Although I was born in 1962, the decade of disco has always been my favorite. I have many childhood memories of growing up in the 1970s and I enjoy sharing these memories with my children.
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Long before Americans began collecting McDonalds Happy Meal toys and Beanie Babies, Troll dolls and Cabbage Patch Kids, or Bobble Heads and Furbys, there was the wildly popular Pet Rock. Introduced in the summer of 1975, these clean, cheap and well-behaved rocks became THE pet to have.
The brainchild of Californian Gary Dahl, the first Pet Rocks were gray stones bought from a local building supply company. Several weeks after the Pet Rock craze started, rocks were being “harvested” from Rosarita Beach in Baja, Mexico. Over three tons of stone was used to create these geological pets.
Marketed as if they were live pets, Pet Rocks even came with a “Pet Rock Training Manual.” The manual had instructions on how to properly raise and care for one's newfound pet (notably lacking instructions for feeding). The instruction manual contained several commands that could be taught to the new pet, and while "sit" and "stay" were effortless to accomplish, "roll over" usually required extra help from the trainer. “Potty training” and "Come" were found to be impossible to teach, but "attack" was a much easier command (picture cavemen throwing rocks).
Pet Rocks were packaged in a cardboard box designed to look like a pet carrier and they sold for $3.95 each. They became so successful because Dahl, and advertising executive, created an attractive press release and sent it to almost every major media outlet in the country. An October 1975 edition of Newsweek had an article on the Pet Rock fad and several dozen newspapers picked up the story. Dahl also had his Andy Warhol moment when he appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
The fad lasted about six months, ending with the Christmas season in December 1975. By the time Americans came to their senses, there were over 1.5 million Pet Rocks sold, making Dahl an instant millionaire.
I totally remember being caught up in the Pet Rock craze, asking for my own loveable rock for my 13th birthday. Citing the fact that my cousins-slash-friends Karen and Ann each had a Pet Rock, I was rewarded with my own Pet Rock to train and love. I was proud of the fact I taught “Sylvester” to sit, lie down and play dead.
Although Americans have gone through many stages of fad toys and gadgets, no one has been as successful as Dahl with marketing his useless Pet Rock. The Pet Rock is celebrating its 34th birthday this year.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
August 1975 - The Eagles
One of These Nights
In 1975, I received this album for my 13th birthday. It is still one of my favorite albums of all time and I still have the vinyl LP with my vintage albums.
The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California during the early 1970s. The group chose the name Eagles as a nod to the band The Byrds.
With 5 #1 singles and 6 #1 albums, the Eagles were one of the most successful recording artists of the 1970s. At the end of the 20th century, 2 of their albums, Eagles: Their Greatest Hits 1971–1975 and Hotel California, ranked among the 10 best-selling albums according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
The Eagles broke up in 1980, but reunited in 1994 for Hell Freezes Over, a mix of live and new studio tracks. They have toured intermittently since then, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2007, the Eagles released Long Road out of Eden, their first full studio album in 28 years.
One of These Nights displayed the growing strength of the Don Henley and Glenn Frey songwriting team, particularly on the album's title track and the Grammy Award winning "Lyin' Eyes." "One of These Nights" hit #1 on the Billboard chart on August 2, 1975. The song itself has often been cited by Frey as his all-time favorite Eagles tune. The album also contains the futuristic sounding instrumental "Journey of the Sorcerer," which is known to many as the theme to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
One of These Nights Track listing:
In 1975, I received this album for my 13th birthday. It is still one of my favorite albums of all time and I still have the vinyl LP with my vintage albums.
The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California during the early 1970s. The group chose the name Eagles as a nod to the band The Byrds.
With 5 #1 singles and 6 #1 albums, the Eagles were one of the most successful recording artists of the 1970s. At the end of the 20th century, 2 of their albums, Eagles: Their Greatest Hits 1971–1975 and Hotel California, ranked among the 10 best-selling albums according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
The Eagles broke up in 1980, but reunited in 1994 for Hell Freezes Over, a mix of live and new studio tracks. They have toured intermittently since then, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2007, the Eagles released Long Road out of Eden, their first full studio album in 28 years.
One of These Nights displayed the growing strength of the Don Henley and Glenn Frey songwriting team, particularly on the album's title track and the Grammy Award winning "Lyin' Eyes." "One of These Nights" hit #1 on the Billboard chart on August 2, 1975. The song itself has often been cited by Frey as his all-time favorite Eagles tune. The album also contains the futuristic sounding instrumental "Journey of the Sorcerer," which is known to many as the theme to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
One of These Nights Track listing:
- "One of These Nights" (Henley, Frey) – 4:51
- "Too Many Hands" (Meisner, Felder) – 4:43
- "Hollywood Waltz" (B. Leadon, Tom Leadon, Henley, Frey) – 4:04
- "Journey of the Sorcerer" (Leadon) – 6:40
- "Lyin' Eyes" (Henley, Frey) – 6:22
- "Take It to the Limit" (Meisner, Henley, Frey) – 4:49
- "Visions" (Felder, Henley) – 4:00
- "After the Thrill Is Gone" (Henley, Frey) – 3:58
- "I Wish You Peace" (Davis, Leadon) – 3:45
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