Great essay. I was 17 & music was, and remains, very important to me. You captured the zeitgeist of the day. Thank you again for the essay & today’s playlist.
Great summary of my 18th trip around the sun… Ramones. Zeppelin. Petty. Wow. Funnily enough, in the UK at least, the Heartbreakers record sort of fit with the punk sensibility.
Fantastic list! I was 17 and just making the big transition from prog to punk. Loved Trick of the Tail, Zoot Allures and The Ramones. Still had long hair, but cut it in December!
Fantastic retrospective Michael and a wonderful list of albums. I was five in 1976 and still tapping into my dad’s old Beatles records for most of my musical entertainment. There’s a great mix of well known and new to me albums on this list and I’m looking forward to writing my way through your playlist.
What a great piece, you couldn't have missed much! Plus, great mention for Boz Scaggs, Silk Degrees is sublime. Probably my most played song of 1976 is Caves Of Altimera by Steely Dan, a sampler's paradise.
Quite an impressive undertaking, Michael! The TV shows and movies were a cool "place-setting" addition! In '76, I was 21, and was straddling 2 radio positions that year....Music Director with a 3-hr daily afternoon on-air soft rock shift at U of Houston's KUHF-FM, while also part-time behind the mic at leading commercial FM rocker, KLOL-FM 101.
Shortly into '77, I was offered the 7-midnight nightly shift at commercial FM rocker, WFMF-FM 102/Baton Rouge, LA. There are about 1/2-dozen of these albums I can actually remember where I was when I received the promo, mostly at whichever station when the local/regional rep stopped by to deliver them!
Of course, a box of 'em might also come addressed to the Music Director or Program Director, and he would pass 'em around to jocks present, maybe shove some into jock mailboxes, and/or start auditioning the LPs to mark (on the banding strip, if supplied, on the front of the jackets) which cuts he/they OK-ed for preferred airplay.
The Petty debut: I was in the news studio at KUHF (ripping late news off the wire), and my girlfriend, Susan M., a news gal at the station, brought it in to me, saying she thought I'd "like this one". I think she thought Tom was cute, and might've figured it was power pop-ish, already a known fave genre of mine!!
The week of Boston's debut release was momentous to the point of me writing about receiving an Epic/CBS promo sampler LP that featured a couple tracks each by Boston, and the other 3 (far more veteran than newcomers Boston) acts who happened to share the ignominy of having their Epic debuts released that same last week of August '76: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/breaking-boston-behind-the-scenes?utm_source=publication-search
Those other 3 artists? Veteran session banjo/guitarist, Herb Pedersen, the writer (while still in college) of "Vehicle" as a member of The Ides of March in 1970 (#2 in the U.S.), Jim Peterik (who went on to co-write "Eye of the Tiger" as a member of Survivor in the '80s), and veteran mixed-race rock/soul band, Mother's Finest. We never heard from any of them after that week, as Boston's debut soared out of sight into history!
One more: I got an official Swan Song/Atlantic/WEA promo Led Zep "Presence" obelisk (individually numbered), and hung onto it for a couple decades. At some point at a '90s-era record show, where I had rented a seller's table, someone managed to walk away with it!
Excellent post as always, Brad. I also remember Herb Pedersen from his days in the Desert Rose Band. He and Hillman made some great music together over the years.
Those radio stories never fail to entice me back into those (sometimes) halcyon days of yore. Although I've been off the air for going on 13 years now, I still miss the days of two turntables, cart machines, reel-to-reels, black coffee, and music meetings!
Ha....I hear ya, Michael! I appreciate your indulgence....as my memories go back to the '70s, Imma keep pulling 'em out as long as I'm able to still remember 'em, until I can't no more!!!
When I was looking up JUST how voluminous Pedersen's session work was in the '70s, I (and I think it's in that Boston article) suggested that "you" (whomever) might have heard Pedersen's music far more than than they've heard ALL of Boston's music, on top of how many times anyone may have worn out their personal debut LP copy!!
So, my brother-in-airwaves, I believe we're due for a third Tune Tag! Your first was in 10/24, while your second was 8/25! If you're game, hit me up on DMs with your first song, and I would propose we both find ways to drop some call-letter anecdotes among our notes!! I don't think you've done that before on our Tags, and it'd be cool to bounce back'n'forth our separate experiences and differences and similarities in our different time frames!📻🎤
What a great retrospective! Coincidentally just finished watching Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore for first time. Loved hearing all the Mott the Hoople. Didn't know about the Ian Hunter album with all my faves on there. Thanks!
Bob Dylan + Modern Lovers on the same list = a perfect list
The Unknown Comic is basically half of Substack
Great essay. I was 17 & music was, and remains, very important to me. You captured the zeitgeist of the day. Thank you again for the essay & today’s playlist.
Wonderful compilation and trip down memory lane.
The records and even the films are all a beat of the best you could give someone if you were trying to point them in the right direction.
Great summary of my 18th trip around the sun… Ramones. Zeppelin. Petty. Wow. Funnily enough, in the UK at least, the Heartbreakers record sort of fit with the punk sensibility.
