Live Ledge #245: 1976

1976 may have been the most important year in music since the Beatles landed in America. As the 1970's progressed, the charts began to fill up with songs and albums that had little to do with rock and roll. I could go on and on here, but this opinion has been well-documented in rock history books.
But it was also an important year for you podcast host. This was the year that started with me in 7th grade and (obviously) ended in eight grade. That shouldn't be that much of a change...but it was.
I began the year as a typical male teen of the times - I knew nothing about music history and only liked what ws being played on the local rock station. Thus, bands such as AC/DC, Aerosmith, and Kiss were the main records played at not only my home but at all of my junior high buddies.
Something remarkable happened that summer, though. I have probably told this story a few times, but a bout of chicken pox coincided with the arrival of my first Columbia House box of records. Yes, twelve records for ninety-nine cents. To be honest, at eight or nine of these records were releases that I would now be embarassed to list. The other three, though, were life-changing. There was the self-titled debut of the Runaways, which featured "Cherry Bomb". More importantly, the very first Ramones album.
My life was changed, and it became even more subsersive when I saw a report on NBC on the Sex Pistols. Finally, the music of my life had arrived.
Yet at the same time I was also studying the history of rock and roll. I bought my first Bob Dylan album, "Desire", and fell in love with "Hurricane". The Stones' "Black and Blue" may not have been among their best, but it was the first new Stones album that I was ever aware of. David Bowie, Patti Smith, Lou Reed, and Thin Lizzy were also part of year's discoveries.
Tonight is dedicated to that year, and includes little bits of all of those types of releases. I'll be the first to admit that many of these I didn't discover until years later, but every one of these tracks were an important part of the ever-changing music industry.
As always, you can grab this episode from the usual sources, including iTunes or Stitcher, or...

CLICK HERE TO STREAM OR DOWNLAD!!!

1. The Runaways, Cherry Bomb
2. Bob Dylan, Hurricane
3. Warren Zevon, Poor Poor Pitiful Me
4. Tom Waits, Pasties & A G-String
5. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, American Girl
6. The Rolling Stones, Crazy Mama
7. David Bowie, Tvc15
8. Lou Reed, Kicks
9. Patti Smith, Ask The Angels
10. Peter Tosh, Legalize It 0
11. AC/DC, Live Wire
12. Aerosmith, Back In The Saddle
13. KISS, Do You Love Me
14. Thin Lizzy, Jailbreak
15. The 101'ers, Keys To Your Heart
16. The Flamin' Groovies, Shake Some Action
17. Blondie, X Offender
18. Graham Parker & The Rumour, Back to Schooldays
19. Nick Lowe, Heart of the City
20. Dave Edmunds, Here Comes The Weekend
21. Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers, Roadrunner
22. The Ramones, I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend
23. Richard Hell, (I Belong To The) Blank Generation
24. Television, Little Johnny Jewel
25. Buzzcocks, Boredom
26. Sex Pistols, Anarchy In The UK
27. The Damned, New Rose
28. Radio Birdman, I-94
29. The Saints, (I'm) Stranded
30. Pere Ubu, Final Solution

Comments

Anonymous said…
Very good tribute show. No Death songs ?
Scott said…
Yeah that should have been included. Thanks!!!

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