- For The Love Of Collecting!

Notes of Nostalgia 1972

By Dale “Diamond” Hansen

Where were you in 1972? High School? College? Working? Or yet to arrive
The Vietnam War is still going on although it shows some signs of slowing. The music industry in moving along with a number of changes. The following is a look back, kind of a trip down memory lane for some a history lesson of sorts for others. I short this is Notes of Nostalgia.

To start off our look back let’s look at the top 40 songs for that year:

The Top 40 Songs for 1972
1. Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl Looking Glass
2. My Ding-a-Ling                                                                           Chuck Berry
3. The Candy Man                                                                           Sammy Davis Jr.
4. Daddy Don’t You Walk So Fast                                           Wayne Newton
5. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face                                Roberta Flack
6. Long Cool Woman In a Black Dress                                 The Hollies
7. I’ll Take You There                                                                      The Staple Singers
8. Alone Again (Naturally)                                                          Gilbert O’Sullivan
9. I Gotcha                                                                                          Joe Tex
10. Lean on Me                                                                                 Bill Withers
11. Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me                                            Mac Davis
12. Let’s Stay Together                                                                  Al Green
13. Brand New Key                                                                          Melanie
14. Back Stabbers                                                                           The O’Jays
15. Burning Love                                                                              Elvis Presley
16. Garden Party                                                                              Ricky Nelson
17. Day Dreaming                                                                            Aretha Franklin
18. Clean Up Woman                                                                      Betty Wright
19. Rocket Man                                                                                 Elton John
20. Precious and Few                                                                     Climax
21. Betcha by Golly, Wow                                                             The Stylistics
22. Heart of Gold                                                                              Neil Young
23. (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right       Luther Ingram
24. Nice To Be With You                                                                Gallery
25. Song Sung Blue                                                                          Neil Diamond
26. Black and White                                                                        Three Dog Night
27. The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.                              Donna Fargo
28. I Can See Clearly Now                                                             Johnny Nash
29. City of New Orleans                                                                 Arlo Guthrie
30. To Late to Turn Back Now                                                     Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose
31. Nights in White Satin                                                               The Moody Blues
32. A Horse with No Name                                                           America
33. Oh Girl                                                                                           The Chi-Lites
34. Slippin’ into Darkness                                                             War
35. Down by the Lazy River                                                          The Osmonds
36. Get It On                                                                                      T. Rex
37. You Don’t Mess Around with Jim                                        Jim Croce
38. Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’                                                 Charley Pride
39. The Witch Queen of New Orleans                                      Redbone
40. School’s Out                                                                                Alice Cooper

Rock group Steely Dan (L-R: Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter, Denny Dias, Donald Fagen, Jim Hodder, and Walter Becker) pose for a portrait in the photographer’s front yard in Coldwater Canyon on September 22, 1972 in Los Angeles, California.

Here are some interesting happenings in 1972

Some of the bands that formed in 1972:
ABBA
Alabama
Average White Band
E Street Band
Orleans
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils
Steelers Wheel
Steely Dan
Styx
Van Halen

In 1972 the following bands disbanded:
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Martha and the Vandellas
MC5
Jefferson Airplane
The Velvet Underground
Them

A brief look at the music industry in 1972

January
17^th Highway South of Memphis, TN was renamed Elvis Presley Blvd

February
9^th Paul McCartney and his new band Wings made their debut at the University of Nottingham in England. That was McCartney’s first public concert since The Beatles 1966 US tour.
13^th Led Zeppelin’s concert in Singapore is canceled when government officials will not let them off the airplane because of their long hair.
15^th The United States gives federal copyright protection to sound recordings. Prior to this, phonograph records were only protected at state level, and not in all states.
19^th Sammy Davis Jr makes a guest appearance on the tv show All In The Family
23^rd Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley separate.

March

3^rd Thick as a Brick by Jethro Tull is released, a concept album said to be written by an 8-year old boy, Gerald Bostock.15^th LA disc jockey Robert W. Morgan plays Donny Osmond’s Puppy Love non-stop for 90 minutes. Police were called but no arrests were made.

