Venerable news weekly Time Magazine provides us all with a “time” capsule of history stretching from 1923 to the present day. We here at Bionic Disco are concerned with all things 70s, so let’s take a look at a choice selection of Time Magazine covers from the year 1970. It’s a fascinating collection and we’ll be sure to check in with ’71-’79 in future posts.
Hey kids, it’s Commercial time at Bionic Disco. Today, we feature a battle of kid-powered racers; Big Wheel versus The Green Machine.
Big Wheels are a'rollin'. Listen to them turn!
Most everyone had a Big Wheel. The really cool kids had a Green Machine. The Green Machine was extra-fast and had multiple levers – so you knew it was for badasses only. Yeah. I had a Big Wheel.
8, 9, 10...old enough for Green Machine!
Today is May 10th, 2011. A date so futuristic it makes my head hurt. Let’s cast ourselves back in time 33 years to a simpler time – May 10th, 1978 – and take a look at some of the events we enjoyed on this carefree late-70s Wednesday.
In the Movies:
Haha. Death was so funny in '78!
Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise suicide comedy (!) The End is released, as is It Lives Again and Perry King’s A Different Story.
On TV:
It's freakin' Amayzing!
A promo aired for the “Amayzing” CBS TV movie Murder at the Mardi Gras starring Didi Conn and David Groh (with a “Special appearance” by Wolfman Jack.)
In the News:
According to the CBS Evening News with Roger Mudd:
The EPA issues a recall order for almost all AMC cars from 1976.
President Carter requests labor leaders hold down wage demands and AFL-CIO president George Meany objects.
Kensington Castle officials announce the impending divorce of “Britain’s Princess Margaret from Anthony Armstrong-Jones, Lord Snowdon.”
In Sports:
The St. Louis Cardinals battled the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. The Cards defeated the Dodgers 6 to 5. (The Dodgers later went all the way to the ’78 World Series where they lost to the Yankees.)
The Seattle Mariners fought the Cleveland Indians at Cleveland Stadium. The Indians emerged victorious 6 to1.
In Music:
Alice Cooper rocked Saginaw Auditorium in Saginaw, Michigan with tunes such as “Only Women Bleed” and the show closer, “School’s Out”.
The Grateful Dead played Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum in New Haven, Connecticut, opening the set with “Jack Straw” and closing with “U.S. Blues”.
Van Halen shook the Matador Theater in Paris, France (exactly three months after releasing their debut album) with tunes including “Runnin’ With The Devil” and “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love”.
Van Halen's 1978 debut - Paris discovers Hair Metal
In the Comics:
Issue #24 of Howard the Duck and issue #180 of The Amazing Spider-Man (with The Green Goblin on the cover) go on sale.
And finally – actor/comedian (and Saturday Night Live cast member) Kenan Thompson known for the modern, live-action remake of the 70s cartoon hit Fat Albert was born on this day in Atlanta, Georgia.
Stay tuned, kids! I just may break every bone in my body!
Holy Moley! You have got to find three minutes in your busy day to watch this trailer for Evel Knievel’s 1977’s motion picture Viva Knievel!, aka “The excitement picture of the year”.
While I was a big Knievel fan (and what 10-yr-old boy wasn’t in ’77?) I never caught this movie in theaters. I guess the power of Star Wars, which released a month earlier, was too overwhelming.
Keep your eyes peeled for Lauren Hutton, Gene Kelly, Leslie Nielson, Red Buttons and child star, Eric Olson (who you may remember from 70s TV shows; Apple’s Way and Swiss Family Robinson). I need to sit down and soak up this 70s faded-classic stat!
Investigate: Viva Knievel! Wiki, Viva Knievel! IMDb, Evel Knievel.com
Hey cats & kittens, let’s check in with the charts and get to rocking on this fine Tuesday morning. One of the biggest musical stars of the 1970s, Elton John, was never very far from the top of the charts throughout the decade.
Elton’s ‘Philadelphia Freedom’ spent two weeks at number one: April 6 – 19 1975, riding the wave of pre-Bicentennial hype. Hit the clicker below to view the English rocker performing on TV’s Soul Train in all his rhinestone glory. I always liked this tune. How about you?
Interesting factoid: ‘Philadelphia Freedom’, released 24 February 1975, featured a duet with John Lennon, ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ (Live)’, on the B-side of the single.
“Wiki Quote: Recorded in the summer of 1974, during breaks between the sessions for “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy,” the song was at the time the only song Elton and Bernie ever consciously wrote as a single, as Elton told journalist Paul Gambaccini. Elton, looking to honour his friend, tennis professional Billie Jean King, asked Bernie to write a song called “Philadelphia Freedom,” and homage to her tennis team.
Huge glasses? Check! Outrageous hat? Check! Golden Mic? Check! Let's rock.
In “His Song: The Musical History of Elton John,” Elizabeth Rosenthal recounts that Taupin said, “I can’t write a song about tennis,” and didn’t. Taupin maintains that the lyrics bear no relation to tennis, Philly Soul or even flag-waving patriotism. Nonetheless, his words have been interpreted as patriotic and uplifting, and even though released in 1975, the song’s sentiment, intended or not, meshed perfectly with an American music audience already gearing up for the country’s bicentennial celebration in July of the next year.”
Clerow Wilson, Jr., was born December 8, 1933 in Jersey City, New Jersey into a family of 18 children. After early years in foster homes and a reform school, 16-yr-old Wilson fibbed about his age and entered the US Air Force.
The young serviceman’s bubbly personality and outgoing manner earned him the nickname “Flip”, short for “Flipped out!” After discharge from the Air Force in 1954, Flip began working as a bellhop at the Manor Plaza Hotel in San Francisco where he eventually found comedic fill-in work between acts.
By the 1960s Flip had perfected his act, performing regularly at the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem. Stardom beckoned and Flip began booking slots on TV staples such as The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show.
In 1970 Flip scored a Grammy Award for his comedy album The Devil Made Me Buy This Dress and launched The Flip Wilson Show on NBC. The hour-long variety show was a break-out success, airing from September 17, 1970 until June 27, 1974, leading Time magazine to place Flip on its cover and dub him “TV’s First Black Superstar.”
Flip is best-known for his characters Geraldine Jones (a feisty Wilson in drag), the outrageous Reverend Leroy (Pastor of the “Church of What’s Happening Now”) and lovable everyman, Freddie Johnson. The sight of Flip’s name spelled out in flashing lights from the show’s opening is forever etched in the minds of 70s TV watchers, as is the Flip handshake, which involved greeting each guest on the show with a series of hand, elbow and hip bumps.
One of the writers on Flip’s show was comedian George Carlin, who appeared in sketches on numerous occasions. Wilson also featured a great number of exceptional musical guests such as James Brown, Louis Armstrong and The Jackson 5.
Other notable 1970s Flip Wilson TV appearances included 1972’s animated Clerow Wilson and the Miracle of P.S. 14, and The Six Million Dollar Man (’76). Film appearances included 1974’s Uptown Saturday Night and 1979’s The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh. Flip passed away at age 64 on November 25, 1998.
Read up on Flip:
Flip Wilson Wiki, Flip Wilson IMDb, Flip at TV Party
We’ll leave you with a nice clip of Flip. Enjoy.
Flip back to the Bionic Disco homepage.