Artists
Placeholder intro paragraph. The bands and performers behind the decade's greatest records.
Artists
Donna Summer: The 1977 Hit Too Influential for the Charts
Donna Summer's I Feel Love peaked at only #6 and never touched Billboard's year-end top 100. Her real, chart-verified 1970s story.
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Artists
Al Green: The Hit He Gave Away Before It Was a Hit
Al Green landed three songs in one year-end chart, then never released his own version of a song that later became a standard. The real 70s story.
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Artists
Marvin Gaye: The Party Tape That Ended Up in Federal Court
Marvin Gaye recorded a #1 hit at a house party in 1977. Decades later it became one of pop music's biggest copyright lawsuits.
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Artists
Rick James: The Motown Deal That Took Eleven Years
Rick James got signed to Motown in 1966, then arrested weeks later. The real story of his eleven-year road back to Come Get It! in 1978.
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Artists
George Clinton: One Contract Dispute Built Two Bands
George Clinton split one band into two to dodge a bad record contract. The real 70s story behind Parliament, Funkadelic, and the Mothership.
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Artists
Jim Croce: The Song He Released the Day After He Died
Jim Croce died September 20, 1973. His next single shipped one day later. The real timeline of his final year, verified against Billboard's own chart data.
Read postOur 6 latest Artists posts are above. Every Artists post (24 total) is listed below.
- Donna Summer: The 1977 Hit Too Influential for the Charts — Donna Summer's I Feel Love peaked at only #6 and never touched Billboard's year-end top 100. Her real, chart-verified 1970s story.
- Al Green: The Hit He Gave Away Before It Was a Hit — Al Green landed three songs in one year-end chart, then never released his own version of a song that later became a standard. The real 70s story.
- Marvin Gaye: The Party Tape That Ended Up in Federal Court — Marvin Gaye recorded a #1 hit at a house party in 1977. Decades later it became one of pop music's biggest copyright lawsuits.
- Rick James: The Motown Deal That Took Eleven Years — Rick James got signed to Motown in 1966, then arrested weeks later. The real story of his eleven-year road back to Come Get It! in 1978.
- George Clinton: One Contract Dispute Built Two Bands — George Clinton split one band into two to dodge a bad record contract. The real 70s story behind Parliament, Funkadelic, and the Mothership.
- Jim Croce: The Song He Released the Day After He Died — Jim Croce died September 20, 1973. His next single shipped one day later. The real timeline of his final year, verified against Billboard's own chart data.
- Carole King: The Same Chart, Three Different Names — Carole King topped the 1971 year-end chart as a performer, and showed up twice more as the writer behind two other artists' hits that same year.
- Willie Nelson: The Songwriter Who Became the Star — Willie Nelson spent a decade writing hits for other singers. See how a Nashville house fire and one stripped-down album turned him into a star himself.
- Dolly Parton: The Split, the Songs, and the Lawsuit — Dolly Parton split from Porter Wagoner in 1974, wrote two career songs in one summer, then got sued for it. Here's the real 70s story.
- Stevie Wonder: The Deal That Built His Classic Period — Stevie Wonder let his Motown contract expire at 21, then came back with full creative control. Here's the 1971 deal that built his classic period.
- Brian May and Queen: The Guitar Built From a Fireplace — Brian May and Queen built a signature sound from a homemade guitar, a coin for a pick, and an amp made from junk. Here's how it actually worked.
- Iggy Pop: The 1970s Collapse and Berlin Resurrection — Iggy Pop's own band fell apart on a Detroit stage in 1974. See how David Bowie and Berlin turned that collapse into Lust for Life three years later.
- Benny Andersson: The Real Songwriting Method Behind ABBA — Benny Andersson taught himself piano by trial and error. See the real backward songwriting method behind SOS and every other ABBA hit.
- Anni-Frid Lyngstad: Born in Wartime, Found on Live TV — Anni-Frid Lyngstad was born in wartime Norway and raised by her grandmother in Sweden. See the real story before she became one quarter of ABBA.
- Bjorn Ulvaeus: The Bench Where ABBA Actually Began — Bjorn Ulvaeus led a real Swedish folk group for a decade before ABBA existed. See the park bench meeting that actually started it all.
- Agnetha Fältskog: The Solo Star Before ABBA Existed — Agnetha Fältskog topped Sweden's chart as a teenager, years before ABBA formed. See her real pre-ABBA hits and the solo album she made alongside the band.
- ABBA: The Band That Needed Permission for Its Own Name — Discover the real story of ABBA: the Eurovision win that started it all, the fish company that owned their name first, and what came after.
- Eagles the Band: The Lineup Swap That Changed Everything — Discover the real story of Eagles the Band: the backing-band origin, the disputed name story, and the one-day swap that led to Hotel California.
- Queen Freddie Mercury: Two Nights That Defined Their 70s — Discover the real story of Queen Freddie Mercury: the toothache that accidentally launched punk, and the video gamble that changed music.
- Grateful Dead in the 70s: The Band the Charts Missed — Discover Grateful Dead in the 70s: a drug bust that inspired their only real hit, the Wall of Sound, and the night that outlasted the charts.
- James Brown in the 70s: How He Became the Godfather of Soul — Discover James Brown in the 70s: the band that walked out, the album that got rejected, and how he became the Godfather of Soul.
- Talking Heads: Built From Found Objects, Not a Plan — Discover Talking Heads: the stolen TV term that became their name, the Son of Sam coincidence, and how they built a sound from nothing.
- Village People in the 70s: The Disco Act Everyone Missed — Discover Village People in the 70s: the gay club that inspired it, the Navy near-miss, and the real story behind the Y.M.C.A. arm dance.
- Bee Gees: The Story of Pop's Most Successful Sibling Act — The full story of the Bee Gees, from a name that never meant "Brothers Gibb" to disco's biggest phenomenon and pop's top songwriters.