I would also say that you would have to include, besides Led Zeppelin (although in fairness, Zeppelin, actually started in calendar year 1969, or at least that's when they made their first big dent on Rock), you might want to include these other events & milestones of that decade of 1970's (both w/ Classic Rock & other events surrounding music & may have influenced music):
From early 1970's:
First Earth Day (April 1970), celebrated.
Kent State (May 1970); this event also helps bring many songs & groups to have more successful careers as even more strident anti-war songs are written, such as "Ohio" by CSN&Y & "War" by Edwin Starr (to name only two)
Rock Opera, & one time Broadway musical, "Jesus Christ Superstar" is released as an album & becomes big seller!
Paul McCartney has start of successful solo career from Beatles & even starts w/ more success w/ Wings
Rod Stewart
Elton John
"All In the Family" for very first time America laughs at bigotry & also is taught lesson about how stupid bigotry looks (but you got have loved Carroll O'Connor's Archie)
"The Mary Tyler Moore Show"
as decade continues & other milestones left off of this list:
Janis Joplin's death & on-going fight for women's rights (ERA) & feminization in general leads to sub-genre of rock/pop as more women start to rock & these women become more acceptable to rock-pop stations: For example we would have:
Carole King, Carly Simon, Linda Ronstadt, yes even Olivia Newton-John & later in decade, the Wilson sisters otherwise known as Heart, the group Joan Jett would originally come from: Runaways, etc.
Who's "Quadrephenia " sometime during this time period, shows that this band still has life in it
M*A*S*H* (first the movie than the TV show); this show helps to give more questions in people's mind about on-going Vietnam War
Don McLean's anthem about supposed early days of rock 'n roll, "American Pie" clocking in at over 8 minutes is surprisingly played at several pop stations at that length -- it also becomes first #1 song on Billboard's chart that Casey Kasem will play on American Top 40 at that length, so marks true start of the end of AM Top 40 stations.
Eagles (group that is)
Nixon is re-elected (for good or ill); as it would turn out for more ill as nation will soon learn about Watergate & his subsequent resignation -- much of rock-pop music & much of comedy (& even dramas of this decade) of rest of the decade would also become rather skewered toward suspiciousness & probably necessary angst: to wit : Stealer's Wheel during height of Watergate hearings would have a hit with "Stuck In The Middle With You", with movies, several movies along these lines: ""Paper Moon", "The Way We Were" & " Network" would also follow, with of course culmination of all of this angst being a movie about the Watergate affair (made after Nixon resigns): "All The President's Men"
They & Ray Stevens called him, "The Streak!"
Start of such decade long problems as Oil crises (long gas lines), & inflation (many people have good laugh when next President, Gerald Ford decides best way to stop inflation is by issuing buttons that say "WIN" {"Whip Inflation Now"})
Llittle known (at the time) film director named George Lucas, helps to bring back some 1950's nostalgia to pop culture & in general (or is this escapism from Watergate, Vietnam, oil crises & long gas lines & inflation?), when Lucas releases film called, "American Grafitti", which of course in rock-pop music was partly responsible for Elton John's "Crocodile Rock", Loggins & Messina's "Your Mama Don't Dance" & many more, plus the TV shows, "Happy Days" & "Laverne & Shirley"
Queen releases monster, rock opera inspired hit, "Bohemian Rhapsody"
Bruce Springsteen makes cover of "Time" as "Bob Dylan" of decade; although at the time he had only had one minor hit album: "Greetings From Asbury Park" & "Born To Run" from his second album release was minor hit; of course first major hit w/ his name on it, wouldn't even be released from him, but would be monster hit (& continuing staple at all Classic Rock stations) re-worked by Manfred Mann's Earth Band, in 1977, "Blinded By The Light"
On April 30, 1975, nearly five years after Kent State, & two years after Nixon supposedly ended Vietnam War (in January 1973), the South Vietnamese surrender to North Vietnamese (or Vietcong), embarrassing U.S., w/ dramatic footage of airlifts off Hanoi Hilton the following day (May 1, 1975)
"Saturday Night Live" premieres (Fall 1975)
Few other events (music & otherwise) from second half of decade that would also have importance (both for rock & otherwise) & should have been on this list:
Height of CB radio trend as "Convoy" by C.W. McCall is #1.
The Bicentennial & rise of Jimmy Carter that year.