I was happily oblivious to nearly all of that! But 1976 was memorable for other things. The year I married.
Fantastic list! I was 17 and just making the big transition from prog to punk. Loved Trick of the Tail, Zoot Allures and The Ramones. Still had long hair, but cut it in December!
Is that Apple link meant to do something?
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I live in Mpls. That Springsteen single is viral here, FYI.
You guys are the model of strength for the nation right now. We stand with you. Stay safe!
Fabulous article, so many of my favourite albums and artists. Thank you 🙏. Just listening to All-American Alien Boy again. A song for the ages ❤️
Fantastic retrospective Michael and a wonderful list of albums. I was five in 1976 and still tapping into my dad’s old Beatles records for most of my musical entertainment. There’s a great mix of well known and new to me albums on this list and I’m looking forward to writing my way through your playlist.
Thanks for the kind words and for reading!
Holy cow Michael. You went all out on this one. Loved that Silk Degrees made the cut.
It was a great year for music. Here is my bicentennial mix: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6aZt95Ihvnla0iauTYYCLD?si=53cde81159a54e3c
Nice!
What a great piece, you couldn't have missed much! Plus, great mention for Boz Scaggs, Silk Degrees is sublime. Probably my most played song of 1976 is Caves Of Altimera by Steely Dan, a sampler's paradise.
Quite an impressive undertaking, Michael! The TV shows and movies were a cool "place-setting" addition! In '76, I was 21, and was straddling 2 radio positions that year....Music Director with a 3-hr daily afternoon on-air soft rock shift at U of Houston's KUHF-FM, while also part-time behind the mic at leading commercial FM rocker, KLOL-FM 101.
Shortly into '77, I was offered the 7-midnight nightly shift at commercial FM rocker, WFMF-FM 102/Baton Rouge, LA. There are about 1/2-dozen of these albums I can actually remember where I was when I received the promo, mostly at whichever station when the local/regional rep stopped by to deliver them!
Of course, a box of 'em might also come addressed to the Music Director or Program Director, and he would pass 'em around to jocks present, maybe shove some into jock mailboxes, and/or start auditioning the LPs to mark (on the banding strip, if supplied, on the front of the jackets) which cuts he/they OK-ed for preferred airplay.
The Petty debut: I was in the news studio at KUHF (ripping late news off the wire), and my girlfriend, Susan M., a news gal at the station, brought it in to me, saying she thought I'd "like this one". I think she thought Tom was cute, and might've figured it was power pop-ish, already a known fave genre of mine!!
The week of Boston's debut release was momentous to the point of me writing about receiving an Epic/CBS promo sampler LP that featured a couple tracks each by Boston, and the other 3 (far more veteran than newcomers Boston) acts who happened to share the ignominy of having their Epic debuts released that same last week of August '76: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/breaking-boston-behind-the-scenes?utm_source=publication-search
Those other 3 artists? Veteran session banjo/guitarist, Herb Pedersen, the writer (while still in college) of "Vehicle" as a member of The Ides of March in 1970 (#2 in the U.S.), Jim Peterik (who went on to co-write "Eye of the Tiger" as a member of Survivor in the '80s), and veteran mixed-race rock/soul band, Mother's Finest. We never heard from any of them after that week, as Boston's debut soared out of sight into history!
One more: I got an official Swan Song/Atlantic/WEA promo Led Zep "Presence" obelisk (individually numbered), and hung onto it for a couple decades. At some point at a '90s-era record show, where I had rented a seller's table, someone managed to walk away with it!
Thanks for the memories, Michael!
Excellent post as always, Brad. I also remember Herb Pedersen from his days in the Desert Rose Band. He and Hillman made some great music together over the years.
Those radio stories never fail to entice me back into those (sometimes) halcyon days of yore. Although I've been off the air for going on 13 years now, I still miss the days of two turntables, cart machines, reel-to-reels, black coffee, and music meetings!
.....and, wire-service tickers! Holy UPI, Batman!
Ha....I hear ya, Michael! I appreciate your indulgence....as my memories go back to the '70s, Imma keep pulling 'em out as long as I'm able to still remember 'em, until I can't no more!!!
When I was looking up JUST how voluminous Pedersen's session work was in the '70s, I (and I think it's in that Boston article) suggested that "you" (whomever) might have heard Pedersen's music far more than than they've heard ALL of Boston's music, on top of how many times anyone may have worn out their personal debut LP copy!!
So, my brother-in-airwaves, I believe we're due for a third Tune Tag! Your first was in 10/24, while your second was 8/25! If you're game, hit me up on DMs with your first song, and I would propose we both find ways to drop some call-letter anecdotes among our notes!! I don't think you've done that before on our Tags, and it'd be cool to bounce back'n'forth our separate experiences and differences and similarities in our different time frames!📻🎤
Agreed! Sounds like a plan!
What a great retrospective! Coincidentally just finished watching Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore for first time. Loved hearing all the Mott the Hoople. Didn't know about the Ian Hunter album with all my faves on there. Thanks!