The history books tell us that the 70s was a decade where music went over the top in all aspects, from the complexity of progressive rock to the dressing up of glam rockers. Then along came punk which put an end to all of that.
The problem with the charts, particularly in the 70s, is that they only tell you part of the story. When punk took off in 1977, Genesis, Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer all had hits, it was the beginning of the single chart career of the latter two, whereas Genesis only had one hit prior to that year. Prog Rock wasn't chart music though and you could argue that it's presence in the charts was a sign of it's popularity dwindling, perhaps they started releasing singles in a bid to attract more fans.
On the whole though, I would say the 70s was a decade which started late and finished early. The first couple of years arguably seemed more 60s and 1979 seemed like the 80s had already begun.
There weren't many iconic 70s acts which had any longevity in the charts, reflected by the fact the only act to have a hit every year in the 70s was Elvis Presley, someone who started in the 50s and didn't live to see the last quarter of the decade. I remember being told when I was a kid that the biggest band around in the 70s was the Bay City Rollers, but their time at the top was between 1974-1976.
At the same time though, you had the likes of Elton John, David Bowie, Status Quo, Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney and Queen who have all had very long chart careers. The fact they were all still having hits into this century though perhaps make them seem less 70s than the likes of T Rex etc.
No chart debutants from 1953 or 1959 would have any further hits beyond the 70s, whilst no 1955 debutant would have a hit this decade.
So to the 80s next where for the first time I can use my living memory in the latter part of the decade.
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