Casey Counts Down the 1970's (continued)

Sometimes I'm not able to post comments on this blog, so the rest of the countdown goes here:

Number 7:  Don McLean, "American Pie" (1971).  Casey gives us a nice analysis of some of the references in this song.

Number 6:  Rod Stewart, "Tonight's the Night" (1976).  Casey explains that this was Rod Stewart's first hit after a four-year drought.

Number 5:  Gilbert O'Sullivan, "Alone Again (Naturally)" (1972).  This song sounds like it was written for a 1970's version of one of those Huge Grant Rom-Coms, like Notting Hill.

Oscar Combs:  "I haven't given up on this team.  Not by a long shot.  Still 17 SEC games & post season remain.  However, given what's transpired in first 14 games, UK owes its loyal fans, season ticket holders and corporate partners the transparency to confirm if $22 million was paid to players."  Good luck with that.

Number 4:  Roberta Flack, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (1972).  Casey has a long story about how Clint Eastwood discovered this song and used it in Play Misty For Me.  He loves that story.  Wikipedia has an even longer version, which is great.  Eastwood called Flack at her home in Alexandria, Virginia, and told her that he wanted to use this song in the only part of the movie where there's absolute love.  They agreed on a price of $2,000.  Eastwood said, "Anything else?"  And Flack said, "I want to do it over again.  It's too slow."  And Eastwood said, "No, it's not."

Number 3:  Three Dog Night, "Joy to the World" (1971).  Everyone remembers all the angry protest songs of the late 1960's and early 1970's, but they were forever breaking out with joyous songs like this one.  "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands."  "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing."  Many such examples.

Number 2:  Simon and Garfunkel, "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (1970).  Casey says that this song is a sign of what Simon and Garfunkel could both do at their peaks.  Hard to argue with that.

Number 1:  Debbie Boone, "You Light Up My Life" (1977)  I really do like this song, in a non-ironic way.  Donna Tartt used this song to end her masterful essay on being a cheerleader in Mississippi, and she really captured why people loved it so much.  There was a sentimentality about the 1970's that could be absolutely maddening, but it could also be very pretty.

As you all know, I am not a huge fan of the 1970's.  But it was the last time in American history that rich people weren't allowed to do things solely for purposes of making more money, and all that sentimentality played a big role in that restraint.  Once it was gone, cynicism -- and greed -- bred much more quickly.