1973 ROCK AT THE CROSSROADS - Andrew Grant Jackson


One of my children is very much interested in music and, because I listened to a lot of what we now call 'classic rock', he is also quite fond of this music period. We've talked about it quite often and how I always felt that there was a real strength of music and musicians in the early 1970's. I don't think I realized quite a how strong that period actually was.

This is an incredibly detailed account of the pop/rock (with some crossover to other genres) music scene in one very specific year. Author Andrew Grant Jackson has selected 1973 for a reason, which he expresses in the book (I won't spoil the read).

I listened to a lot of music on radio in 1973 (there weren't a lot of options for a junior high student back then) and I've long felt that this was a great period for music and Jackson proceeds, month by month, to show just why this really was a remarkable year. Putting it together like this, really provides a nice timeline for everything that was happening.  More than once I had the thought: "That was in 1973, too?!"

There were moments that I found just a bit dull, but this was specifically only when Jackson was writing about artists whose work I personally didn't care for or follow. Even so, it was really interesting to note that such music and performers were working at this same time.

I requested this book based on the theme of rock music, but this book works very well as a history book (narrowly focused on music, of course) and as a social studies book of 1973. So many different things were happening in 1973 and music, specifically rock music, was at the forefront of commentary about what was happening. 

It was interesting to me that (according to Jackson), "In 1973, AM still garnered more listeners than FM. On many AM Top 40 stations, rock, R&B, pop, easy listening, and country coexisted." When my small town got their FM station I couldn't say, but I did listen to it a LOT during my high school years.  Back when live DJ's and call in shows/requests were common.

Really a great book and easy to recommend.

Looking for a good book? 1973: Rock at the Crossroads by Andrew Grant Jackson is a well-researched, fascinating history of a really important year in rock music.  You should read it.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

 4-1/2 stars

* * * * * *

1973: Rock at the Crossroads

author: Andrew Grant Jackson

publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

ISBN: 1250299985

hardcover, 448 pages

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

VINYL RESTING PLACE - Olivia Blacke

Image
 Juni Jessup and her two sister, Tansy and Maggie, have gone into business together in their hometown of Cedar River, Texas, opening a combination record store and coffee shop. Vinyl LPs are making a comeback after all, despite critics thinking the medium was dead.  But speaking of 'dead' ... finding a dead body in the supply closet just as they are looking to have a grand opening is not part of the plan.  Juni's life gets more complicated when their uncle, Calvin, already a suspect in the murder, disappears. And the police officer leading the investigation is Juni's EX-boyfriend (who passive-aggressively keeps putting himself back into her life). Convinced that her uncle would never murder anyone, Juni sets out to prove his innocence - which isn't easy since he's making himself look guilty - because Calvin is family and family is EVERYthing to Juni. As readers of my blog know, I'm not a big fan of most cozy mysteries, but the setting caught my eye and my in...
Read more

THE WALLED CITY - Ryan Graudin

Image
  Jin and her sister, Mei Yee, were taken and sold and then sent to the lawless Walled City to serve as prostitutes or slaves to anyone willing to pay. Jin managed to escape her captivity, but not the Walled City and she now lurks about, disguised as a boy and is trying to track down the brothel where her sister is still captive. Jin will work odd delivery jobs to earn a small bit of money and hopefully have a legitimate means of coming in contact with her sister's captors.  This is how she meets up with Dai, a mysterious boy who has somehow managed to avoid running with any of the gangs in the city but he seems to have his own unusual connections, which Jon could desperately use if she has any hope of finding Mei Yee. But Dai has his own desperate needs.  The story is told from the different perspectives of each character and we do bounce around quite a bit as the chapters are generally short. This never bothered me, which is slightly unusual as often I find this techni...
Read more

THE RAVEN THIEF - Gigi Pandian

Image
 With Tempest Raj now a member of the company, Secret Staircase Construction (a company who, as their title suggests, builds mystery-themed, secret rooms inside homes) has finished their first job. Their client now wants to celebrate to kick off her new beginning - new home and new life now that she's divorced from her cheating ex-husband, famous mystery author Corbin Colt. First up, a mock séance to remove any trace of Corbin from the property, led by Tempest's friend, Sanjay.   But during that séance, while all those gathered sat in a dark room holding hands, Corbin's dead body crashes the party, falling across the table in front of everyone. There were eight people in the room, and they were all holding hands, but all the evidence points to one of them being the murderer.  Suspicions point to Ash, Tempest's grandfather, because he was the only one with Corbin's blood on him. Of course, as a doctor, he was also the only one who checked on the body - ...
Read more