1970 – The Birth of Free-Form FM

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19701970 — More peace marches and war protests…and then there was Kent State. What a senseless tragedy. 1970 also marked the birth of Progressive Free-Form FM radio stations. They began popping up in a lot of major U.S. cities as an alternative listening experience to Top 40 Hit Radio. Long, deep album tracks were finally exposed to the masses through all genres: Art Rock, British Invasion, American Folk, Bluegrass, Singer-Songwriter, R&B, Jazz, etc. Needless to say, it was a most pleasurable offering to the young folks yearning to discover as much new music as one could absorb. And the new FM exposure drove album sales for many previously-unheard-of artists who would eventually become household acts

In 1970:

  • Minimum wage in the U.S. was $1.60 per hour
  • The average annual income was $9,357
  • A new car set you back $3,979
  • You could build a new house for $23,400
  • A loaf of bread was 24 cents
  • A full-service gallon of gas was just 36 cents
  • First Class postage was only 6 cents!

1970 World News Headlines:

  • The heads of West and East Germany met for the first time
  • Anwar Sadat was elected president of the United Arab Republic (Egypt)
  • A 7.7 earthquake in Peru killed more than 60,000
  • A 7.1 earthquake in Turkey killed 1,300
  • The Soviet Soyuz 9 set the longest manned space record at 17 days, 16 hours & 59 minutes
  • England lowered its legal age from 21 to 18

1970 U.S. News Headlines:

  • President Nixon sent combat units into Cambodia
  • At Kent State University, National Guardsmen fired into a crowd protesting the Vietnam War, killing four and wounding eight
  • In New York, the nation’s most liberal abortion law went into effect
  • The Clean Air Act passed restricting emission of pollutants
  • The Environmental Protection Agency was created, and the first Earth Day celebration occurred in April 1970
  • The U.S. lowered its voting age from 21 to 18

The top TV shows in 1970:  Marcus Welby M.D., Here’s Lucy, Ironside, Gunsmoke, Hawaii Five-O, Medical Center, Bonanza, The FBI, The Mod Squad, Adam-12, Mannix, Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, Hee Haw, My Three Sons, The Partridge Family, All My Children, and The Odd Couple.

Favorite movies from 1970:  Patton, Woodstock, M*A*S*H*, Little Big Man, Five Easy Pieces, Tora! Tora! Tora!, The AristoCats, Love Story, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Airport, Gimme Shelter, Ryan’s Daughter, Myra Breckinridge, Chisum, Women In Love, and THX-1138.

Hear the progressive free-form FM sounds of 1970 along with TV, Movie, News, Sports and lifestyle memories right now on both Live365 and TuneIn apps!

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-Fred