1974 is calling! I don't know why. Something about the year 1974 lately has been badgering at my brain and I think the only way to exorcize it is to blog it. Maybe that will lay the ghost of 1974 to rest so it will stop popping up in my everyday life time after time after time. In the last week or so, the year 1974 has continually popped up constantly -- so it must be trying to tell me something. Now, 1974 was a good year for me. Being a kid and all. It was coming home from school to watch The Three Stooges and episodes of "The Mothers-In-Law" among many others. This was on the black and white TV I had in my room. You know, the one you had to reach over and turn the dial to change the channel. And what channels there were: 3 main ones (once known as VHF -- they were 3, 6 and 10), 3 local ones (once known as good ole UHF -- they were 17, 29 and 48), two public TV channels (WHYY-12 and NJN 23 the New Jersey Network). That was it, pal. Of course, late at night you MIGHT be able to just tune in an extremely snowy glimpse of a New York channel like Channel 9 or 11. Then there were weekends at my grandparents Westfield Avenue humongo house (5 storeys including the basement which once had been a Speakeasy during Prohibition -- but that's another story).

So what happened in 1974. Besides my being in the third grade, that is. Well, there was that whole Watergate thing. That was fun. The Symbionese Liberation Army kidnapped Patty Hearst and made her help them in a stick-up. There was the energy crisis and the oil embargo. ABBA wins the Eurovision Song Contest with "Waterloo". Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's home run record with # 715. Stephen King published his first novel: "CARRIE". Formal impeachment hearings are opened for President Nixon who later becomes the first president to resign from office. Helmut Schmidt was elected West German chancellor. Valery Giscard d'Estaing is elected French president after the death of Georges Pompidou. The Philadelphia Flyers win the Stanley Cup. The first UPC code is scanned in Troy, Ohio in the sale of a pack of Wrigley's chewing gum. Juan Peron died and his wife Eva "Evita" Peron becomes President of Argentina. Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia is deposed. Harold Wilson wins the second election of the year in the UK. Newly-sworn-in President Gerald Ford pardons Richard Nixon for any wrongdoing he done did as President. It's what's known as a presidential do-over!

WHO WAS BORN IN 1974???:

• Kate Moss, fashion model
• Christian Bale, actor
• Seth Green, actor
• D'Angelo, singer

• Robbie Williams, singer
• Victoria Beckham, singer
• Penelope Cruz, actress
• Jewel, singer
• Alanis Morissette, singer
• Steve-O, jackass
• Hilary Swank, actress
• Xzibit, rapper
• Jimmy Fallon, comedian
• Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR driver

• Shaggy 2 Dope, rapper
• Joaquin Phoeniz, actor
• Leonardo DiCaprio, actor
• Meg White, drummer
• Duff Goldman, celebrity chef

• Fairuza Balk, actress
• Jerry O'Connell, actor

• Pablo Francisco, comedian

WHO DIED IN 1974???:

• Tex Ritter, singer/actor
• Samuel Goldwyn, movie mogul
• Harry Ruby, songwriter
• Chet Huntley, TV news anchor
• Georges Pompidou, French President
• Bud Abbott, comedian

• Agnes Moorehead, actress
• Duke Ellington, musician
• Darius Milhaud, composer
• Frank Sutton, actor
• Juan Peron, President of Argentina
• Earl Warren, Supreme Court Justice
• Joe Flynn, actor
• Cass Elliot, singer
• Charles Lindbergh, aviator
• Ed Sullivan, TV host
• David Oistrakh, violinist
• Vittorio DeSica, director

• Nick Drake, singer

• Jack Benny, comedian
• Edward Platt, actor
• Donald Crisp, actor
• Ilona Massey, actress
• Olga Baclanova, actress
• Walter Brennan, actor
• Johnny Mack Brown, actor
• Richard Long, actor
• Anatole Litvak, director
• Dorothy Fields, songwriter
• Candy Darling, actor
• Anton Grot, art director
• Clay Shaw, businessman
• Hubbell Robinson, producer
• Ivory Joe Hunter, singer
• Otto Kruger, actor
• Jane Ace, comedian

