club CBGB?

The Ramones first played CBGB on 16 August 1974, months after their debut gig at Performance Studios; their first album was recorded in 1976 for about $6,400.

Who was the first female artist to win the top Grammy record award two years running, in 1973 and 1974?

Roberta Flack won Record of the Year for 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' (1973) and 'Killing Me Softly with His Song' (1974), the first artist to take the award in consecutive years.

Which group was the first act whose first four major-label singles all hit number one on the Hot 100?

The Jackson 5's 'I Want You Back', 'ABC', 'The Love You Save' and 'I'll Be There' all topped the Hot 100 in 1969–70, an unprecedented start for any act.

Michael and his brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon grew up in which Indiana city?

The Jacksons grew up at 2300 Jackson Street in Gary, Indiana; they signed a seven-year Motown contract on 11 March 1969, the day before Marlon's 12th birthday.

Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life (1976) was the first album by an American artist to do what?

It also won him his third Album of the Year Grammy in four years.

The Eagles' 'Hotel California' won which Grammy at the 1978 ceremony?

'Hotel California' won Record of the Year at the February 1978 Grammys, while the album itself lost Album of the Year to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours.

Which real Los Angeles building appears on the cover of the Eagles' 1976 album?

The Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunset Boulevard was photographed at dusk from a 60-foot cherry picker by David Alexander for the cover of the 1976 album.

Which guitarist joined the Eagles for Hotel California, replacing Bernie Leadon?

Joe Walsh, already a star with the James Gang, joined in December 1975 and traded the closing guitar solos with Don Felder on 'Hotel California'.

In October 1975 Bruce Springsteen appeared simultaneously on the covers of which two magazines?

Springsteen was on the covers of both Time and Newsweek on 27 October 1975, two months after Born to Run's release, a hype double-act that embarrassed him.

Who wrote 'I saw rock and roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen' after a 1974 show?

Landau went on to co-produce Born to Run and became Springsteen's manager.

At which London venue did David Bowie retire his Ziggy Stardust persona on 3 July 1973?

At the Hammersmith Odeon on 3 July 1973 Bowie announced 'the last show that we'll ever do', widely misread as a retirement from music rather than of Ziggy.

Which 1992 film's car headbanging scene sent 'Bohemian Rhapsody' back up the US charts?

Wayne's World's Pacer scene drove 'Bohemian Rhapsody' to number two on the Hot 100 in 1992, higher than its original 1976 US peak of number nine.

'Bohemian Rhapsody' is famous for lacking which standard element of a pop song?

The six-minute song has no chorus, running instead through an intro, a ballad, an operatic passage, a hard-rock section and a coda.

Led Zeppelin launched their own record label in 1974; what was it called?

Swan Song Records launched in May 1974, named after an unreleased Jimmy Page instrumental, and also signed Bad Company and the Pretty Things.

Led Zeppelin disbanded in 1980 after the death of which member?

The survivors reunited in 2007 with Bonham's son Jason on drums for the Ahmet Ertegun tribute concert.

Carole King's Tapestry cover shows her at a window with her cat, named after which mythological figure?

Her cat Telemachus, named after Odysseus's son, sits at her feet in Jim McCrary's photograph, taken at King's Laurel Canyon home in 1971.

Carole King's Tapestry spent how many consecutive weeks at number one in the US?

Tapestry held number one for 15 consecutive weeks from June to October 1971, and its single 'It's Too Late' made King the first solo woman to win Record of the Year.

Which German band, formed in Düsseldorf in 1970, broke through with the album Autobahn?

Kraftwerk's Autobahn reached number five in the US, 22-minute title track and all, and the Düsseldorf band are regarded as pioneers of electronic music.

Donna Summer scored how many consecutive number-one double albums in 1978–80?

Three: Live and More (1978), Bad Girls (1979) and On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II (1980) each topped the Billboard 200, consecutive releases that were all double LPs.

