1972 was one of the best years for Progressive Art Rock! This year brought with it a lot of musical discovery and variety — heavier British artistic influence, American singer-songwriter ballads and Top 40 Pop standards that featured strong hooks — it was all there! As a mid-teen in 1972, my musical tastes were beginning to take shape as I’m sure yours were, too. It was a blast!
In my opinion, Jethro Tull’s 1972 “Thick As A Brick” was, and still is, the best produced single composition of all-time. With that said, I’d love to know who your favorite artists and bands were from this year, so hit me back!
Also In 1972:
- Minimum wage in the U.S. was $1.60 per hour
- The average annual income was $11,859
- A new car set you back $3,853
- You could build a new house for $27,600
- A loaf of bread was 25 cents
- A full-service gallon of gas was 55 cents
- First Class postage was only 8 cents!
1972 World News Headlines:
- President Nixon became the first U.S. president to visit China & Moscow
- East & West Germany signed a treaty to normalize relations
- Arabs massacred 11 Israeli athletes at the Summer Olympics in Munich
- Britain imposed direct rule on Northern Ireland
- A 6.2 earthquake killed over 10,000 people
1972 U.S. News Headlines:
- Five burglars were charged with breaking into the Washington, D.C. office of the Democratic National Committee, located in the Watergate complex
- Alabama Governor George Wallace, a controversial presidential candidate, was shot by a sniper, but continued his quest for the White House
- Senator George McGovern chose Sargent Shriver as his VP running mate on the Democratic ticket
- Richard Nixon won a second term in the White House
- Apollo 17, the 6th and final moon landing was completed
- American swimmer Mark Spitz won a record seven gold medals at the Munich Olympics
The top TV shows in 1972: The Waltons, The Bob Newhart Show, Maude, Emergency!, Sanford & Son, The Streets of San Francisco, The Rookies, M*A*S*H* and The Price is Right
Favorite movies from 1972: The Godfather, Cabaret, Deliverance, The Poseidon Adventure, Sleuth, High Plains Drifter, Last Tango in Paris, Slaughterhouse Five, The Heartbreak Kid, The Concert for Bangladesh, Deep Throat, The Life & Times of Judge Roy Bean, Fritz the Cat, Butterflies Are Free, and Lady Sings the Blues
Hear my progressive free-form FM sounds of 1972 spinning right now on TuneIn and Live 365!
Thank you for listening to and supporting our station!
– Fred
How about anything from Doremi Fasol Latido by Hawkwind. Thanks.
HELLO,
First I want to tank you from the bottom of my heart fro what you are doing with Album Retro Rock.
I feel that the band WAR was a great force in the 70’s and truly brought people together and possibly exposed the world to some of the lives certain people were living at the time.
I think you should feature Cisco Kid and The World Is A Ghetto off the album of the same name from 1972.
Thanks again for your work.
Hi Donald! — Thanks for the kind words! I hope you’ve been able to catch your War songs throughout this past week. I appreciate you listening to “Retro Album Rock”, and I hope that each week of music provides some new surprises and some good memories for you. If you don’t mind me asking…. What part of the U.S. or the world are you located? Again, thanks for listening! All the best, Fred
Gotta play Roadrunner by the Modern Lovers