April

16^th Electric Light Orchestra make their live debut at the Fox and Greyhound pub in Park Lane, Croydon, England.

May

8^th Billy Preston becomes the first rock performer to headline at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.

June

3^rd The Rolling Stones opened their North American tour in Vancouver, BC
10^th Elvis Presley does the first of four concerts at the Madison Square Garden in New York City. He sold out all the shows in one day.

July

24^th Bobby Ramirez, drummer for Edgar Winter’s White Trash, is beaten to death in a Chicago bar fight, reportedly because his hair was too long.

August

30^th John Lennon and Yoko Ono headline the “One to One Concert” at Madison Square Garden to benefit mentally handicapped children.

September

21^st ABC premieres the new TV series In Concert. The first episode featured Alice Cooper.

October

12^th Diana Ross makes her acting debut in the successful film Lady Sings the Blues for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

November

3^rd James Taylor and Carly Simon were married in a tiny ceremony in Simon’s Manhattan apartment
12^th 51,778 fans pack San Diego Stadium for a concert promoted by KGB-AM to see J. Geils Band, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Foghat and Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show.

December

31^st The first New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with host Dick Clark, aired on NBC (before moving to ABC) with Three Dog Night as the main act. Blood, Sweat & Tears, Helen Reddy and Al Green were also on the show.

Just an interesting note: In 1972, Alice Cooper, had the most fascinating stage show in all of rock and roll at the time. Most bands were very satisfied to just stand and play on a bare stage. Alice Cooper brought theater into rock and roll. Very elaborate sets, many costume changes, magic tricks and visual and lighting effects that would amaze all. Strange, out there, creative, off the deep end all are ways to describe Alice Cooper but no one can ever deny the success they found being different, creative and talented.

Highlights from the News in 1972

Jan 14th Sanford & Son starring Red Foxx premieres on NBC

January

1^st 58^th Rose Bowl Game: Stanford beat Michigan 13-12
2^nd Pierre Hotel Robbery in New York City where six men robbed the safe-deposit boxes of at least $4 million.
4^th The first hand held calculator (HP-35) is introduced for the price of $395.00.
5^th President Nixon ordered the development of the Space Shuttle Program.
5^th NYC transit far rises from $.30 to $.35
11^th East Pakistan renamed itself Bangladesh.
14^th Sanford & Son starring Red Foxx premieres on NBC

24^th Japanese soldier Shoichi Yokoi is discovered in Guam; he had spent 28 years in the jungle not realizing the war was over.
25^th Shirley Chisholm, the first African American Congresswoman, announced her candidacy for President.
26^th Yugoslavian air stewardess Vesna Vulovic is the only survivor when her plane crashes in Czechoslovakia. She survived after falling 33,330 ft in the tail section of the aircraft.

February

3-13 1972 Winter Olympics are held in Sapporo, Japan
4^th Mariner 9 sends pictures as it orbits Mars.
13^th The Musical Grease first opens on Broadway
17^th Volkswagen Beetle sales exceeded the 15,007,034 that Ford Model T’s that had been produced.

March

13^th Clifford Irving admits to a New York court that he had fabricated Howard Hughes autobiography.
15^th The Godfather has its premiere at the Loew’s State Theatre in New York City.
30^th Vietnam War Easter Offensive began after North Vietnamese forces crossed into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) of South Vietnam.

April

17^th The first Boston Marathon in which women were officially allowed to compete.
29^th The fourth anniversary of the Broadway musical Hair is celebrated with a free concert at a Central Park bandshell, followed by dinner at the Four Seasons. 13 Black Panther protesters and the show’s co-author, Jim Rado were arrested for disturbing the peace and for using marijuana.

