The BEST movie of 1971:

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Our house was a very very very fine house.

The house my parents bought new in 1967, that they paid $18,000 for, and sold in 1974 for $30,000, just went on the market last week for $419,000. The present owners will probably get it, too.
Wow....

Top 100 of 1970:

The songs in purple are my faves:
1. Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon and Garfunkel
2. (They Long To Be) Close To You, Carpenters
3. American Woman / No Sugar Tonight, The Guess Who
4. Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head, B.J. Thomas
5. War, Edwin Starr
6. Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Diana Ross
7. I'll Be There, Jackson 5
8. Get Ready, Rare Earth
9. Let It Be, The Beatles
10. Band Of Gold, Freda Payne
11. Mama Told Me (Not To Come), Three Dog Night
12. Everything Is Beautiful, Ray Stevens
13. Make It With You, Bread
14. Hitchin' A Ride, Vanity Fair
15. ABC, Jackson 5
16. The Love You Save / I Found That Girl, Jackson 5
17. Cracklin' Rose, Neil Diamond
18. Candida, Dawn
19. Thank You (Fallettin Me Be Mice Elf Again) / Everybody Is A Star, Sly and The Family Stone
20. Spill The Wine, Eric Burdon and War
21. O-o-h Child / Dear Prudence, Five Stairsteps and Cubie
22. Spirit In The Sky, Norman Greenbaum
23. Lay Down (Candles In The Rain), Melanie and The Edwin Hawkins Singers
24. Ball Of Confusion (That's What The World Is Today), Temptations
25. Love On A Two Way Street, Moments
27. Which Way You Goin' Billy?, Poppy Family
28. All Right Now, Free
29. Julie, Do Ya Love Me, Bobby Sherman
30. Green-eyed Lady, Sugarloaf
31. Signed Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours), Stevie Wonder
32. Ride Captain Ride, Blues Image
33. Venus, Shocking Blue
34. Instant Karma (We All Shine On), John Ono Lennon
35. Patches, Clarence Carter
36. Lookin' Out My Back Door / Long As I Can See The Light, Creedence Clearwater Revival
37. Rainy Night In Georgia, Brook Benton
38. Something's Burning, Kenny Rogers and The First Edition
39. Give Me Just A Little More Time, Chairmen Of The Board
40. Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes), Edison Lighthouse
41. The Long And Winding Road / For You Blue, The Beatles
42. Snowbird, Anne Murray
43. Reflections Of My Life, Marmalade
44. Hey There Lonely Girl, Eddie Holman
45. The Rapper, Jaggerz
46. He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother, Hollies
47. Tighter, Tighter, Alive and Kicking
48. Come And Get It, Badfinger
49. Cecelia, Simon and Garfunkel
50. Love Land, Charles Wright and The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
51. Turn Back The Hands Of Time, Tyrone Davis
52. Lola, Kinks
53. In The Summertime, Mungo Jerry
54. Indiana Wants Me, R. Dean Taylor
55. (I Know) I'm Losing You, Rare Earth
56. Easy Come, Easy Go, Bobby Sherman
57. Express Yourself, Charles Wright and The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
58. Still Water (Love), Four Tops
59. Make Me Smile, Chicago
60. House Of The Rising Sun , Frijid Pink
61. 25 Or 6 To 4, Chicago
62. My Baby Loves Lovin', White Plains
63. Love Or Let Me Be Lonely, Friends Of Distinction
64. United We Stand, Brotherhood Of Man
65. We've Only Just Begun, Carpenters 66. Arizona, Mark Lindsay
67. Fire And Rain, James Taylor
68. Groovy Situation, Gene Chandler
69. Evil Ways, Santana
70. No Time, The Guess Who
71. Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time), Delfonics
72. The Wonder Of You / Mama Liked The Roses, Elvis Presley
73. Up Around The Bend / Run Through The Jungle, Creedence Clearwater Revival
74. (If You Let Me Make Love To You Then) Why Can't I Touch You, Ronnie Dyson
75. I Just Can't Help Believing, B.J. Thomas
76. It's A Shame, Spinners
77. For The Love Of Him, Bobbi Martin
78. Mississippi Queen, Mountain
79. I Want To Take You Higher, Ike and Tina Turner
80. The Letter, Joe Cocker
81. Ma Belle Amie, Tee Set
82. The Bells, Originals
83. Yellow River, Christie
84. Somebody's Been Sleeping, 100 Proof and Aged In Soul
85. Vehicle, Ides Of March
86. Gimme Dat Ding, Pipkins
87. Lay A Little Lovin' On Me, Robin Mcnamara
88. Up The Ladder To The Roof, Supremes
89. Travelin' Band / Who'll Stop The Rain, Creedence Clearwater Revival
90. Come Saturday Morning, Sandpipers
91. Psychedelic Shack, Temptations
92. Without Love (There Is Nothing), Tom Jones
93. Are You Ready?, Pacific Gas and Electric
94. Woodstock, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
95. I'll Never Fall In Love Again, Dionne Warwick
96. Look What They've Done To My Song Ma, New Seekers
97. Walk A Mile In My Shoes, Joe South
98. The Thrill Is Gone, B.B. King
99. It's Only Make Believe, Glen Campbell
100. Call Me, Aretha Franklin

