DAILY DIRT: The No. 1 rock act of the ’70s might be a surprise

If I were a wagering man, I would have probably guessed No. 5 would have been at the top of the heap … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 974 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Today we continue or look at the biggest-selling artists, decade by decade, since the beginning of the rock era.

Today’s second installment covers the 1970s, when rock started to come of age and battled through the era of disco. Here were the most popular artists, by album sales, from the decade that bridged the gap of the bubble gum from the late 1960s to the big hair and excess of the 1980s.

Personally, I think No. 1 might be the biggest surprise on the list. I would never have guessed that band to lead the way:

1970s

• 1. Pink Floyd – 171 million: Pink Floyd’s music was heavily influenced by the blues genre, so it comes as no surprise that the band’s cofounder Syd Barrett named the group after two of his favorite blues artists, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.
• 2. Eagles – 163 million: The group was originally known as “The Teen Kings and the Emergencies” before settling on “The Eagles” in 1971.
• 3. Led Zeppelin – 138 million: Led Zeppelin turned down the opportunity to play at Woodstock in 1969.
• 4. Queen – 129 million: “Another One Bites the Dust” never was meant to be a single until Michael Jackson caught a Queen performance in Los Angeles and convinced the group to release it as a single.
• 5. Elton John – 129 million: John’s 1974 hit “The Bitch Is Back” is actually about his own temper. The phrase itself came from Maxine Feibelman, then-wife of John’s famous lyricist, Bernie Taupin, who would say it when John would be in one of his infamous moods. 
• 6. ABBA – 125 million: Before they were ABBA the band was known as Festfolk, meaning party people in Swedish.
• 7. Rod Stewart & Faces – 108 million: Not only was Rod Stewart once a member of Faces, but so was Ronnie Wood.
• 8. Bob Marley – 107 million: Marley died of skin cancer at age 36 in 1981.
• 9. Bee Gees – 104 million: At the height of Bee Gees mania, the group had eight No. 1 hits in 1978.
• 10. Fleetwood Mac – 95 million: Stevie Nicks said she was always inspired by the style of Janis Joplin.

Coming next: 1980s

2. Did you know (Part 34)

• That McDonald’s serves spaghetti in the Philippines.
• That there are 239 seats atop the Green Monster left-field wall in Fenway Park.
• That the unicorn is the national anthem of Scotland, the country that gave us Rod Stewart — so don’t laugh.
• That there are four countries whose national anthems have no words: Spain, Bosnia-Herzegovina, San Marino and Kosovo.
• That penicillin was first called “mold juice”.

3. First we had the cicadas, and now there’s this.

The Northeast portion of the United States is bracing for an invasion of giant venomous spiders with 4-inch-long legs that can parachute through the air. 

Earlier this year, the New Jersey Pest Control warned of the incoming spiders, saying the Joro spiders will be “hard to miss” as females have a leg span of up to four inches. They are also known for their vibrant yellow and grey bodies.

Steve Thought O’ The Day — Well, there’s no way the Eighinger family is going east on vacation this year.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. No racing next weekend makes Steve sad.