Three events from 1977, alone:
TV's mini-series, "Roots" gathers record audiences
George Lucas' second film & major one in history, "Star Wars" is released, this is unofficial beginning of summer blockbuster movie hits -- granted there were other summer movies, such as "Jaws" before this, that did make it big (at least in U.S.), but "Star Wars" had most hugely worldwide influence on having summer blockbuster movies (& this film cut across many lines, of race, economics & age in becoming a blockbuster, & heh what a cool soundtrack from composer John Williams, a cool #1 hit from Meco & you have to love that it launched successful career {that had been lagging before this} of that cool actor, Harrison Ford)
Elvis Presley dies
During these two years, 1977 - 1978, there was start of many of the careers (or at least successful part of their careers) of several major Classic Rock artist, amongst them:
Foreigner, Styx, Journey, Meat Loaf, Eddie Money, Van Halen, Rush, the Police (although, "Roxanne" wouldn't become minor hit, until early 1979), & I could go on & on with this list
Movie "Saturday Night Fever" is released (for good or bad).
Jim Jones' brings us The Jonestown cult massacre/mass suicide
Also in 1978, the movie, "FM" becomes major hit movie, showing what really goes on at FM radio stations at the time, of course it helps when Steely Dan's song, & title track of soundtrack, "FM (No Static At All)" becomes monster hit.
Final year of decade (1979) would have these events that should be added:
Rod Stewart releases disco tinged song, "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" & former punk rockers, Blondie releases disco tinged song, "Heart Of Glass", both Stewart & Blondie are lamented as sell-outs, although both careers would weather this storm (& both songs would become monster hits, both on & off dance floor; perhaps reminding many that much of best of rock has also been very danceable)
Three Mile Island nuclear plant meltdown occurs in February of this year
Billy Joel who had hit w/ "Piano Man" early in decade & some other minor hits, starts hitting big time, w/ "Movin' Out" , ""My Life" & "Big Shot"
Supertamp's "Breakfast In America" is released & becomes monster hit LP on basis of an awesome & monster hit song titled, "Take The Long Way Home"
On heels of monster hit movie, "FM", CBS has monster hit comedy show (one of few for CBS around this time), "WKRP In Cincinnati" (who didn't appreciate Howard Hessman's "Johnny Fever"? or perfect eye candy for straight men, Loni Anderson, yummmie!)
New Wave starts to become force to start to reckon w/ (what would come in 1980's was being hinted at, in 1979) as such unusual & hard to identify by many radio stations hits as Nick Lowe's "Cruel To Be Kind", Cheap Trick's "I Want You To Want Me", The Knack's "My Sharona" , & M (or Robin Scott)'s "Pop Muzik" (amongst some others) become monster hits; this decade will end musically w/ start of careers as diverse as Prince, Pat Benatar & John Mellencamp getting underway -- all that would continue to change both rock & pop stations -- as well as conitinuing & marking rise of "New Wave"!
Nearly forgot two other things to add to 1979 events:
First of these concerns unofficial beginnings of Rap music. Although there had already been one huge rap song that had become hit, as early as 1970 -- "The Rapper" by Jaggerz; & there had been some movement towards rap music w/ James Brown, George Clinton, Parliament, & Funkadelic -- first true Rap song was released & became somewhat minor hit in summer of 1979: ""Rapper's Delight" by Sugarhill Gang. Although certainly there wouldn't be a start of trend towards more rap, until 1982 when Aretha released "Jump To It", Gap Band & Dazz Band became minor hit makers. And rap wouldn't start going into mainstream until two years later (1984), when Breakdancing became trend & Chaka Khan would have major hit w/ her song, "I Feel For You".
Also in Fall 1979, burning of Disco records at baseball parks became counterculture trend .
Two bits of bad news would end decade:
1. 52 Americans are taken hostage in American embassy in Tehrain, Iran
2. Former Soviet Union invades Afghanistan on New Year' s Eve, 1979 (what is not known at this time, is how much U.S. would have many problems with this country, Afghanistan, that not many Americans were familiar w/ & few could probably name on map at that time)
Sorry folks if this bores you, or you didn't care, but I am History major from University of South Florida in Tampa & actually I remember most if not all of events I listed here & ones listed above that should have also included these events! (I am 41 years old, & most of these events occurred during time I was child & teenager.)
