DAILY DIRT: Bell bottom pants, here we come

Retro Week moves ahead here on the Daily Dirt, which means we make our first of two stops in the 1970’s. Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 464 of The Daily Dirt.

1. The 1970’s provided us with such lasting memories as bell-bottom pants (for guys!), platform shoes (for both genders), feathered hair, Afros and tie-dyed everything.

But what else made an impression on us in that decade, more precisely 1977, which for those of us are rather challenged by math, was 45 years ago?

First, our picks from the world at large that year, and then the pop music scene:

Gold medal: “Star Wars” was released in theaters, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Silver medal: The first successful home computers were launched with the Apple II, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Bronze medal: The world-famous Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders are marketed nationally for the first time as the NFL team is making a run for a Super Bowl title. The rest, as they, is history.

2. Disco was (finally) on the way out as pop music began to settle to a new type. 

Gold medal: International super group ABBA had its first No. 1 U.S. hit this year with “Dancing Queen.” Group members included Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, who dominated the Euro pop scene before invading North America — and doing the same.

Silver medal: “American Bandstand” celebrated its 25th anniversary this year. Iconic host Dick Clark and this equally iconic program was nationally televised from 1952 to 1989. Declining rankings (in the era of MTV) eventually led to the end of Bandstand.

Bronze medal: We’ve paid special attention to Fleetwood Mac this week following the death of singer/keyboardist Christine McVie. Today we recognize the release of “Rumours,” one of the most storied albums in music history. “Rumours” was released early in 1977 and has gone on to sell 45 million copies. The Mac masterpiece was the 1977 Album of the Year, was No. 1 for 31 consecutive weeks and produced four top-10 hits. Interestingly, McVie has the most sole writing credits on the legendary disc.

3. The best of “Found on Facebook” this week:

• “Taking naps is so childish. I prefer to call them horizontal life pauses.”
• “My favorite part of winter is watching it on TV … from Florida.”
• “Stops stressing over Christmas. We don’t want your presents, we want your presence.”
• “I know everything happens for a reason, but sometimes I wish I knew what that reason was.”
• “Started a band called 999 Megabytes. We still haven’t gotten a gig.”

Steve Thought O’ The Day — Here’s another thought I saw on Facebook. Let’s all take it to heart: “Stop stressing over Christmas. We don’t want your presents, we want your presence.”

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. He’s so sentimental.