Which group's 'Boogie Oogie Oogie' topped the Hot 100 in 1978?

A Taste of Honey's 'Boogie Oogie Oogie' spent three weeks at number one in September 1978 and helped the group win the Grammy for Best New Artist over Elvis Costello and the Cars.

Which Chicago radio DJ led the 1979 Disco Demolition Night promotion?

Steve Dahl, a 24-year-old WLUP DJ who had been fired by a station that switched to disco, built an 'anti-disco army' of listeners called the Insane Coho Lips.

How much did fans pay to get into Disco Demolition Night if they brought a disco record?

Admission was 98 cents with a disco record, a nod to the 97.9 FM frequency of WLUP, the station that staged the promotion.

A famous photo that boosted Studio 54's fame showed which celebrity riding a white horse inside the club?

Bianca Jagger was photographed on a white horse at her birthday party at the club in May 1977, an image that sealed Studio 54's reputation for celebrity excess.

In which year did Studio 54 open its doors in Manhattan?

Studio 54 opened on 26 April 1977 in a former CBS television studio on West 54th Street, with workers still hanging decorations hours before the doors opened.

Elvis Presley died in August 1977 at his Graceland estate at what age?

Elvis Presley was 42, born 8 January 1935, when he was found dead at Graceland on 16 August 1977.

Elvis's 1973 concert Aloha from Hawaii was the first solo-artist show to be what?

It went out by satellite to audiences across Asia and Europe.

Bob Marley was wounded by gunmen in December 1976, two days before playing which free concert?

He played anyway, then left for London, where he recorded Exodus and Kaya.

Which two rival Jamaican politicians did Bob Marley bring on stage in 1978 to shake hands?

Michael Manley of the ruling PNP and Edward Seaga of the opposition JLP joined hands with Marley at the One Love Peace Concert on 22 April 1978.

Roughly how much did the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh raise at the gate for UNICEF-run relief?

The two Madison Square Garden shows raised about $250,000 at the gate for UNICEF; far more followed from the album and film, though much was tied up for years in tax disputes.

Sony's first Walkman, the TPS-L2, went on sale in Japan in which year?

The TPS-L2 went on sale on 1 July 1979 for 33,000 yen; Sony sold about 220 million cassette Walkmans before ending production in 2010.

Which two country stars led the 'outlaw country' movement of the 1970s?

Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson fronted the movement; their 1976 compilation Wanted! The Outlaws, with Jessi Colter and Tompall Glaser, became country's first platinum album.

Which artist conceived the working-zipper cover of the Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers?

Andy Warhol conceived the 1971 cover, photographed at his Factory by Billy Name; the real zipper dented neighbouring records in transit, so it was pulled halfway down before shipping.

The main sessions for the Stones' Exile on Main St. took place in a rented villa where?

Tax exiles from Britain, the Stones set up in Keith Richards's rented Villa Nellcôte at Villefranche-sur-Mer in the South of France in 1971, recording in its basement with a mobile studio.

The Who's 1971 album Who's Next grew out of which abandoned rock-opera project?

Eight of its nine songs came from Lifehouse; the exception was John Entwistle's 'My Wife'.

Which Who drummer died in September 1978?

Keith Moon died on 7 September 1978 from an overdose of Heminevrin, prescribed to curb his drinking; his decline was evident during the making of Who Are You.

Roger Waters modelled the character Pink in The Wall on himself and which former Pink Floyd member?

Pink's breakdown draws on Syd Barrett, the founder who left in 1968, and on Waters's own alienation after he spat at a fan on the 1977 In the Flesh tour.

Which Stevie Wonder album won Album of the Year at the 16th Grammy Awards in 1974?

Innervisions, with 'Higher Ground' and 'Living for the City', took Album of the Year in March 1974, the first of Wonder's three wins in four years.

Which guitarist's involvement in the Talking Book sessions led Stevie Wonder to write him a song?

