Tag Archives: the 70s

Well, damn. Via the New York Daily News: Chart-topping R&B singer Natalie Cole, who followed her legendary father into the music business with hits like “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)” and “Unforgettable,” died at age 65. “Natalie Cole, sister beloved & of substance and sound. May her soul rest in peace,” tweeted the Rev. Jesse Jackson on New Year’s …

Actor turned Fox News pundit Wayne Rogers died yesterday at age 82. Via CNN: Rogers, who portrayed the wise-cracking Army surgeon “Trapper” John McIntyre in the first three seasons of TV’s “M*A*S*H,” died Thursday, his publicist Rona Menashe told Reuters. Rogers died of complications from pneumonia in Los Angeles, Menashe told Reuters. Rogers’ Trapper John was one half of “M*A*S*H”‘s …

Backed by a full orchestra, 70s disco divas The Three Degrees performed a medley of their hits last week at the Max Proms in the Netherlands. The group is due to release a tribute to Philly soul/disco which includes covers of hits by The O-Jays, The Trammps, McFadden & Whitehead, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, and more. Their lineup …

Via the Guardian: Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister, founding member and singer in the British heavy metal band Motörhead, has died at the age of 70 shortly after learning he had been diagnosed with cancer. The band announced on their Facebook page that Lemmy learned of the disease on 26 December, and was at home when he died. Lemmy, born Ian Fraser …

In one of his best clips yet, Matt Baume takes us back to a night in television and gay history that happened 38 years ago today. He writes: “When did gay partners become a part of the family on TV? October 9, 1977. That’s the night CBS aired an All in the Family episode entitled “Cousin Liz,” which in just …

With an assist from Nile Rodgers, Lady Gaga has covered the 1979 Chic classic as a promotion of Tom Ford’s latest line. Rolling Stone reports: In the Nick Knight-directed video to accompany the Chic cover, models dance down the runway like it was a Soul Train dance line, with Gaga herself showing up to showcase some of Ford’s skimpier designs. …

Going viral today is a rather amazing recreation of the famed Animal House toga party scene. AdWeek has the details: Nike celebrates its deep ties to the University of Oregon in a new, feel-good ad—featuring a horde of notable alumni (mostly sports stars, but also Modern Family actor Ty Burrell and ESPN anchor Neil Everett)—that recreates the famous toga-party scene …

Dr. Scott! Janet! Brad! Rocky! Ugh! The movie version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show opened on this day in 1975. Via Digital Spy: On its most basic level, Rocky Horror is a celebration of diversity, something midnight movie-goers took note of when 20th Century Fox started late-night screenings in ’76, where the film finally found its audience and became …

Yeah, I got suckered into this scam back in high school and you probably did too. NBC News reports: The music died for Columbia House on Monday when its parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As anyone with a dusty Hootie & the Blowfish album probably knows, Columbia House became popular in the 1990s as the business that …

Via the Tennessean: Country singer Lynn Anderson, best known for her classic recording “(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden,” died Thursday night of a heart attack at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She had been hospitalized for pneumonia following a trip to Italy. She was 67 years old. In 1970, Ms. Anderson moved from California to Nashville, and signed with …

Martha Wash, Linda Clifford, and Evelyn “Champaign” King. (Via JMG reader Jonathan)

So this is an actual thing: In one of the most unlikely tie-ups for a finance company, Virgin Money today launched a range of Sex Pistols themed credit cards. Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Group founder, says the move celebrates the firm’s music heritage given the Sex Pistols were one of the most iconic bands signed by Virgin Records, Branson’s record …

Via Stereogum: Next month, the Italo-disco genius Giorgio Moroder will release Déjà Vu, his first album in many years, and he’s found an innovative way to tell us how the album will sound. In a new five-minute video, we hear short clips of every track on the album, set to an effects-heavy video of a couple dancing. It’s not an …

Former game show host Chuck Woolery makes his living these days with middle-of-the-night infomercials for the Willow Curve, which claims to cure a host of joint ailments with blinking lights. In yesterday’s podcast to his followers in Teabagistan, Woolery repeats the ridiculous lie that churches will lose their tax-exempt status if they refuse to host same-sex marriages. It’s worth noting …

Hot Chocolate vocalist Errol Brown, whose 1975 smash You Sexy Thing remains one of the most enduring hits of the disco era, died of liver cancer yesterday at his home in the Bahamas. His group landed 33 Top 40 hits in the UK, including three separate Top 10 appearances by You Sexy Thing in three different decades. Here in the …

On the same Irish show that featured the same-sex marriage debate mentioned in the post below this one, last night The Three Degrees performed their 1974 Philly disco classic smash When Will I See You Again. Oh, the harmonies! The track peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent two week atop the UK’s singles chart. The group’s …

The late 70s punk sensation Buzzcocks played Late Night With Seth Meyers on Monday, where they ripped through their 1978 hit Ever Fallen In Love. Buzzcocks frontman Pete Shelley came out as bisexual in 1981 and that year he went solo, releasing the dance smash Homosapien, which was banned by the BBC for “explicit references to gay sex.” (“I’m a …

First Ladies Of Disco are Martha Wash, Linda Clifford, and Evelyn “Champagne” King. This is the remix of their first single, which I posted last month. Both versions are now available on iTunes.

Via the Los Angeles Times: More than 20 years after Chic’s last album, the titans of disco and forefathers of today’s dance music have a brand new single. Billed as Chic featuring Nile Rodgers, the new song “Ill Be There” is a revival of an old sound while still sounding completely contemporary. It’s based on tracks Rodgers originally recorded with …