Nice work. I sampled or own a lot of ‘em. Special kudos for including Bop till You Drop. It’s held up extremely well and I listen to all or part of it a few times a year. Had forgotten it was digitally recorded; Ry is one of the greatest and, like most such, so naturally ahead of any waves at his back that he was bound to only ever attract devoted attention from people who could almost keep up with him.
I was 19 halfway through the year. From that point on it included the most memorable few months of goofing off I ever experienced, including an epic trifecta of shows at the Hollywood Palladium: The Clash, Rockpile (within a couple weeks of each other), and the Police. A couple weeks before that got started saw Talking Heads and B-52s in Santa Barbara. An incredible run. Thanks for reminding me. More to be said about it all - stay tuned for further details…
In 79" I was 12-year old rock fan listening to a great AOR station in Madison - 92 FM. Great AOR stations at that time (a'la WKRP in Cincinnati) played "deep cuts" into iconic rock albums and shunned the Top 40 and Disco of the time. It was the sound track of my youth.
Wow, an amazing piece about radio. I’m embarrassed about my earlier post about AOR - I was preaching to the choir and the choir director! It is great to read about folks who appreciate the music and FM radio.
Awesome read. I turned 19 in October that year and there are only a couple of these including your honorable mentions that did not spend a lot of time on my turntable and most still do. One thing missing here is reggae. Marley’s Survival was released in ‘79 and remains one of his strongest. Also Sly & Robbie were at their peak. Mystic Man by Tosh is also a keeper if not as good as Equal Rights or Legalize It or Mama Africa.
I adopted that year sometime just after “Digital” became synonymous with always improving, always better, and none of us having a clue how inexorable and all encompassing the format; no, the way of life, The Borg! - how it would never stop, and long before today we would lose our innocence, our privacy, our connection to the World only possible with the countless limits “Digital” has eliminated.
Oops.😯
Verbal spatter. Just happened.
Me and 1979 go way back.
1979.
Because: above, and for how that year seemed to end so many eras.
It was almost as if it somehow ‘79 even held a connection to the horse and buggy. Steam power. The demarcation between analogue, physical tangible energy, touch, analogue of course, and the Virtual, a concept hardly formed in the popular imagination in 1979.
The year for me has some icons.
Mental anchors.
First, because my family had one, the Lincoln Town Car, with a front end I’m sure you could land a small airplane on. I think of pay phones when I consider 1979. I miss pay phones. I’m not alone, I know.
Memories of jamming match packs under the 8-track, (worked in certain cassette decks too). The visceral 1979 haunts me with the smell of garbage on the streets of New York, conjured from what lost moment I can never know, and my first visit to the Big Apple was not until 1986.
1979, in my mind swirls with hazy images of riots in England, and the faded burnt husks of helicopters in a far away stormy desert. Endings.
1979 is a wall. A bridge.
A marker. Before and after.
Such a great write up and stellar list of albums. Wow!
Some great surprises, and the add-ons could just a well have been the headliners.
I loved your nostalgic trip back to 1979! Your vivid descriptions of The Muppet Movie and BJ and the Bear brought back so many memories. The "disco demolition night" details at Comiskey Park were fascinating - I had no idea rock and disco clashed so dramatically.
Amazing list! I love that you covered such a wide breath. It really shows music in mid-transiton. Also, I love seeing Live Rust on there! Such an amazing album
I didn't know it at the time and I only recently came to the realization that 1979 was THE year for album releases. Thanks for including Rickie Lee. That album has pulled me out of a funk more than once.
Very well written, Michael....I loved the occasional (well-deserved) snark, and gentle humor, and I believe you got 'em all! I was 24 in '79, and in my last of 3 years at Houston's leading vinyl vendor, Cactus Records. The next year, I'd be California-bound, and spend a couple years at the top record chain in the Southland, Music Plus. In other words.......these albums? I ordered, checked-in, priced, and sold 'em all!! I can't recall seeing that Blackfoot album cover in the 4 decades since, I must say! A great trip into the time machine, Michael!
Thanks for reading and the kind words! I'm always pleased to play a part in triggering someone's happy memories. I still have all of these albums - and some are in worse shape than others, I must say!
Nice work. I sampled or own a lot of ‘em. Special kudos for including Bop till You Drop. It’s held up extremely well and I listen to all or part of it a few times a year. Had forgotten it was digitally recorded; Ry is one of the greatest and, like most such, so naturally ahead of any waves at his back that he was bound to only ever attract devoted attention from people who could almost keep up with him.