Well I'm sorry, but as far as I'm concerned any family where everyone goes to bed at the same time is just downright unnatural. And you're supposed to say good-night before you go to bed, not while you're in bed. Man, I hated this show.

When Star Wars came out in 1977, I was not a fan. Of either the movie or the characters. Except one: R2-D2. I thought that droid was SO cool. And kind of cute (as much as a machine can be).
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http://stuckinthe70s.com/products.htm

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The Marrow Of The World

In 1977 I loved this book (don't ask me what it was about now, though).
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LEGOs

Through most of the decade, I was a Legos freak. I loved Legos, big time. I used to build houses too, but they never came out as nice as the one pictured. The trees against the house in the above pic were introduced just about the time I outgrew Legos. And the original Lego people were big and clumsy.
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As I mentioned in a previous post, my great grandfather built a house in Chatham, Massachusetts. It was a Cape style house. In one of the upstairs bedrooms, the closet door opened up into a narrow 5-foot long hallway. At the end of that hallway was a 3-foot high door. That door opened up into a 6 x 6 room that had a small chair and a lamp. My cousin used to read in that little room, but I never got near it. To this day it still creeps me out.

When I was a kid, I loved hanging out in the woods. Unfortunately, none of the other kids in my neighborhood did. And it's no fun hanging out in the woods by yourself. But the times I did spend in the woods were the best.
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1974

It's hard to believe this was 33 years ago.

In the early to mid 1970's, this commercial seemed like it was here to stay forever:

Hold the pickles, Hold the lettuce

Special orders don't upset us

All we ask is that you let us

Serve it your way.

Have it your way,

Have it your way,

Have it your way

At Burger King.

I loved this stuff.

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This was my favorite book in 1972.

These came out around 1974. It was a very successful line for Mego. I thought they were cool, but owning them was out of the question because they were considered, by my parents, to be dolls. They sell for a small fortune MIB. If I had known back then how much our stuff would be worth today, I would have bought one of everything. ....
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Having been an only child in the 70's, mom didn't have to deal with this nagging question...
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So where were you June 5 - 11, 1976? I'm not sure what I did all week, but I'm almost positive I watched Sonny and Cher on one of those nights...
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10 minutes ago I was on eBay. I didn't know what to look for but for some reason I typed in "Jack in the boxes" (I've never done that before. I swear. hahahaa!). When I saw the above item, I did a double-take. I had this back when I was about 4 ('72). I forgot all about it until now. I don't think I'll bid, though. The memories are enough....

I don't know the year of this record.

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K-Tel Records

Back in the 70's, the only competition Ronco Records had was K-Tel records. Like Ronco, these were sold through television commercials (they were never sold in stores). Payment was by check or money order with 4 to 6 weeks delivery time.
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I used to look at it exactly the same way.

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I have the entire set except for this one. Honest.

Brad Delp, Lead Singer of Boston, Dies at 55

ATKINSON, N.H. (March 9)
Brad Delp, the lead singer for the band Boston, was found dead Friday in his home in southern New Hampshire. He was 55. Delp sang vocals on Boston's 1976 hits "More than a Feeling" and "Longtime." He also sang on Boston's most recent album, "Corporate America," released in 2002. He joined the band in the early 1970s after meeting Tom Scholz, an MIT student interested in experimental methods of recording music, according to the group's official Web site. The band enjoyed its greatest success and influence during its first decade.The band's last appearance was in November 2006 at Boston's Symphony Hall.