Wonder played the famous clavinet riff himself on a Hohner Clavinet model C.

Which 1975 Elton John album was the first ever to enter the US Billboard 200 at number one?

Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy entered the Billboard 200 at number one in June 1975, the first album to do so; Rock of the Westies repeated the feat that autumn.

Paul McCartney and Wings recorded most of Band on the Run in which African city?

McCartney, Linda and Denny Laine recorded in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1973 after two bandmates quit on the eve of the trip; McCartney was mugged there and lost demo tapes.

'My Sweet Lord' was the subject of a copyright suit over its similarity to which 1963 hit?

The Chiffons' 1963 hit 'He's So Fine' was ruled in 1976 to have been 'subconsciously' copied; 'My Sweet Lord' was the first US and UK number one by an ex-Beatle.

How many Grammys did Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge over Troubled Water win in 1971?

Bridge over Troubled Water swept six Grammys in March 1971, including Album, Record and Song of the Year; it was the duo's fifth and final studio album, released in January 1970.

T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan died in a 1977 car crash in which part of London?

Bolan's Mini hit a sycamore tree on Queens Ride in Barnes on 16 September 1977, two weeks before his 30th birthday; a bronze bust was unveiled at the site in 2002.

In North America, T. Rex's 'Get It On' was retitled to avoid confusion with a song by which band?

Chase, trumpeter Bill Chase's jazz-rock band, had a 1971 US hit called 'Get It On', so T. Rex's song became 'Bang a Gong (Get It On)' in America; it appears on Electric Warrior.

Which 1970 single was Black Sabbath's only UK top-20 hit?

'Paranoid' reached number four in the UK in September 1970, written in minutes as album filler; the band's next-best UK single, 'Never Say Die', stalled at 21 in 1978.

Deep Purple's 'Smoke on the Water' recounts a 1971 fire at a casino in which Swiss town?

The Montreux Casino burned down on 4 December 1971 during a Frank Zappa concert, smoke spreading over Lake Geneva; Deep Purple had come to record Machine Head there.

Highway to Hell (1979) was the last AC/DC album to feature which singer?

It was the first of three albums produced by Mutt Lange; Scott died in February 1980.

Kiss's 1975 breakthrough live album Alive! was recorded partly in which Michigan city?

Most of Alive! came from Detroit's Cobo Hall in May 1975, with other shows in Cleveland, Wildwood and Davenport; the live 'Rock and Roll All Nite' became Kiss's first top-20 hit.

Van Halen's 1978 debut included a cover of 'You Really Got Me', originally by which band?

The album also carried 'Eruption', which helped popularise two-handed tapping.

The Clash's London Calling was released in the UK in what format on 14 December 1979?

London Calling was a 19-track double album sold at a single-LP price after the Clash pressed CBS; its cover was among ten classic sleeves on Royal Mail stamps in 2010.

Blondie's 'Heart of Glass' began life in 1974–75 under what working title?

Recorded as a 1975 demo called 'Once I Had a Love', the song was reworked with a Roland CR-78 drum machine for Parallel Lines and topped both the US and UK charts in 1979.

Which former Velvet Underground member produced Patti Smith's 1975 debut Horses?

John Cale produced Horses at Electric Lady Studios in 1975, clashing with Smith throughout; it followed her two-month CBGB residency with Television.

'Piano Man' retells Billy Joel's six months playing a lounge bar in which city?

He was hiding from his New York record company after his debut Cold Spring Harbor flopped.

Which producer worked with Billy Joel for the first time on The Stranger in 1977?

Phil Ramone produced The Stranger, Joel's breakthrough, and stayed through 1986's The Bridge; 'Just the Way You Are' reached number three and won Record and Song of the Year.

Bob Dylan abruptly re-recorded half of Blood on the Tracks just before release in which city?

Dylan re-cut five songs at Sound 80 in Minneapolis in December 1974 with local musicians recruited by his brother David; the other five came from the September New York sessions.

