I always marvel at America’s way of classifying something as an “oldie” once it exceeds its immediate shelf life. This was especially true in the mid-seventies.

By 1974, even the Beatles were considered to be an oldies band. Paul McCartney’s band Wings were new, and so therefore were perceived as more ‘relevant’. From today’s perspective, it becomes quite obvious just how ludicrous this type of thinking can be. Back in the mid-seventies, though, popular music was going through some radical changes, and anything that wasn’t fresh and new was relegated to the cutout bin. There was a unity to popular music in the ‘60s, but in 1974, that unity unraveled. Styles broke down into sub-groupings and fans needed to choose sides. A form of schizophrenia descended on popular music, with lopsided characteristics all vying for the listener’s attention.

I personally found myself caught in the web. As I entered 1974, I was wearing platform shoes and listening to ‘glitter’ acts like David Bowie and Elton John. By the end of the year, I was wearing Frye boots and listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd. A seismic shift this huge could only have happened in 1974. Even some of the acts were displaying signs of schizophrenia, and so herein, we present to you one month in 1974, when the music was diverse, and everybody was just a little bit crazy.

Today’s show features the following;

Tell Me Something Good – Rufus

You Haven’t Done Nothin’ – Stevie Wonder

Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd

Beach Baby – First Class (as a ‘Great Miss’)

If It’s In You – Syd Barrett

Needles In the Camel’s Eye – Brian Eno

The Worst Band In the World – 10 C.C.

Creepin’ – Stevie Wonder

For the Turnstiles – Neil Young

And, as time allows….

Revolution Blues – Neil Young

Love You – Syd Barrett