1975, ya'll

As indicated by the image above, 1975 was the year I discovered my dad's stash of Playboy magazines.

In other notable news from '75:


Alice Cooper embarks on a solo career hitting record store shelves, concert stages – and TV screens – promoting his career-defining album, Welcome To My Nightmare. Released in March, the album rockets into the Top 10. A month later, his first national TV special airs, promoting music from the album. A concert film, taken from a London Wembley Arena performance, also opens in theatres in September. The single “Only Women Bleed” rose to #12 on the US pop charts.

[Unlikely Covers, Parts 1 & 2: Tori Amos and Guns 'n' Roses each take a stab at "Only Women Bleed".]


On April 24, Badfinger’s Pete Ham commits suicide.

The longest-running #1 single of the year in the US is Captain & Tennille’s “love Will Keep us Together”, which spent four weeks at the top. In the UK, Bay City Rollers’ “Bye Bye Baby” held the #1 spot for six weeks.


In November, Queen release A Night At The Opera. “Bohemian Rhapsody” becomes their first #1 hit in the UK. [Having posted Queen's rendition of this song previously, here's Flaming Lips' live version of "Bohemian Rhapsody".]

Peter Gabriel quits Genesis to embark on a solo career.

Bad Company (signed to Led Zep’s Swan Song label) release their second album, “Straight Shooter”. The album rockets to #3 on the strength of the top 10 single “Feel Like Makin’ Love”. Follow-up single “Good Lovin’ Gone Bad” hits #36.

[Unlikely Covers, Part 3: Susannah Hoffs covers "Feel Like Makin' Love".]

In February, Led Zeppelin release the double album “Physical Graffiti”, the first to appear on the band’s Swan Song label. “Trampled Under Foot” was a Top 40 pop single and the album went to #1 – their fourth album to hit the top spot on the US charts. [Here's a live version of "Bron Yr Aur Stomp".]


Bruce Springsteen releases “Born To Run” in August, prceded by a 10-show stand at New York’s Bottom Line, convincing many critics of his talent and giving them a preview of many of the album’s songs. In October, he makes the cover of Time and Newsweek during the same week.

Foghat score a Top 20 hit with “Slow Ride” from their “Fool For The City” album.

Lynyrd Skynyrd release their third album, “Nuthin’ Fancy”, which rises to the #9 spot on the Top 100 Albums chart, buoyed by the hit single “Saturday Night Special” (#27). That same year, “Free Bird” (from their 1973 debut album) hits the Top 20.

Pink Floyd release Wish You Were Here in September. As the much-anticipated follow-up to Dark Side Of The Moon, the album is a loose concept album unofficially dedicated to former member Syd Barrett. Featuring such classic tracks as “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” (which appears in two parts and runs almost thirty minutes) and the title track, the album soared to #1 in the US and the UK.

While already a popular concert attraction, the release of their first live album, entitled “Alive!”, makes Kiss a hit on the charts as well, going to #9 in the US. Released in September, the album has been certified Gold (for sales of 500,000 units) by year’s end.

The Ramones release their first single, “Blitzkrieg Bop”, in November on Sire/ABC Records.


Abba score Top 20 singles with “S.O.S.” and “I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do”, yet their third album, entitled simply “Abba” peaks at #174 on the albums chart.

Chicago score their fourth consecutive #1 album with their eighth release, “VIII”, which included the James Pankow-penned Top 5 single “Old Days”.


Elton John releases “Rock Of The Westies”, which was recorded at the same studio as Chicago’s “VIII”, and scores his seventh and final #1 album. The single “Island Girl” also tops the singles charts. [Bonus tracks: demo and alternate versions of "Dan Dare", "Grow Some funk of Your Own", and "I Feel Like A Bullet".]

The outlandishly theatrical San Francisco band The Tubes releases their self-titled debut album, which includes the cult smash “White Punks On Dope”.

Paul McCartney & Wings release “Venus & Mars” as the follow-up to the hugely successful “Band On The Run” album. The album hits #1, as does the single “Listen To What The Man Says”. This album sees Wings return to a full-band line-up with the addition of guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Geoff Britton. [Check out this live version of "Letting Go".]

Aerosmith release their pivotal third album “Toys In The Attic”, which becomes their first album to hit the Top 20 (peaking at #11). “Sweet Emotion” is their first Top 40 single, landing at #36. The album also featurss “Walk This Way”, which would become a Top 10 single in 1977 (and again in 1986 when Perry & Tyler join Run DMC for their cover of the tune). [Check out this live version of "Sweet Emotion" by Stone Temple Pilots, with Steve Tyler and Joe Perry questing.]

George Harrison releases “Extra Texture”, which, despite being a Top 10 hit upon release, becomes quite an underrated part of his back catalogue. It is highlighted by the Top 20 single “You” and a sequel to “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” called “This Guitar (Can’t keep From Crying)”. It is his last album to be released by Apple Records. [Here's a nifty reduc of "This Guitar" begun by George and finished by friend Dave Stewart as part of his Platinum Weird project.]


In February, John Lennon releases “Rock And Roll”, an album of 50’s covers. Many of the songs had been initially released on an album called “Roots”, which was the result of a handshake deal with Morris Levy that soon went sour and is now a collector’s item. [Check out this live version of "Slippin' And Slidin'".]

Electric Light Orchestra’s sixth album, “Face The Music” becomes their first to hit the Top 10, propelled by the Top 10 single “Evil Woman” and its follow-up, “Strange Magic” (#14).


In November, Patti Smith releases her debut album, Horses. While a modest Top 50 chart hit, the album was one of the most critically-lauded releases of the year and has gone on to be considered a pivotal rock album, combining both punk and folk influences. [Check out the Patti Smith Group performing "Free Money" and "Real Good Time/Redondo Beach".]


In July, Fleetwood Mac releases the album “Fleetwood Mac”, which marks the debut of new members Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. The album would hit #1 on the strength of two Top 20 singles, “Rhiannon” and “Say You Love Me”.

AC/DC release their debut album, “High Voltage”, in February in their native Australia. The 1976 version that was released internationally the following year contains only two songs from the Australian version. To date, "Love Song" and "Stick Around" have never seen the light of day beyond the Australian version of this album.

The Eagles release their fourth album “One of These Nights” in June. While their past efforts met with considerable success, this is their first album to hit #1 on the US charts. The album contains three Top 5 pop singles, “Lyin’ Eyes”, “Take It To The Limit” and the title cut.


In October, The Who release the introspective album “The Who By Numbers”, which managed to hit the Top 10, but lacked any hit singles. The cartoonish cover art was drawn by bassist, John Entwistle. That same year, Roger Daltrey stars in Ken Russell’s “erotically-charged” film “Lisztomania” as classical pianist Franz Liszt. {Here are live versions of "However Much I Booze", "Squeezebox", and "Dreaming From The Waist".]