Which single from the 1972 album Harvest reached number one in the US?

'Heart of Gold' topped the Hot 100 in March 1972, Neil Young's only US number one; Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor sang backing vocals on it.

Steely Dan's Aja (1977) is pronounced like the name of which continent?

Aja is pronounced 'Asia'; the 1977 album produced 'Peg', 'Deacon Blues' and 'Josie' and won the Grammy for Best Engineered Recording.

'Sweet Home Alabama' was written as a response to songs by which musician?

Skynyrd answered Neil Young's 'Southern Man' and 'Alabama', which they felt blamed the whole South; the single reached number eight in 1974, and Young later said he deserved the jab.

Lynyrd Skynyrd's 1977 plane crash near Gillsburg, Mississippi, happened because the aircraft did what?

The Convair 240 ran out of fuel on 20 October 1977 and crashed into a swamp short of an emergency landing; Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines were among the six killed.

Duane Allman died in October 1971 following what kind of accident?

He was 24 and had played on Derek and the Dominos' Layla album the previous year.

Which 1979 Supertramp album spawned 'The Logical Song' and 'Goodbye Stranger'?

Breakfast in America topped the Billboard 200 for six weeks in 1979 and sold over 20 million copies; 'The Logical Song' reached number six in the US.

Peter Gabriel left Genesis in 1975 after touring which concept album?

Gabriel announced his departure in August 1975 after touring The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, a double concept album about a character called Rael; his first solo hit 'Solsbury Hill' followed in 1977.

Jethro Tull's 1971 album Aqualung addresses which themes alongside homelessness?

Side two of Aqualung, with 'My God' and 'Hymn 43', attacks organised religion and spirituality, though Ian Anderson always denied it was a concept album.

Queen's A Night at the Opera takes its title from a film by which comedy troupe?

The title comes from the Marx Brothers' 1935 film, as does the follow-up A Day at the Races; produced by Roy Thomas Baker, it was reportedly the most expensive album yet made.

Earth, Wind & Fire's 'September' was co-written by Maurice White and which songwriter?

Allee Willis co-wrote 'September' with Maurice White, objecting to the nonsense hook 'ba-dee-ya' until White told her never to let a lyric get in the way of the groove; it was released in November 1978.

Parliament's Mothership Connection (1975) was the first of their albums to feature horn players from whose band?

Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley, the horn section of James Brown's J.B.'s, joined for Mothership Connection, which became Parliament's first gold record.

Who produced Al Green's 'Let's Stay Together', a US number one in 1972?

Willie Mitchell produced it at his Royal Studios in Memphis for Hi Records; it topped the Hot 100 in February 1972 and the R&B chart for nine weeks.

Which Academy Award did Isaac Hayes win for 'Theme from Shaft' in 1972?

Hayes won Best Original Song at the April 1972 ceremony, the first African American to win an Oscar outside the acting categories; the song had topped the Hot 100 in November 1971.

Whose 1972 soundtrack Super Fly famously outsold the film it accompanied?

Curtis Mayfield's Super Fly topped the Billboard 200 for four weeks in 1972; 'Freddie's Dead' and the title track both reached the Hot 100 top ten.

Which actor first recorded '(They Long to Be) Close to You' in 1963, before the Carpenters' 1970 hit?

Richard Chamberlain, then TV's Dr. Kildare, cut the Bacharach-David song in 1963; the Carpenters' 1970 version topped the Hot 100 for four weeks and was the year's number-two single.

Besides John Denver, which duo co-wrote 'Take Me Home, Country Roads'?

Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert, later of Starland Vocal Band, finished it with Denver in one night in late 1970; it peaked at number two on the Hot 100 in August 1971.

Which Jim Croce single reached number one after his death in a September 1973 plane crash?

'Time in a Bottle', from his 1972 album You Don't Mess Around with Jim, topped the Hot 100 in December 1973, three months after the crash in Natchitoches, Louisiana.