May

2^nd Fire at the Sunshine Mine, a silver mine in Idaho, killed 91.
13^th A fire in a nightclub atop the Sennichi department store in Osaka, Japan, caused death of 115.
15^th Okinawa is returned to Japan after 27 years of US occupation.
26^th The Magnavox Odyssey video game system is first demoed, marking it the first of the video games. The game would go on sale in August.
27^th Mark Donohue won the Indianapolis 500 in the Penske Racing McLaren-Offenhauser.

June

14^th The first Popeyes fried chicken restaurant opens in the New Orleans suburb of Arabi, Louisiana.
26^th Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney co-found Atari
28^th President Nixon announced that no new military draftees would be sent to Vietnam.

July

10^th India’s news agency reported that at least 24 people have been killed in separate incidents, in the Chandka Forest in India, by elephants crazed by heat and drought.
21^st Comedian George Carlin is arrested by Milwaukee police for public obscenity, for reciting his Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television at Summerfest.

August

1^st US Senator Thomas Eagleton, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, withdraws from the race after revealing he was once treated for mental illness.
2^nd Gold hits record $70 per ounce in London
19^th The first daytime episode of the second incarnation of the game show The Price Is Right is taped at CBS Television City, to be aired on September 4^thwith host Bob Barker.

September

1^st Bobby Fischer defeated Boris Spassky in a chess match in Reykjavik, Iceland, to become the first American World Chess Champion.
6^th 11 Israel Athletes were murdered by an Arab Gunman at the Munich Olympics
10^th The Brazilian race car driver, Emerson Fittipaldi won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza making him the youngest Formula One World Champion driver.
17^th The television series M*A*S*H began on CBS.

October

25^th The first female FBI agents are hired.

November

7^th Richard Nixon defeated Senator George McGovern in a landslide presidential election. Said to be the lowest voter turn out since 1948 with only 55% of the electorate voting.
12^th Richard Petty won the 22^nd NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship
14^th The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 1,000 for the first time.
30^th White House press secretary announced that troop levels in Vietnam were now down to 27,000.

1972 Dolphins Jim Kiick (21), Larry Csonka (39), and Mercury Morris (22)

December

11^th Apollo 17 lands on the Moon.
16^th Miami Dolphins become the 1st undefeated NFL team
31^st US ban on the pesticide DDT takes effect.

To give you a look at what things cost in 1972 take a look at these examples:

Gas $.36 per gallon
Wrangler Jeans $12.00 per pair
Ground Beef $.98 per pound
Ford Pinto $2,078.00
Can of Fruit Cocktail $.20
Frisbee $.94
First Class Stamp $.10
Dozen Eggs $.52
Gallon of Milk $1.20
Big Mac $.65
McDonald’s Hamburger $.28
McDonald’s Cup of Coffee $.20
Average Monthly Rent $165.00
Average Cost of a new house $27,500.00
Average household income $9,600.00

I hope you enjoyed our nostalgic look back to the year 1972. I can assure you that we enjoyed putting it together for you. Remember to check out our web site www.dalescollectibles.com often as it does change, new and interesting additions are frequently taking place, we hope you enjoy it

Notes Of Nostalgia 1966

By Dale “Diamond” Hansen

What were you doing in 1966? Were you what was called a love child, you know part of the hippie generation with love beads, tie-dye and sandals? Were you in Vietnam or in college? Was it before your time? Maybe it is something that you have heard about but did not experience? Whatever happens to be the situation, 1966 was an interesting year. 1966 was a big part of the Hippie Generation, Vietnam Conflict, Protests, Drugs and of course music. You heard about Haight Ashbury and the flower children in San Francisco, you heard a lot about psychedelic music and yes the British Invasion which was underway. Music was changing, long hair was huge, there were strobe lights, light shows and concerts in places like the Fillmore and Avalon and many others not just in the San Francisco area but across this country. It was a time of change and music was played a big part.

