why the explosion of album sales in the 70s
- Thread starter AntiSnob
- Start date
I have this image in my head, of a 1950s family, after dinner, sitting down to play their one record on the family turntable. The father drinks his old fashioned and everyone listens to a crooner belt out his tunes.
Then everyone goes to bed at 8pm on the dot.
Oh, and before I read through the thread, my first thought was that before the 70s, everyone just bought 45s of the hits they heard. The 70s ushered in a big boom in LPs.
Then I read through and everyone who was actually alive and buying records back then has confirmed it.
Now I feel smart SMRT.
Then I read through and everyone who was actually alive and buying records back then has confirmed it.
Now I feel smart SMRT.
I think my parents had a few albums in the early to mid 60s (Mantovanni, Perry Como, etc.) and played them on a record player in a maple cabinet that had the speakers built into the sides and a slide over cover to hide the turntable and radio tuner. I remember them hiding it in the bedroom sometime in the early 60s back when the tax collectors would stop by and check out the interior of your home to see how much your property tax bill should be. No kidding. i spent a lot of time in the mid-to late 70s at Music Factory in Ames or Des Moines buying albums, which usually cost around $4.
My parents had a stereo cabinet as well, but this was a bit later as it had a turntable AND and 8 track. It was the only 8 track we still had in the 80s, but we had a few 8 track tapes left for it.
I had an Alvin and the Chipmunks 8 Track that I really liked and THIS "Star Wars" 8 Track.
It was so funky and disco-tastic. Little kid me loved it because I loved Star Wars and the music from it.
My parents had a stereo cabinet as well, but this was a bit later as it had a turntable AND and 8 track. It was the only 8 track we still had in the 80s, but we had a few 8 track tapes left for it.
I had an Alvin and the Chipmunks 8 Track that I really liked and THIS "Star Wars" 8 Track.
It was so funky and disco-tastic. Little kid me loved it because I loved Star Wars and the music from it.
The Funk is Strong with this One.
This is similar to what we had growing up. You could stack albums on top of the spindle and when one record finished the arm would swing over and if it hit the edge of another record it would drop the next record and start playing it.
Good answers so far in the thread. I agree with what many have posted. Early on, they wanted singles and then the rest of the album was just throw away tunes. I have a bunch of 60s albums that have awesome singles and then the rest sounds like crap. I thought to myself, darn, this artist or band is talented enough to write a catchy song with plenty of hooks and melodies and yet they can't repeat it? They are making an album, why not make the whole thing good? Of course the Beatles and a few others were exceptions in the mid 60s. By the time 1968 came around, the album started to become more important than the single.
Now it's come full circle. It's all about downloaded singles and some peoples albums are full of complete crap outside of a few singles.
My parents had something similar to these pictures. My first single was ABC Jackson Five. My sisters had Jan and Dean and the likes, I Joined the Columbia House probably 5 different times to get cheap albums. I bought a cassette player for my car in 1976. All of my friends said " where are you going to buy cassettes nobody sells them?" Craig Power plays were a status symbol, then it became Jensen speakers in the rear window of your car. Wow, those were the days.
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My parents had a large collection of records from the late 60's to mid 70's. We had this monstrosity TV that was a TV/Radio/Turn Table in one and we listened to their records a lot. Then when I was 6 or 7 we got a remote controlled TV and the records went to the basement.
Around 1996 I found them in the basement along with a turn table and started scratching on them like I was a DJ. My parents were not impressed. Regardless of how mad they were that was the one and only time the records got touched after being put in the basement 11 years before that to now.
Around 1996 I found them in the basement along with a turn table and started scratching on them like I was a DJ. My parents were not impressed. Regardless of how mad they were that was the one and only time the records got touched after being put in the basement 11 years before that to now.
I might also add that when you look at albums in the 50s all the way up to the mid 60s - there was not much imagination to the title or the album art. Usually it was a picture of the musician and the name was something like "X is back" or "A date with x" or "more of x".
Look at the beatles. Initially there album titles were pretty bland
MEET THE BEATLES
BEATLES SECOND ALBUM
SOMETHING NEW
THE EARLY BEATLES
BEATLES 65
BEATLES VI
then all of a sudden you start hearing more unique album names such as
RUBBER SOUL
REVOLVER
SGT PEPPER's LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND
ABBEY ROAD
Look at the beatles. Initially there album titles were pretty bland
MEET THE BEATLES
BEATLES SECOND ALBUM
SOMETHING NEW
THE EARLY BEATLES
BEATLES 65
BEATLES VI
then all of a sudden you start hearing more unique album names such as
RUBBER SOUL
REVOLVER
SGT PEPPER's LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND
ABBEY ROAD
To be fair, a lot of albums are full of complete crap INCLUDING the singles.
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The influence of these albums on each other is well documented now, but I have to think those who lived in the 60s and were in tune to music at the time, probably had a mind blowing experience with each new Beatles album (and Pet Sounds too). I think Jerry Garcia said something to this effect once but I don' have the quote.
I remember distinctly where I was the first time I heard the White Album, and Revolver (in the 70s).