Harry Chapin's only US number one, 'Cat's in the Cradle', topped the chart in which month?

'Cat's in the Cradle' reached number one on 21 December 1974 for a single week; it came from his fourth album, Verities & Balderdash.

'Wild World' and 'Father and Son' both appear on which 1970 Cat Stevens album?

Tea for the Tillerman, recorded at three London studios between May and July 1970, holds 'Wild World' and 'Father and Son', the latter written for a planned musical about the Russian Revolution.

James Taylor's 'Fire and Rain' was partly a reaction to what event?

It was the second single from his 1970 album Sweet Baby James and also touches on his addiction.

Barry Manilow's 'Mandy' was retitled from 'Brandy' to avoid confusion with a hit by which group?

Scott English's original 'Brandy' was a 1971 UK hit; Clive Davis had Manilow rename it to avoid confusion with Looking Glass's 1972 chart-topper 'Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)'.

Which Grease duet was a US and UK number one for John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John?

'You're the One That I Want' topped the Hot 100 for one week in June 1978 and the UK chart for nine weeks; 'Summer Nights' reached number five in the US.

'Maggie May' was originally released as the B-side to which Rod Stewart single?

'Reason to Believe', a Tim Hardin cover, was the A-side until DJs flipped the record; 'Maggie May' topped the US and UK charts and John Peel mimed mandolin with the Faces on Top of the Pops.

Debby Boone's 'You Light Up My Life' spent how many consecutive weeks at US number one in 1977?

Ten weeks at number one from October to December 1977 set a Hot 100 record at the time; Kasey Cisyk sang the version heard in the film.

Bob Seger's 'Night Moves' was his first hit single since which 1969 song?

'Ramblin' Gamblin' Man' had reached number 17 in early 1969; 'Night Moves', released in December 1976, took Seger back to the Hot 100 top ten at number four.

Dolly Parton wrote 'I Will Always Love You' as a farewell to which mentor and business partner?

Written in 1973 as Parton left Porter Wagoner's TV show after seven years, it topped the country chart in 1974 and again in 1982 with a re-recording for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

'Rhinestone Cowboy' was written and first recorded in 1974 by whom, before Glen Campbell's hit?

Larry Weiss wrote and recorded 'Rhinestone Cowboy' for his 1974 album Black and Blue Suite; Campbell heard it on the radio and his 1975 version topped both the pop and country charts.

Who wrote 'The Gambler', made famous by Kenny Rogers in 1978?

Don Schlitz wrote 'The Gambler' in 1976 and recorded it himself; Johnny Cash cut it on Gone Girl in 1978 before Kenny Rogers's version made it a Grammy-winning hit.

Willie Nelson's Red Headed Stranger (1975) was his first album for which label?

Columbia signed Nelson in 1975 with total creative control and nearly rejected the sparse album as a demo; the concept came from a song he used to play as a Fort Worth DJ.

Roughly how many fans attended the 1973 Summer Jam at Watkins Glen?

An estimated 600,000 people turned up, four times the 150,000 advance tickets sold, to see the Allman Brothers, the Grateful Dead and The Band on 28 July 1973.

Which 1970 festival is often acknowledged as larger than Woodstock?

Held at Afton Down that August, it drew an estimated 600,000 to 700,000 people.

Which two bands co-headlined the 1974 California Jam at Ontario Motor Speedway?

Deep Purple and Emerson, Lake & Palmer topped the 6 April 1974 bill above Black Sabbath and the Eagles; the show drew about 250,000 paying fans and was broadcast by ABC.

In which city did Jim Morrison die in July 1971?

Paris: he was found in the bathtub of his apartment, witness accounts of the death conflict, and his grave at Père Lachaise cemetery is one of the city's most visited.

Which Kris Kristofferson song gave Janis Joplin a posthumous US number one in March 1971?