Let’s look at the year 1966 and what was really happening:

First let’s look at the top 40 songs for that year:

The Ballad Of The Green Beret Sgt. Barry Sadler
(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration Righteous Brothers
Reach Out I’ll Be There Four Tops
Poor Side of Town Johnny Rivers
Paperback Writer Beatles
California Dreamin’ Mama’s and The Papa’s
Lightnin’ Strikes Lou Christie
Kicks Paul Revere and the Raiders
Ain’t Too Proud to Beg Temptations
Good Lovin’ Young Rascals
Devil With A Blue Dress Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels
Good Vibrations Beach Boys
The Pied Piper Crispian St. Peters
Last Train To Clarksville Monkees
Summer in The City Lovin’ Spoonful
Can’t Hurry Love Supremes
We Can Work It Out Beatles
Little Red Riding Hood Sam The Sham and the Pharaohs
Wipeout Safaris
Barbara Ann Beach Boys
These Boots Are Made for Walkin Nancy Sinatra
96 Tears ? and The Mysterians
Monday Monday Mama’s and The Papa’s
Born Free Roger Williams
Cherish Association
When A Man Loves A Woman Percy Sledge
Paint It Black Rolling Stones
B-A-B-Y Carla Thomas
Hanky Panky Tommy James and the Shondells
Just Like Me Paul Revere and The Raiders
Strangers In The Night Frank Sinatra
Sunshine Superman Donovan
You Keep Me Hangin’ On Supremes
Sweet Pea Tommy Roe
I’m Your Puppet James and Bobby Purify
Bus Stop Hollies
Lady Godiva Peter and Gordon
See You In September Happenings
I Fought The Law Bobby Fuller Four
You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me Dusty Springfield

The music industry went through some very interesting things in 1966, the British bands were strong and had their styles although some moved a bit toward the heavier side, some of the well known acts in the US that had been big on the charts for a long while began to feel overshadowed by both the British Invasion and the onslaught of psychedelic music from the bands like Iron Butterfly, Moby Grape, Vanilla Fudge, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and others so they tried to make changes to how they looked, performed and the music they released so they would not be squeezed out by the others new found and growing popularity.

In many cases Radio Stations began changing formats, some to include the heavier sounds, others to switch completely to the heavier psychedelic music or acid rock as many called it. Still others stuck with the more commercial sounds that were frequently on top 40 radio. To sum up the changes, what used to be top 40 radio now was taking on a new meaning and mix, it was really a different time that had to be worked with. The time saw radio station programmers making changes in hopes of keeping their listeners and ultimately their advertisers. This was the challenge that brought on changes in most larger cities.

In 1966 the popular TV show Shindig broadcast its final show on January 8th with special guests The Kinks and The Who. On January 14th David Jones changes his last name to Bowie to avoid being confused with Davy Jones of the Monkees.

The Wrecking Crew 1966 The Beach Boys Good Vibrations Vinyl Album — Carol Kaye & The Wrecking Crew, Recording Good Vibrations 1966

In February Brian Wilson started recording “Good Vibrations” with The Wrecking Crew and that continued for several months. This was an effort for a different more in tune with the times’ style for the Beach Boys. The Animals made their fifth appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show to perform their iconic Vietnam era hit, “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place”. Also, in February Jefferson Airplane and Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis Joplin performed together at the Filmore with an outstanding light show.

In March The Byrds released the psychedelic single “Eight Miles High” in the United States which was banned in a number of states because of the lyrics advocating drug use. Even with that going on the song reached number 14 on the Billboard 100 chart. On March 15th country singer Roger Miller won six Grammy Awards, five of them related to his hit King of the Road. The Statler Brothers won two awards for their country hit Flowers On The Wall.

In the month of April Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass set a record by placing five albums simultaneously on Billboard’s Pop Album Chart, four of them went top 10. April 12th was the day that Jan Berry of Jan and Dean, crashed his Corvette into a truck that was parked on Whittier Boulevard. After the crash Berry was in a two-month long coma and suffered total physical paralysis for over a year and extensive brain damage.