In the late 70's, I had a hamster. I thought having a hamster would be fun, but honestly it wasn't. Why, you ask? Well, for one thing, hamsters are NOCTURNAL (well, mine was). And second, they don't like to be picked up. When you try to pick a hamster up it will do anything to get away. So I never formed a bond with that tail-less rat. It would sleep all day, then at night when I was trying to sleep it would run in it's wheel and keep me awake. One day my grandparents came over for the weekend, and my grandfather slept in my room. Mom told me to put the hamster cage (actually a huge fishtank) in the basement so the hamster wouldn't keep him awake. I did. A week later, mom asked me to go into the basement pantry and get something for her. As I got to the bottom of the stairs, I glanced over in the corner of the room and realized I had forgotten all about the hamster and it was there for over a week. It didn't die, though. I ended up giving it to a neighbor who raised hamsters. Even though I'm an animal lover, I never felt bad...
I know the above cartoon's about a fish, but the concept's the same.

Sometimes I don't know when to keep my mouth shut:

"Then I'm dying on the bottom of a pit in the blazing sun, torn and twisted at the foot of a burning bike. And I think somebody somewhere must be tolling a bell, and the last thing I see is my heart still beating, breaking out of my body and flying away, like a bat out of hell."

When I was living in Florida, near Daytona, mom calls me one day and casually brings up the fact that my brother had just bought a motorcycle. I then proceed to tell her about how dangerous they are, and how every year during bike week in Daytona the paramedics are always scraping some motorcyclist off the road, and that every year there's always about a dozen motorcycle deaths, etc. I'm sure she was glad she told me...
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LeCar

My neighbor had a LeCar back in 1977 (hers was brown, though). I believe this was the inspiration for Chevrolet's Chevette, as the Chevette wasn't introduced until a couple of years later. I wanted one of these SO bad, I thought they were really cool. I found this pic posted on the following site:
http://feefeasibleprophecies.blogspot.com

1976 Happy Days Game

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I used to love playing this game with my cousins. It was their game, I didn't have this one. Happy Days was a HUGE hit (the TV show, that is), but when I watch repeat episodes these days I can't sit through it. It's amazing what 30 years can do to a TV show. It's also more amazing that it was actually 30 years ago. Damn....

A gift for all you Mork fans:

Click on above pic for a larger image. Print, cut, and enjoy. I know this is going to keep ME entertained for hours.....

Quality TV

In 1979 I didn't miss one episode of this show.

Ronco records:

If you watched ANY television in the 1970's, then you remember the commercials for Ronco records. Ronco would take a group of hit songs that were a couple of years old, and make a record out of it. They were always various artists, I don't think Ronco produced any records featuring just one artist. Also there were accessories like record vacuums you could buy. To give an idea of the sound of the era, the following is a list of songs on the large record "Winners" pictured above:

BARRY MANILOW-COPACABANA AL STEWART-TIME PASSAGES MELISSA MANCHESTER-DON'T CRY OUTLOUD TOBY BEAU-MY ANGEL BABY DAVE MASON-WE JUST DISAGREE DOBIE GRAY-YOU CAN DO IT ALICE COOPER-YOU AND ME ERIC CARMEN-CHANGE OF HEART A TASTE OF HONEY-BOOGIE OOGIE OOGIE BOSTON-MORE THAN A FEELING HOT CHOCOLATE-EVERY 1'S A WINNER CHERYL LADD-THINK IT OVER NICK GILDER-HOT CHILD IN THE CITY OUTLAWS-TAKE IT ANYWAY YOU WANT TO MEATLOAF-TWO OUT OF THREE AIN'T BAD JOHNNY MATHIS & DENEICE WILLIAMS-TOO MUCH,TOO LITTLE,TOO LATE DR HOOK-SHARING THE NIGHT TOGETHER COMMODORES-THREE TIMES A LADY.

(I got the pic and song list from an ebay listing. My memory's not THAT good).

The Partridge Family

I didn't like this show. So, you may ask, "If you didn't like this show, why are you posting it??" Well, I'm sort of short on ideas. I did, however, watch them in the 70's, because they came on right after The Brady Bunch, and we didn't have a remote for the TV, so watch them I did. I did have the Lunch Box, and the Board Game, however. You know, it seems that The P-Family and The Brady Bunch attracted 2 completely different types of viewers. It seems that most either liked The P-Fam or The Brady's, but never both. To this day I can't sit through an entire episode. Here is a link to a site with more info:

http://www.nostalgiacentral.com/tv/kids/partridge.htm

A few weeks ago we celebrated Valentine's day. Back in the late 60's / early 70's there was an actress named Karen Valentine. I'm not sure what show she was on, but sometimes you'd see her on shows like The Love Boat or Fantasy Island. She might have been in a couple of Irwin Allen disaster flicks. Come to think of it, I'm not sure WHAT she did, really..
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Hasbro Gumball Machines

Although the above pictured Popeye gumball machine is copyrighted 1968, it was sold well into the early 70's. I had a few of these (not the Popeye version). I used to take out the bottom panel and retrieve the coin, I never let it fill up with change. And usually the gum would be gone in 2 days. Although millions of these things were made, they're not so easy to find these days.