'Me and Bobby McGee' topped the Hot 100 in March 1971, five months after Joplin's heroin overdose at 27; Kristofferson wrote it with Fred Foster, who supplied the title.

Which 1971 album was the first Jimi Hendrix release to appear after his death?

The Cry of Love, assembled by Eddie Kramer and Mitch Mitchell from Hendrix's final sessions, came out in March 1971, six months after his death in London at 27.

How old was Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious when he died in February 1979?

Sid Vicious, born John Simon Ritchie on 10 May 1957, died of a heroin overdose in New York on 2 February 1979, aged 21, while on bail over Nancy Spungen's killing.

Three Dog Night's 1971 hit 'Joy to the World' was written by whom?

Hoyt Axton wrote it for a children's TV project that never happened; Three Dog Night's version, opening with 'Jeremiah was a bullfrog', topped the Hot 100 for six weeks in 1971.

Captain & Tennille's 1975 hit 'Love Will Keep Us Together' was written by which duo?

Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield wrote it, and Sedaka's own 1973 version preceded the hit; the fade-out chant 'Sedaka is back' was Toni Tennille's tribute to the writer.

'Silly Love Songs' (1976) was written as a rebuttal to critics and which former bandmate?

It was McCartney's 27th US number one as a songwriter, a record at the time.

Andy Gibb's 'Shadow Dancing' spent how many consecutive weeks at US number one in 1978?

'Shadow Dancing' held number one for seven weeks from June 1978, Gibb's third straight chart-topper, and was Billboard's top single of the year.

Which band's debut single 'My Sharona' was Billboard's top pop single of 1979?

The Knack's 'My Sharona', written by Berton Averre and Doug Fieger, held number one for six weeks in 1979 and was Billboard's top single of the year.

Which group's 'Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree' topped US and UK charts in April 1973?

Tony Orlando and Dawn's ribbon song topped the Hot 100 for four weeks and the UK chart for four, and its yellow ribbon became a symbol for absent loved ones, later for the Iran hostages.

Which composer co-wrote Barbra Streisand's 'The Way We Were' with Alan and Marilyn Bergman?

Marvin Hamlisch wrote the melody and the Bergmans the words; it won the 1974 Oscar for Best Original Song and became Streisand's first US number-one single.

The 1977 single '"Heroes"' was recorded at Hansa Studio 2 in which city?

Bowie co-wrote it with Brian Eno; it tells of two lovers from East and West Berlin, with Robert Fripp on guitar.

Kate Bush's debut single 'Wuthering Heights' spent how many weeks at UK number one in March 1978?

'Wuthering Heights' held UK number one for four weeks in March 1978, the first self-written chart-topper by a female artist in Britain; it led her debut album The Kick Inside.

Which BBC station's rotation of a 1977 demo helped Dire Straits' 'Sultans of Swing' find a following?

Charlie Gillett played the demo on his BBC Radio London show Honky Tonk in 1977, prompting label interest; the band re-recorded it in February 1978 after signing to Phonogram.

Boney M.'s 'Rivers of Babylon' was originally written and recorded in 1970 by which Jamaican group?

The Melodians' 1970 original, produced by Leslie Kong, adapts Psalms 137 and 19 and featured in the 1972 film The Harder They Come; Boney M.'s 1978 cover topped the UK chart for five weeks.

Aerosmith's 'Dream On' peaked at what position on the Hot 100 on its first release in 1973?

'Dream On' stalled at number 59 nationally in 1973 despite being huge in Boston, where WBZ-FM named it single of the year; a 1976 reissue reached number six.

Three of Talking Heads' four members met as freshmen at which institution?

David Byrne, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth met at the Rhode Island School of Design, where Byrne and Frantz played in the Artistics; Jerry Harrison joined from the Modern Lovers in 1977.

Lou Reed's 'Walk on the Wild Side' (1972) was produced by Mick Ronson and which star?