In May the Rolling Stones released “Paint It Black” which became the first number one hit single in the US and UK to feature a sitar. Then in May, Bob Dylan and the Hawks (who were later known as the Band) played a concert at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England. Dylan got booed by the audience because of his decision to tour with an electric band, those boos culminated in the famous “Judas” shout. At the end of May the group Them of Gloria fame, led by Van Morrison, began a three week gig as the headliner act at the Whisky A Go-Go on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. On the last night of that stay they were joined on stage by the weeks opening act, The Doors with Jim Morrison. It was a rare moment in music history when Morrison and Morrison sang “Gloria” together. The crowd went nuts.

In June Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention released their debut album Freak Out.

In July The Beatles became the first musical group to perform at the Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo. The performance met with protests from many local citizens who felt it was not proper for a rock and roll band to play there. Later that month the super group Cream featuring Eric Clapton on guitar, Ginger Baker on drums and Jack Bruce on bass guitar and lead vocals did their first concert at the Windsor in the UK at the Jazz & Blues Festival.

The Beatles 1966 The Revolver Vinyl Album — The Beatles – Revolver Album – 1966

In August The Beatles released the Revolver album. On the 29th of August The Beatles performed their last official concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The Beatles took the stage at 9.27pm and performed 11 songs. The group knew it was to be their final concert and because of that John and Paul took a camera on the stage with which they took pictures of the crowd, the rest of the group, and themselves at arm’s length. Before one of the last numbers George said that they set the camera up on an amplifier and Ringo got off the drums, the whole group stood with their backs to the crowd and posed for a photograph, a memory for them of their last concert.

The Monkees first TV Episode was broadcast by NBC on the 12th of September. On September 23rd, The Yardbirds debuted their new twin lead guitar lineup, featuring Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, at Royal Albert Hall in London, opening for the Rolling Stones 1966 UK Tour. The day after that concert Jimi Hendrix arrived in London to record with producer manager Chas Chandler.

On October 8th radio station WOR-FM in New York City became the first FM rock music station under the leadership of DJ Murray The K. Later in October The Supremes with their album Supremes A’ Go-Go became the first all female group to reach number one on the US Billboard 200 chart wich was a very exciting achievement. On the 15th of October Billboard increased the length of its Hot Country Singles chart to 75 positions as country music’s popularity began to grow.

November 9th is when John Lennon met Yoko Ono. It was when he attended a preview of her art exhibition at the Indica Gallery in London. Later in November The Yardbirds announced that Jeff Beck had left the band, leaving Jimmy Page as the sole guitarist in the group and it was soon after that the beginnings of Led Zeppelin started to take place.

In December of that year The Who released their second album, “A Quick One” which included a nine minute “mini-opera” called “A Quick One While He’s Away”. Also in December The Jimi Hendrix Experience released their first single in the UK, “Hey Joe”.

In 1966 Mississippi was the last state to repeal prohibition on alcoholic beverages after the national prohibition which had actually ended in 1933. That same year saw car prices like the Oldsmobile 98 Town Sedan selling for $3,399.00. A desktop calculator cost over $1000. Stephanie Kwoleck invented Kevlar, pound for pound, five times stronger than steel. Top movies were Hawaii and The Bible. Bonanza was rated the number 1 TV show. This was the year the first ATM machine came to be.

The Watts Riots happened in Los Angeles, CA. In January of 1966 the Road Safety Act was passed and that lead to the use of the Breathalyzer. On January 12 President Lyndon Johnson announced that the US should stay in South Vietnam until the communist aggression was ended. In March the US announced about 8,000 more U.S. soldiers landed in South Vietnam bringing the number of troops to a total of 190,000. On January 29th the first of a total of 608 performances of the play, Sweet Charity opened at the Palace Theatre in New York City it was a great play and a long run.

1966 was a big year for Paul Van Doren. He established his small shoe company that is still going strong today. It was Van Shoe Company in California. The Van’s brand is still very large and very well known.

