The transition from the late-60’s to the early-70’s was a tumultuous time in this country. We were quagmired in a directionless and immoral war. The economy was stagnant, on the precipice of a major recession. At home, domestic society was fraying at the seams. Women, Blacks, and the LGBT community were fighting for progress against a recalcitrant white middle class who felt bitter about being slighted by the Great Society. Trust was almost as scarce a resource as gasoline.
Then, five guys broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex.
In July of 1973, amidst increasingly damning testimony before the Senate Watergate Committee, Americans found out about President Nixon’s White House tapes. A series of court battles ensued over the next few weeks, eventually leading to the Supreme Court’s decision to force the tapes to be released to federal investigators. Those tapes, as we all know now, revealed a conspiracy on the part of the Nixon Administration to cover-up Watergate break-in. That was the final nail in his coffin. On August 9, 1973 President Nixon resigned in disgrace.
Exactly ten days later, I was born.
All the above notwithstanding, when I did a Google search for hit songs from 1973, I was met with an embarrassment of riches. Turns out that social and political turmoil serves as an excellent roux for musical genius! Almost all of the chart-toppers for the year I was born remain among my favorite songs today. It was a great year for music and babies.
My pick for today is Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On,” the hands-down Number One getting busy song of all time. I think somewhere in the back-corner of my mind I knew that “Let’s Get It On” was released in the same year as Roe v. Wade, which I always thought was poetically funny, but don’t think it had ever registered before today that the year was 1973. Lolz.
One of my good friends (a musician on Beale Street) once told me that if that opening guitar lick doesn’t make you immediately start taking off your clothes, it’s time to let somebody take you out behind the barn. Word.
Runners-up for #30DaySongChallenge, Day 19:
- Gladys Knight & The Pips’ “Midnight Train To Georgia”
- Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly”
- Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground”
- Elton John’s “Daniel”
- Al Green’s “Here I Am”
- Diana Ross’ “Touch Me In The Morning”
- The Rolling Stones’ “Angie”
- Cher’s “Half Breed”
- Paul Simon’s “Kodachrome”
- Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away”