David Bowie and Mick Ronson produced Transformer in London in 1972; the single was a double A-side with 'Perfect Day' and name-checks Warhol superstars such as Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling.

The Bay City Rollers, the 'tartan teen sensations', came from which city?

The Rollers formed in Edinburgh in 1966 and reportedly picked their name by sticking a pin in a map of the United States, landing near Bay City, Michigan.

10cc's 'I'm Not in Love' is famous for a backing track built mostly from what?

Eric Stewart wrote it after his wife said he didn't say he loved her often enough; it was originally a bossa nova.

Which actor did Carly Simon confirm in 2015 inspired a verse of 'You're So Vain'?

In her 2015 memoir Simon confirmed the second verse is about Warren Beatty while keeping the other two subjects secret; the working title was 'Bless You, Ben'.

Which rock star sang uncredited backing vocals on Carly Simon's 'You're So Vain'?

Mick Jagger, visiting Trident Studios in London in 1972, joined the chorus uncredited; Simon has said the song is not about him.

On which Great Lake did the Edmund Fitzgerald sink in 1975, inspiring Gordon Lightfoot's ballad?

The Edmund Fitzgerald went down on Lake Superior in a storm on 10 November 1975 with all 29 crew; Lightfoot's ballad appeared on his 1976 album Summertime Dream.

Heart's 1977 single 'Barracuda' was written out of anger at which record label?

Mushroom Records had run a full-page ad implying an incestuous affair between Ann and Nancy Wilson; the furious 'Barracuda' opened Little Queen, released on Portrait after the band left Mushroom.

Dolly Parton says 'Jolene' was inspired by a red-headed bank clerk who flirted with whom?

Parton says a red-headed bank clerk kept flirting with her husband Carl Dean; she recorded 'Jolene' at RCA Studio B in Nashville in May 1973 and it topped the country chart in early 1974.

Which Bill Withers single topped the Hot 100 in July 1972?

'Lean on Me', from Still Bill, was Withers's only US number one, spending three weeks at the top in July 1972; 'Use Me' followed it to number two.

'Piano Man' is a fictionalised account of Billy Joel's stint at which now-defunct LA bar?

The Executive Room on Wilshire Boulevard, since closed, hosted Joel for six months in 1972–73; the bartender John and 'Paul the real estate novelist' were regulars written into the song.

Which E Street Band member leans on Bruce Springsteen's shoulder on the cover of Born to Run?

Clarence Clemons, the 'Big Man' on saxophone, completes the iconic cover; the sessions ran from January 1974 to July 1975, six months of them spent on the title track alone.

Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'Sweet Home Alabama' co-writer Ed King was actually from which state?

None of its three writers was from Alabama: Ronnie Van Zant and Gary Rossington were born in Jacksonville, Florida, and King in Glendale, California.

Mark Knopfler composed 'Sultans of Swing' on which instrument before it 'came alive' on a Stratocaster?

Knopfler wrote it on a National Steel resonator guitar in open tuning and thought it dull until he bought his first Fender Stratocaster in 1977; Dire Straits demoed it at Pathway Studios that July.

Which band was recording next door at Island's Basing Street studios while Jethro Tull made Aqualung?

Zeppelin were working on their fourth album in the smaller studio of the converted chapel; Aqualung was among the first records cut at the new facility.

Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love' came from an album in which each track evoked a different what?

On I Remember Yesterday (1977) each track evoked a different musical decade, from 1940s swing to 1960s girl groups, with 'I Feel Love' as the closing glimpse of the future.

'Fire and Rain' (1970) was the second single from which album?

Sweet Baby James, Taylor's 1970 Warner Bros. debut, yielded 'Fire and Rain' as its second single in August 1970; it reached number three on the Hot 100.

Which Earth, Wind & Fire guitarist developed the music sequence that became 'September'?

Al McKay came up with the guitar groove that Maurice White built 'September' on; it was one of two new tracks on The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 and reached number eight in the US.