Man, it's hot. Nothing like a steamy Southern summer to take all the energy out of a person. The best thing I can think of is to pop open something cold to drink, find a patch of shade, and turn on some music...
And, as we have determined, most of the Gulf Watchers are of a... well, shall we say a certain vintage, so we should be able to remember what was happening in 1971 all those forty long years ago...
Follow me past the curlydoodle please, you old farts...
A little timeline for 1971...
The microprocessor and floppy disc are introduced...where would we have been without them?
NASA and the Soviets send probes to Mars. (Not together. Separately.)
After a record breaking 24 days orbiting Earth, three cosmonauts died on their return when their cabin depressurized.
The Pentagon Papers are released.
Cigarette ads are banned on TV.
China joins the UN.
Native Americans forced out of Alcatraz - Citing an 1868 treaty which allowed them to live on unoccupied land, they were protesting the US government's poor record of handling treaties. Alcatraz became a national park in 1972.
Attica State Prison riot in Buffalo, New York.
Supreme Court rules desegregation constitutional.
Congress authorizes federal bailout of Lockheed.
PBS begins Masterpiece Theater.
South Vietnam & The US invades Laos in an attempt to shut down the Ho Chi Minh trail, the North Vietnam supply route. It wasn't successful. (No shit.)
Benefit Concert for Bangladesh organized. George Harrison organized the first benefit concert, which would be the model for many more benefit concerts.
Captain Samuel Lee Gravely, Jr. becomes the first black American Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy.
Cellular Phone Battery Invented - African-American Henry Thomas Sampson invents the gamma electric cell (US Patent # 3,591,860).
Greenpeace founded.
School House Rock and The Electric Company both debut.
Amtrak is created to rescue America's long-distance passenger trains. Ridership had been decreasing since the late 1950s because of competition from the jet airplanes and the growing interstates.
Voting age officially lowered to 18 on June 30, 1971. (All us DFHs thought that if we were old enough to fight and die in Viet Nam, we damn sure should be able to vote...)
D.B. Cooper jumps out of the plane he hijacked - Northwest Airlines Flight 305 from Portland to Seattle - after demanding $200,000 in cash and four parachutes with a claim he had a bomb in his briefcase. After jumping he was never seen again.
Charles Manson is convicted for the Tate/LaBianca murders.
Pretty interesting year, wouldn't you say? The music was all over the spectrum too. I was much more into album-oriented rock, so most of my favorites didn't make the Billboard Top 100, but here are a few that I liked that did...
1. Joy to the World, Three Dog Night (didn't like it that much, but I couldn't leave out the number-one song, could I?)
11. Me and Bobby McGee, Janis Joplin
14. Smiling Faces Sometimes, Undisputed Truth
15. Treat Her Like a Lady, Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose
16. You've Got a Friend, James Taylor
17. Mr. Big Stuff, Jean Knight
18. Brown Sugar, Rolling Stones
20. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, Joan Baez
21. What's Going On, Marvin Gaye (please see first comment...)
23. Ain't No Sunshine, Bill Withers
24. Signs, Five Man Electrical Band
31. My Sweet Lord / Isn't It a Pity, George Harrison
38. If You Could Read My Mind, Gordon Lightfoot
43. It Don't Come Easy, Ringo Starr
44. Mr. Bojangles, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
54. Draggin' the Line, Tommy James
55. Proud Mary, Ike and Tina Turner
56. Beginnings/Color My World, Chicago
65. Bring the Boys Home, Freda Payne
66. I Just Want to Celebrate, Rare Earth
67. Never Ending Song of Love, Delaney and Bonnie and Friends
79. Woodstock, Matthews' Southern Comfort
94. Love Her Madly, The Doors
95. Here Comes the Sun, Richie Havens
99. Riders On the Storm, The Doors
Sorry for not having the whole list - some aren't available...and I sort of ran out of time.
And...happy birthday to Mick Fleetwood and Jeff Beck... By the way..please check out this Beck link - it's Jeff and Jimmy Page...playing Beck's Bolero, The Immigrant Song, and...the Peter Gunn theme at the 2009 Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. This rocks!
