1974 was a year of real music discovery for me. Growing up as a teen listening primarily to Top 40 AM Radio, I had no idea what depths of Rock music were out there until I landed my first on-air gig on an FM Stereo station.  It was Saturday October 5, 1974.  The first record I led off with after the 4pm Legal ID was a “Current”:  Billy Swan’s “I Can Help”.  Still in high school at the time, I was scared out of my wits that afternoon!  Much calmer now in my old age, it’s time to resurrect some musical memories from the days of my first taste of DJ-ing on the FM dial.

Radio was shifting and the younger generation was moving in droves from Top 40 AM hit radio stations to deeper, more progressive offerings on FM.  In that year, we were introduced for the first time to bands like Bad Company, Supertramp, The Atlanta Rhythm Section, Robin Trower, Jefferson Starship, and Golden Earring (just to name a few).

Rock’s newest fans also welcomed cross-over taste-makers from the Alt-Country, Fusion Jazz and Soul genres into their world.

In 1974:

• Minimum wage in the U.S. was $2.00 per hour
• The average annual income was $13,869
• A new car set you back $3,756
• You could build a new house for $34,900
• A loaf of bread was 35 cents
• A full-service gallon of gas was 55 cents
• First Class postage was only 10 cents

1974 World News Headlines:

• Arabs ended the oil embargo to the United States
• Eqypt ended its reliance on Russian arms
• Iranian and Iraqi troops clashed at the border
• Golda Meir resigned as premier of Israel
• Soviet ballet dancer Mikhail Barysnikov defected to the West
• Sears Tower in Chicago became the world’s tallest building

1974 U.S. News Headlines:

• Faced with impeachment over the Watergate scandal, President Nixon resigned, and was succeeded by Vice President Gerald Ford
• Patty Hearst, daughter of multimillionaire publisher Randolph Hearst, was abducted by the Symbionese Liberation Army
• President Ford pardoned former President Nixon
• Hank Aaron hit his historic 715th home run, breaking Babe Ruth’s record
• People magazine launched the era of celebrity journalism with Mia Farrow on the cover
• Muhammed Ali knocked out George Forman to regain his heavyweight title

The top TV shows in 1974:  All in the Family, Sanford & Son, The Jeffersons, M*A*S*H*, Rhoda, Chico and The Man, Good Times, The Waltons, Maude, Kojak, Happy Days, The F.B.I., The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Rockford Files, Little House on the Prairie, S.W.A.T., and The Bob Newhart Show

Favorite movies from 1974:  The Godfather – Part II, Chinatown, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, The Conversation, The Towering Inferno, The Great Gatsby, Murder on the Orient Express, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Earthquake, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Amarcord, Harry & Tonto, Death Wish, Emanuelle, Benji, The Longest Yard, The Groove Tube, Freebie and the Bean, The Trial of Billy Jack, and Zardoz

Hear the great Progressive Rock that dotted the FM airwaves plus lifestyle and memorable events from 1974 on-the-air right now on both TuneIn and Live365 streaming apps!

Thanks for listening!

– Fred