THE MOVIES OF 1974:

• The Towering Inferno
• Blazing Saddles
• Young Frankenstein
• Earthquake
• The Trial of Billy Jack
• The Godfather Part II
• Airport 1975
• The Longest Yard
• The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams
• Murder On the Orient Express
• Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
• The Beast Must Die
• Benji

• Chinatown
• F For Fake
• Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
• The Great Gatsby
• Herbie Rides Again
• The Man with the Golden Gun
• Son of Dracula
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
• That's Entertainment!
• The Three Musketeers
• A Woman Under the Influence
• Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too
• Zardoz
• Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter

• Foxy Brown
• Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell
• The Golden Voyage of Sinbad
• Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires
• Madhouse
• The Missiles of October
• Let Sleeping Corpses Lie aka The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue
• Phantom of the Paradise
• Sugar Hill

THE ALBUMS WE LISTENED TO IN 1974:

• 461 Ocean Boulevard - Eric Clapton

• Apostrophe - Frank Zappa
• Autobahn - Kraftwerk
• Bad Company - Bad Company

• Caribou - Elton John
• Court and Spark - Joni Mitchell
• Crime of the Century - Supertramp
• Dark Horse - George Harrison
• Diamond Dogs - David Bowie
• Eldorado - Electric Light Orchestra
• Fine and Mellow - Ella Fitzgerald
• Fulfillingness' First Finale - Stevie Wonder
• Good Old Boys - Randy Newman
• Greatest Hits - Alice Cooper
• Grievous Angel - Gram Parsons
• The Heart of Saturday Night - Tom Waits
• Here Come the Warm Jets - Brian Eno
• Hergest Ridge - Mike Oldfield
• It's Only Rock 'n' Roll - The Rolling Stones
• Jolene - Dolly Parton
• Kansas - Kansas
• Late For the Sky - Jackson Browne
• The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway - Genesis
• Miles of Aisles - Joni Mitchell
• Natty Dread - Bob Marley
• Nightlife - Thin Lizzy
• #1 Record - Big Star
• On the Border - The Eagles
• Past, Present and Future - Al Stewart
• Perfect Angel - Minnie Riperton
• Pretzel Logic - Steely Dan
• Queen II - Queen
• Rush - Rush
• Second Helping - Lynyrd Skynyrd
• Sheer Heart Attack - Queen
• The Singles: 1969-1973 - The Carpenters
• Standing on the Verge of Getting It On - Funkadelic
• Streetlife Serenade - Billy Joel
• Up For the Down Stroke - Parliament
• War Child - Jethro Tull
• Waterloo - ABBA
• What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits - The Doobie Brothers

THE SONGS OF 1974:

• The Air That I Breathe - The Hollies
• Already Gone - The Eagles
• American Tune - Paul Simon
• Another Saturday Night - Cat Stevens
• At My Window - Townes Van Zandt
• Aubrey - Bread
• Back of a Car - Big Star
• Bad Company - Bad Company
• Band On the Run - Paul McCartney & Wings
• Beach Baby - First Class
• Best of My Love - The Eagles
• Billy, Don't Be A Hero - Paper Lace
• The Bitch Is Back - Elton John
• Black Eyed Dog - Nick Drake
• Black Water - The Doobie Brothers
• Boogie On, Reggae Woman - Stevie Wonder
• The Bottle - Gil Scott-Heron
• Bungle in the Jungle - Jethro Tull
• The Candy Man - Sammy Davis Jr.
• Can't Get Enough - Bad Company
• Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe - Barry White
• Can't Get It Out of My Head - Electric Light Orchestra
• Captain Jack - Billy Joel
• Cats in the Cradle - Harry Chapin
• The Cockroach that Ate Cincinatti - Rose & the Arrangement
• Dancing Machine - The Jackson 5
• Dark Lady - Cher
• Devil Gate Drive - Suzi Quatro
• Doctor's Orders - Carol Douglas
• Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me - Elton John
• Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing - Stevie Wonder
• A Dream Goes On Forever - Todd Rundgren
• Earache My Eye - Cheech & Chong
• Fire - Ohio Players
• Free Man in Paris - Joni Mitchell
• Haven't Got Time for the Pain - Carly Simon
• Heartless - Heart
• Help Me - Joni Mitchell
• Hollywood Swinging - Kool & the Gang
• Honey, Honey - ABBA
• How Long - Ace
• I Feel Love - Charlie Rich
• I Honestly Love You - Olivia Newton-John
• I Shot the Sheriff - Eric Clapton
• It Ain't No Use - Stevie Wonder
• It's Only Rock 'n' Roll - The Rolling Stones
• Jet - Paul McCartney & Wings
• Jungle Boogie - Kool & the Gang
• Killer Queen - Queen
• Kinsiona - Franco & OK Jazz
• Kung Fu Fighting - Carl Douglas
• Let It Ride - Bachman-Turner Overdrive
• Life is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me) - Reunion
• Lively Up Yourself - Bob Marley
• The Loco-Motion - Grand Funk Railroad
• Long Tall Glasses - Leo Sayer
• Louisiana 1927 - Randy Newman
• The Love I Lost - Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes
• Love's Theme - Love Unlimited Orchestra
• Machine Gun - The Commodores
• Magic - Pilot
• Midnight at the Oasis - Maria Muldaur
• The Night Chicago Died - Paper Lace
• No No Song/Skokiaan - Ringo Starr
• Nothing From Nothing - Billy Preston
• Oh Very Young - Cat Stevens
• The Payback - James Brown
• Pieces of a Man - Gil Scott-Heron
• Ragged Old Flag - Johnny Cash
• Ready For Love - Bad Company
• Rebel Rebel - David Bowie
• The Revolution Will Not Be Televised - Gil Scot-Heron
• Rikki Don't Lose That Number - Steely Dan
• Roads To Moscow - Al Stewart
• Rock On - David Essex
• Seasons in the Sun - Terry Jacks
• September Gurls - Big Star
• The Show Must Go On - Three Dog Night
• Smokin' in the Boys Room - Brownsville Station
• Some Kind of Wonderful - Grand Funk Railroad
• Still Crazy After All These Years - Paul Simon
• The Streak - Ray Stevens
• Summer Madness - Kool & the Gang
• Sundown - Gordon Lightfoot
• Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
• Takin' Care of Business - Bachman-Turner Overdrive
• Tell Me Something Good - Rufus & Chaka Khan
• Them Belly Full (But We Hungry) - Bob Marley
• Tin Man - America
• Waterloo - ABBA
• Whatever Gets You Through the Night - John Lennon featuring Elton John
• Who Do You Think You Are? - Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods
• Will It Go Round in Circles - Billy Preston
• Wishing You Were Here - Chicago
• You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet - Bachman-Turner Overdrive
• You Haven't Done Nothin' - Stevie Wonder
• You're the First, the Last, My Everything - Barry White

WHAT WAS ON TV IN 1974:

• Monty Python's Flying Circus
• Tattletales
• Doctor Who
• The Match Game
• Good Times
• Happy Days
• All in the Family
• Land of the Lost
• Rhoda
• Chico and the Man
• The Rockford Files
• The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson
• The Carol Burnett Show
• Mary Tyler Moore
• Hee Haw
• Sesame Street
• The Benny Hill Show
• The Odd Couple
• The Electric Company
• Columbo
• Old Grey Whistle Test
• Soul Train
• Are You Being Served?
• Emergency
• Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
• Kung Fu
• Maude
• M*A*S*H*
• Sanford and Son
• The Bob Newhart Show
• Kojak
• Last of the Summer Wine
• Schoolhouse Rock
• The Six Million Dollar Man
• Love American Style
• The Brady Bunch
• Here's Lucy
• The Partridge Family
• The Dean Martin Show
• The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour
• The Flip Wilson Show
• Star Trek: The Animated Series
• The Newlywed Game

Well, I certainly hope this careening down memory lane was a nostalgic blast for you (even if you weren't around the first time). And here's hoping the year of 1974 will now stop tormenting me and leave me alone -- perhaps giving 1985 a chance. Now, if only I could find my Pet Rock and my Invisible Dog on a Leash...