Hey Otterites!
This will be a quickie post as it is late at Studio M and Wilson the Wonder Doodle is still waking us up some in the night.
Robert, Francis and I were recently discussing music and I’ve been kicking around in my head some of the stuff we talked about. In particular, we talked some classic rock albums and it struck me that 1971 saw some really landmark, classic albums released.
The Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers, Led Zeppelin’s Led Zeppelin IV, The Who’s Who’s Next and The Doors’ L.A. Woman were all released in 1971. Pretty wild right? That’s just a sample. Those are 4 of the greatest rock albums of all time. Huge sellers.
In addition, Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle crash, and Jim Morrison was found dead in a Paris hotel. Queen performs live for the first time. Elton John has his first international hit. The Montreux Casino burns down after a Frank Zappa fan shoots a flare into the ceiling, all while Deep Purple watches from across Lake Geneva.
All of this against a background of incredible news events. Nixon announces he will go to China. Manson and his followers are convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Bangladesh announces independence from Pakistan. The Pentagon Papers are published. The voting age is lowered to 18. Disney World opens in Florida. A man calling himself DB Cooper hijacks a plane and receives a $200,000 ransom. He’s never seen again after parachuting from the plane. The first email is sent over ARPANET. The South Vietnamese Army invades Laos. Idi Amin takes over Uganda in a coup. Nixon draws down US combat forces in Vietnam to under 200,000 men.
Eventful stuff. I think we may have to do an episode on 1971. A crossover between history and pop culture. Could be interesting Otterites.