I don't remember the teachers ever using flashcards when I was a kid. I'm sort of glad they didn't. I always found them rather intimidating, actually....
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My last Marcia pics. I "promise".

"My real name is Maureen Denise McCormick and I was born on August 5, 1956, in Encino, California. I’m 5’2 ¾” and weigh 94 pounds. I have blonde hair and blue eyes, and my favorite interests are singing, dancing, tennis, swimming and needlepoint."

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Back when I was 5 or 6 (1973/'74), dad bought a small rowboat and took me and mom fishing. I hate fishing, and I hate fish. The boat drifted into a small group of rocks near a tree, so dad stood up - in a rowboat - to push against the tree to get us free from the rocks. He fell overboard and mom laughed. He got really mad. We went home. Dad sold the boat. Except for the fishing aspect, I have no idea why the above cartoon brought that memory to mind, really....
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G.I. Joe (and other stuff)

Back in the early 70's, it's amazing the toys that boys had. G.I. Joe, fake guns, plastic hand-grenades, plastic swords, candy cigarettes, fake joke vomit.... what the hell were our parents THINKING???? I never got into the war stuff, but I liked the candy cigarettes.

1972 Flashback:

Back circa '72, mom was in a bowling league and they bowled every Tuesday night. A friend of mine and me were in the men's room and he said, "Check this out". He took a big wad of toilet paper and stuffed it into the automatic hand dryer, pointed the exhaust upward, and punched the button. The toilet paper flew into the air and floated down gently, and I thought that was SO cool. So we proceeded to deplete the bathroom's supply of toilet paper and had fun shooting the paper into the air. We had a BLAST. Paper was flying EVERYWHERE, and soon the floor was covered with toilet paper, like it had just snowed. You couldn't see the floor, it was covered. We were at it for about five minutes, then a guy walked into the bathroom and the breeze that the door made when it was opened sent the toilet paper on the floor flying everywhere, not to mention the 3 or 4 dryers that were sending new wads into the air. Yes, that's how we amused ourselves. We didn't get in trouble. I guess toilet paper was cheap enough.
You could click on the above pic, but the larger picture is pretty much the same..

Run Yourself Ragged by Tomy

I was given this game Christmas of '79. I could complete the maze in less than 60 seconds. Cousins of mine who were a few years older than me couldn't do it, and was amazed at how fast I was at it. Younger kids are definitely swifter at accomplishing things than older kids, I don't know why. Although I wore this game out, for years I couldn't remember the name of it. Just today I came across one on eBay. I finally did an ebay search entering: Maze game with a steel ball (or something like that). I wonder if I got this game again, could I do it??? I guess I'll never know. Just knowing that I could do it back then is good enough for me (and that my cousins couldn't. Losers).

Kismet

In the early 70's, our family played this game CONSTANTLY. It was basically Yahtzee. This is a pic of the game I purchased on eBay to give to mom this past Christmas.

McDonald's Calendars

Actually, McDonald's started making calendars before 1977. I had one on my wall and it was, I believe, circa 1974. It was a one-page poster sized calendar with drawings similar to Peter Max artwork. To this day I've been looking for the earlier version on eBay, but so far no luck. The early ones are VERY hard to come by.

The Which Witch? Board Game

I got this game when I was 5 in the Christmas of 1972 (I'm taking a stab at the year, but it seems right). I grew up an only child, yet I always got board games for Christmas. I can't remember if I already posted this game on this site or not because it's been so long since I added anything here.
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1977 Ad

It's like there's a party in her mouth, and everyone's invited.
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We'll miss you, Lily

Yvonne De Carlo

1922 - 2007

For Jen:

Nobody does it better

Makes me feel sad for the rest

Nobody does it half as good as you

Baby, you're the best.

Ice Skating

As a kid I HATED ice skating. Growing up in New England, our family would occasionally go. I couldn't skate so I had a pair of those double-runner skates, and my feet and face always froze. I don't like outdoor activities in the Winter.
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Cereal Box Records

Back in the 70's, some cereal companies issued records on the back of the box that you would cut out. I never found them to play very well as they would slide on the turntable. I didn't think any of these existed anymore.
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