January 1970

[Heather Anne Peel]

Let's pretend it's January, 1970. So, what's the world like, now that we've traveled back 37 years? The Boeing 747 is about to enter service with Pan Am for flights to London and Hawaii. Apollo 12 recently was a successful mission for Alan Bean and Pete Conrad, but Apollo 13 was just a few months away, a success of survival for Lovell, Haise and Swigert. The Rolling Stones had just completed their 1969 tour, culminating in the tragedy of Altamont. Their new album "Let It Bleed" was topping the charts, as was "Abbey Road" and "Led Zeppelin II". Ampeg's Dan Armstrong Plexi guitar was a hot new item for electric guitarists. The Brady Bunch was a new TV show, and "The Partridge Family" was soon to follow on 9/25/70. The Beatles were on the verge of splitting. There were no PCs, but the TouchTone phone had recently been introduced. Nixon was beginning his second year in office. Yep, just like now. Kinda, sorta not really. No point to this, other than it's lunch and I'm bored!

[Pete Galati]

In 1970, I think it was still two years before I started playing guitar.

[Big John]

I was 12 going on 13 and had played my first handful of gigs with my Hofner Verithin and Selmer twin 30, i was already trying to think of ways to skip school and just could NOT get enough of playing my guitar !!.

Would i change any of it ?, absolutely NOT !!

[woodman]

let's not forget the Kent State mowdown as mounting protests against the Vietnam War became more widespread.

[Heather Anne Peel]

I was 6 in January 1970. I didn't begin playing until June 1972. The Partridge Family got me into it, and The Beatles followed in a big way in late '72. I first heard the Stones in summer '73, and "Goat's Head Soup" was the first new Stones release that I bought in October '73 at age 10. In 1970, I was more into typical kid stuff, like Winnie The Pooh or whatever. But that would soon change!

[ludwig]

well i was only 3 years old,so i had less things on my mind !

[woodman]

Originally Posted by woodman

let's not forget the Kent State mowdown as mounting protests against the Vietnam War became more widespread.

woops, just realized we were talking JANUARY 1970. the Kent State thing didn't happen til spring.

[BritishBluesBoy]

I was busy being a baby...

BBB.

[bowman]

I was just trying to get through my last 4 months or so of high school, and worrying about college, and Viet Nam. And of course diggin all the great tunes on the radio in my '62 Impala SS. (wish I still had that one...)

[unclearty]

Ridin' around in a 61 VW Beetle..gonna gradiate in 4 months...my draft number was 4...trying like hell to get my butt into college. Got my first 8 track player for my car..could finally play music as loud as I wanted. Just sold most of my guitars and bass equipment..stuff I should NEVER have sold.

[zombywoof]

Many of us were dealing with draft lotteries and missing friends who never came home. But yeah, "Heartbreaker" was in heavy rotation on the FM rock stations.

[maestrovert]

ahhhh........ to be 22 again......

[Roli]

Originally Posted by Heather Anne Peel

No point to this, other than it's lunch and I'm bored!

Play some music.

[Chuck 909]

Let's not forget this 'great' moment. Wasn't in January but it was in 1970.

[freshmattyp]

Having just recently turned 4, the world is mostly a place where I watch cartoons.

[cvansickle]

1970 was the year I discovered little league football. That would be my passion for the next five years. Guitars didn't happen for me until 1978.

[zombywoof]

Unfortunately, I was running around in my old VW Bus and a Triumph Motorcycle.

[blue metalflake]

At that stage I was 16, trying to work out the guitar sounds on an American country album I'd picked up - Buck Owens at Carnegie Hall. There wasn't much of that stuff about in Ireland at the time, and I didn't know what a Tele was.

Oh yes - then there was the girl next door!

[0le FUZZY]

...Life waz good a pickin lead on "0le Richard" inna Hillbilly Band.







(deranged internet-based alter ego, with my own lexicon and all.)

Please visit my page

[Glen W]

I had just turned 21, and was working for an electrical contractor. I was probably listening to Blind Faith, Jethro Tull's "Benefit", Moody Blues' "Days of Future Passed", & "To Our Children's Children's Children", Ten Years After's "Undead", Jimi's "Electric Ladyland", and Santana's "Abraxas", Creedence's "Green River", amongst others.

I had been playing for about 6 years at this time, and had to start getting onboard with all this here new music. Sure, we played some Stones, some Beatles, and some soul & r&b, but we had to lose the Ventures & Dick Dale stuff if we wanted gigs...

[Charlie Bernstein]

..

[Charlie Bernstein]

...my first Grateful Dead show! (Here comes Sunshine...)

[fierce_carrot]

okay..lets fill up the bong....

[rootsnblues]

At 14, I was feeling like a punk and going around singing "1969" off The Stooges 1st record. My favortie guitarist at the time: Peter Green.

[getbent]

I was 10. I got in a fist fight over who was better the Jackson 5 or Donnie Osmond. I won the fight and got 3 licks from my elementary principal Mrs. Sonnie. (yes I picked the Jacksons)

I walked home through a public park where the freaks smoked pot in an old jet that was now a feature for little kids to play on and I could hear the strains of "All Right Now" on KLOS.... and I went home and usually helped out my dad silkscreen tshirts that said "Draught Beer Not Students" or some other invention he had cooking in his shop (early RC Helicopters, electronic back up alarms etc) wearing his 'half high' cowboy boots and listening to KLAC and the strains of "fightin' side of me" "rose garden", with his air force buddies....

My sisters dug "amos moses", the beatles, Lee Michaels, Joni Mitchell and my brothers were listening to Hendrix, Marvin, ToP, etc

While I look back and realize how rich historically the time was... at the time everything seemed pretty shoddy and tumultous and unsettled. For me, it was not "a brand new day" it was "a long cold winter"....

[Tele295]

My kid sister was being born, and my grandmother took me to Arby's for dinner.