This was the year that Roberta “Bobbi” Gibb became the first woman to run the entire Boston Marathon. She is recognized by the Boston Athletic Association as the pre-sanctioned era women’s winner in 1966, 1967 and 1968. This pre-sanctioned era covered the years from 1966 to 1971 when women were banned from entering the Men’s Division Race because of their gender, but ran and finished the race

Gibb’s run in 1966 challenged prevalent prejudices and misconceptions about women’s athletic capabilities

In February the Soviet space probe Luna 9 was the first artificial satellite to land on the moon. Then the following month they launched Luna 10 and that became the first space probe to orbit the moon.

March 16th NASA spacecraft Gemini 8 (David Scott and Neil Armstrong) conducted the first docking in space with an Agena target vehicle.

In May, Fidel Castro announced martial law in Cuba because of a possible US attack.

In June the Gemini 9 with Gene Cernan completes the second US spacewalk it was 3 hours and 7 minutes. On June 8th in 1966 Topeka, Kansas was devastated by a tornado that registered a F5 on the Fujita scale. The magnitude of this storm was so powerful that it traveled from the southwest of the city to the northeast, causing the deaths of 17 people and more than $104 million in damage. The tornado was on the ground for 34 minutes and damaged an area 21 miles long and one-half mile wide. The campus of Washburn University suffered catastrophic damage. On June 30th The National Organization for Women (NOW) was founded in Washington DC.

On July 4th President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Freedom of Information Act which was to go into effect after the first of the year. On July 11th British Motor Corporation and Jaguar Cars announced plans to merge as British Motor Holdings.

In August Martin Luther King Jr lead a civil rights march in Chicago, during which he was struck by a rock thrown from an angry white mob. In Las Vegas Caesars Palace hotel and casino opened. On August 7th race riots erupted in Lansing Michigan. Also in August Lunar Orbiter 1, the first U.S. spacecraft to orbit the moon, was launched

Star Trek 1966 — *William Shatner & The Cast Of Star Trek, 1966*

On September 8th Star Trek the television series, debuted on NBC Television in the United States with its first episode, titled “The Man Trap”. On the 11th Gemini 11 with Richard F Gordon, Jr and

Pete Conrad docked with an Agena target vehicle. On September 18th the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum opened to the public.

In October the State of California made LSD illegal in California and it was also in October that LSD was made illegal in the United States and controlled so strictly that not only were possession and recreational use criminalized, but all legal scientific research programs on the drug in the US were shut down.

On October 16th Grace Slick performed for the first time with the Jefferson Airplane giving the group a new and exciting sound. This is also the month that Toyota introduced the Toyota Carolla car a version of which is still in production today. President Lyndon B Johnson signed a bill creating the United States Department of Transportation.

In the world of sports October of 1966 was when the US Congress approved the merger of AFL-NFL.

In November The National Football League awarded the league’s sixteenth franchise to the city of New Orleans. Actor Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California. On November 15th Gemini 12 with James A. Lovell and Buzz Aldrin splashed down safely in the Atlantic Ocean close to the Bahamas.

Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse, 1966, Disneyland

In December we lost Walt Disney who died during the production of The Jungle Book. Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, narrated by Boris Karloff, premiered on the CBS network, beginning an annual Christmas tradition in the United States.

The World Series Champions in 1966 were the Baltimore Orioles. NFL Champs were the Green Bay Packers while in the AFL Kansas City Chiefs were dominate in their division. Boston Celtics were the NBA Champions and the Kentucky Derby was won by Kuaui King.

The 1966 NASCAR Grand National Series was won by David Pearson with 15 wins during the season. This was the year that NASCAR allowed the return of the Chrysler Hemi engine and it was the year that Ford decided to boycott NASCAR for the season. Second place went to James Hylton

I hope you enjoyed our nostalgic look back to the year 1966. I can assure you that we enjoyed putting it together for you. Remember to check out our web site www.dalescollectibles.com often as it does change, new and interesting additions are frequently taking place, we hope you enjoy it.