I was 19 halfway through the year. From that point on it included the most memorable few months of goofing off I ever experienced, including an epic trifecta of shows at the Hollywood Palladium: The Clash, Rockpile (within a couple weeks of each other), and the Police. A couple weeks before that got started saw Talking Heads and B-52s in Santa Barbara. An incredible run. Thanks for reminding me. More to be said about it all - stay tuned for further details…
In 79" I was 12-year old rock fan listening to a great AOR station in Madison - 92 FM. Great AOR stations at that time (a'la WKRP in Cincinnati) played "deep cuts" into iconic rock albums and shunned the Top 40 and Disco of the time. It was the sound track of my youth.
Same here - except in rural NC! You might like this then, about my favorite AOR station:
https://www.michael-elliott.com/p/we-quit-doing-rock-wqdr-and-the-death
Wow, an amazing piece about radio. I’m embarrassed about my earlier post about AOR - I was preaching to the choir and the choir director! It is great to read about folks who appreciate the music and FM radio.
Awesome read. I turned 19 in October that year and there are only a couple of these including your honorable mentions that did not spend a lot of time on my turntable and most still do. One thing missing here is reggae. Marley’s Survival was released in ‘79 and remains one of his strongest. Also Sly & Robbie were at their peak. Mystic Man by Tosh is also a keeper if not as good as Equal Rights or Legalize It or Mama Africa.
What a great year for music! Too bad the '80s had to happen.
1979.
I adopted that year sometime just after “Digital” became synonymous with always improving, always better, and none of us having a clue how inexorable and all encompassing the format; no, the way of life, The Borg! - how it would never stop, and long before today we would lose our innocence, our privacy, our connection to the World only possible with the countless limits “Digital” has eliminated.
Oops.😯
Verbal spatter. Just happened.
Me and 1979 go way back.
1979.
Because: above, and for how that year seemed to end so many eras.
It was almost as if it somehow ‘79 even held a connection to the horse and buggy. Steam power. The demarcation between analogue, physical tangible energy, touch, analogue of course, and the Virtual, a concept hardly formed in the popular imagination in 1979.
The year for me has some icons.
Mental anchors.
First, because my family had one, the Lincoln Town Car, with a front end I’m sure you could land a small airplane on. I think of pay phones when I consider 1979. I miss pay phones. I’m not alone, I know.
Memories of jamming match packs under the 8-track, (worked in certain cassette decks too). The visceral 1979 haunts me with the smell of garbage on the streets of New York, conjured from what lost moment I can never know, and my first visit to the Big Apple was not until 1986.
1979, in my mind swirls with hazy images of riots in England, and the faded burnt husks of helicopters in a far away stormy desert. Endings.
1979 is a wall. A bridge.
A marker. Before and after.
Such a great write up and stellar list of albums. Wow!
Some great surprises, and the add-ons could just a well have been the headliners.
Thank you.
Thanks for the kind words - and for sharing these magical memories and thoughts.
Pleasure.
Same as reading your posts.
What an amazing year it was, thanks for the reminder! MM
That's a great write-up. For years I argued that 1979 was my favorite year for music (I've recently been convinced that 1971 was stronger).
Two other albums that I think of as classics are the debut releases by Joe Jackson and The Pretenders.
Classics both!
I loved your nostalgic trip back to 1979! Your vivid descriptions of The Muppet Movie and BJ and the Bear brought back so many memories. The "disco demolition night" details at Comiskey Park were fascinating - I had no idea rock and disco clashed so dramatically.
Very dramatically...
https://youtu.be/NWCRu-yVEFU?si=52esAYHEplEZikxm
My birth year….this post was a great find!!! Thank you!!!!
Jeez, what a great year and a great piece to highlight these releases! Lots of good things to discover and rediscover this weekend here.
Amazing list! I love that you covered such a wide breath. It really shows music in mid-transiton. Also, I love seeing Live Rust on there! Such an amazing album
I didn't know it at the time and I only recently came to the realization that 1979 was THE year for album releases. Thanks for including Rickie Lee. That album has pulled me out of a funk more than once.
Very well written, Michael....I loved the occasional (well-deserved) snark, and gentle humor, and I believe you got 'em all! I was 24 in '79, and in my last of 3 years at Houston's leading vinyl vendor, Cactus Records. The next year, I'd be California-bound, and spend a couple years at the top record chain in the Southland, Music Plus. In other words.......these albums? I ordered, checked-in, priced, and sold 'em all!! I can't recall seeing that Blackfoot album cover in the 4 decades since, I must say! A great trip into the time machine, Michael!
Thanks for reading and the kind words! I'm always pleased to play a part in triggering someone's happy memories. I still have all of these albums - and some are in worse shape than others, I must say!