The Era of Excess
Chpt. 14
History of Rock and Roll
“It’s a Very selfish decade”
• During the mid-and late 1970’s, many former
1960s’ radicals turned inward for fulfillment.
• Mind set turned to:
“you can’t make a revolution if you have to
make a living.”
The “Me” Decade
• End of the Vietnam War
– Ended early 1970
– Signed Paris Peace Accord: Formal peace treaty
with North Vietnam
– 56,555 dead American soldiers
– Ended the military draft
• Transformed 1960s radicals into 1970s yuppies
Richard Nixon
• Reelected to presidency
• 49 out of 50 states
• The reelection + the end of the Vietnam war
deflated the rage of college radicals.
• “People just found themselves living lives –
settling in, getting a job because you had to
buy food and pay the rent”
The baby-boom generation
• End of the Vietnam War meant a better
economy.
• Baby boomers were indulging in new 1970s
consumer products:
– Automatic garage door openers, hot tubs, food
processors, air-conditioned cars, Snowmobiles,
Ten-speed bicycles
Indulgence
Drug Indulgence
• “Drugs are now just another thing people can
buy to make themselves feel one way or
another”
• By 1975 smoking marijuana had been
decriminalized in some states
• Baby boomers began to indulge in more
expensive drugs like cocaine.
• Pot had become commonplace…some people
were looking for new thrills.
Personal Indulgence
• Baby boomers sought excitement through
open relationships
• Married boomers discussed open marriage
– Wife swapping
– Free sex clubs
Believed personal relationships would be enhanced,
rather than shattered, by the elimination of sexual
possessiveness.
Homosexuality
• Homosexuals became more open and vocal
about their sexual orientation
• Experimented with many sexual partners
• In June of 1969, homosexuality was still illegal
in every state except Illinois.
• Gays resisted police arrest and rioted
• Banded together in the Gay Liberation Front
• Published newspapers such as Come Out!
• Called for gay power
Gay Activists
• Gay Activist Alliance 1969
Elton John
• Reginald Dwight
• Mirrored the extravagance of the era
• One of the most commercially successful
acousitc solo acts
• Pianist: raised in England
Indulgent Elton
• Developed a wild stage act that included
handstands on the piano and kicking over the
piano bench
• Extravagant Costumes
– Sequined, gaudy jumpsuits, platforms & pink boas
• Owned 200 pairs of glasses including:
– mink-lined glasses
– diamond-inlaid spectacles
– a pair with 57 tiny lightbulbs that spelled ELTON.
Elton John
David Bowie
• David Jones
• Changed his name in 1966 to avoid confusion
with Davy Jones of the Monkees
• Took mime and dance lessons
• During the time of the first moon landing he
released “Space Oddity”
• Later changed his image, appearing in a dress
publicly
Bisexual Bowie
• Created the bisexual, space-age, glittery persona
of Ziggy Stardust
• Materialized from a cloud of dry ice wearing a
tight-fitting, glimmering jumpsuit, high topped,
sequined hunting boots and orange-tinted hair.
• “The only thing that shocks now is an extreme”
• The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the
Spiders from Mars sold one million copies.
From Bowie to Ziggy
The New York Dolls
• Adopted the Bowie-defined image of heavymetal
• Thrashing, driving, pro-punk anthems
• “Personality Crisis”
• Delivered a wild, extreme heavy-metal act
• Wore cellophane tutus with army boots
• Blew up more equipment than anybody
New York Dolls
KISS
• Tried to outdo the New York Dolls
• Cross-town rivals
• Started by former schoolteacher, Gene
Simmons
• Put on bizarre makeup to grab attention
– skin-hugging, bejeweled, spandex pants, platform
shoes, and black, glittering leather shirts
The KISS Experience
• Assaulted their audiences with rockets, police
lights, snow machines, smoke bombs and
levitating drum kits.
• Released “Dressed to Kill and Alive!” which
sold 1 million copies.
Alice Cooper
• Matched Kiss with overtly sexual, heavymetal, apolitical rock theatrics.
• Born Vince Furnier
• Formed his first band in high school
• Performed wearing Janis Joplin’s gold lame’
pants, high-heeled boots, and mascara
School’s Out
Queen
• Rivaled Alice Cooper in extravagance
• Formed in 1971 by guitarist Brian May and
drummer Roger Taylor
• Featured vocalist Freddie Mercury (b. Farok
Bulsara) who named the group
• Sometimes Mercury favored dresses, tights, and
black nail polish (Liza Minnelli)
• Other shows he wore leather storm-trooper
outfits that emphasized the gay connotation of
the band’s name
• Bohemian Rhapsody
• We Are the Champions
• We Will Rock You
Queen Hits
Bowie and Mercury
• Collaborated on “Under Pressure”
• “Freddie took it further than the rest…He took
it over the edge. And of course, I always
admired a man who wears tights”.
• Not to be confused with
Ice Ice Baby…
Funk from Outer Space
• George Clinton –
covered funk with
heavy-metal glitter
• Sly Stone – combined
funk with rock-and-roll
Disco….
• A simplified version of funk
• Began in new York at African American, Latin,
and gay all-night clubs
• Disc jockeys played nonstop dance music with
an insistent, funky, thumping beat.