Welcome once again to our summer concert series, looking back at late night concert TV shows from the 70's.Tonight's guests on ABC's In Concert are Jim Croce, America, and Seals and Crofts.
Jim Croce, according to starpulse.com, was "a songwriter with a knack for both upbeat, catchy singles and empathetic, melancholy ballads. Croce appealed to fans as a common man, and it was not a gimmick -- he was a father and husband who went through a series of blue-collar jobs. And whether he used dry wit, gentle emotions, or sorrow, Croce sang with a rare form of honesty and power. Few artists have ever been able to pull off such down-to-earth storytelling as convincingly as he was. Raised on ragtime and country, Croce played the accordion as a child and would eventually teach himself the guitar. It wasn't until his freshman year of college that he began to take music seriously, forming several bands over the next few years.After graduation, he continued to play various gigs at local bars and parties, working as both a teacher and construction worker to support himself and his wife, Ingrid."
He would sign with the ABC/Dunhill label and his 1973 album, "Life and Times" featured his first #1 single you'll see him perform here.
Starpulse.com reports, "After four years of grueling tour schedules, Croce grew homesick. Wishing to spend more time with (his wife) Ingrid and his infant son Adrian James, he planned to take a break after the Life and Times tour was completed. Unfortunately, the tour would never finish; just two months after 'Bad, Bad Leroy Brown' topped the charts, Croce's plane crashed in Natchitoches, LA. Croce and the four other passengers (including band member Maury Muehleisen) were killed instantly."
Jim Croce was 30.
Our next guest has been performing for four decades, America.
From venturahighway.com:“The world discovered America in 1972 when a nameless horse began its gallop across the international airwaves. If this sounds like some sort of fairy tale, it seemed like one for the young musicians who harmonized their way to the top of the charts on the strength of their signature song. ‘A Horse With No Name’ made America a global household name, paving the way for an impressive string of hits following in its wake. Slightly more than a year after launching the group, Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, and Dan Peek were bonafide superstars, thanks to a timeless sound that seamlessly assimilated strands of rock, pop and folk elements into a thrilling musical stew.
America's journey has found them exploring a wide variety of musical terrain. Their best-known tunes were cornerstones of 70's Top 40 and FM rock radio. Yet beyond their impressive catalog of hits, listeners would discover there was always much more to America than surface perceptions. The combination of Gerry Beckley's melodic pop rock and Dewey Bunnell's use of folk-jazz elements, slinky Latin-leaning rhythms and impressionistic lyric imagery contrasted well with Dan Peek's more traditional country-rock leanings and highly personal lyrics.”
There definitely is an "acoustic" flavor to tonight's concert and it continues in our final segment.
From music.yahoo.com:
“One of the 1970s' most successful soft-rock acts, the duo of Jim Seals and Dash Crofts met while playing with singer Dean Beard in 1958. That year, Beard was invited to join the Champs (of ‘Tequila’ fame), and Seals and Crofts tagged along, remaining with the group until 1965. The two then bounced from the Mushrooms to the Dawnbreakers before deciding to strike out on their own as a duo in 1969. Seals played guitar, saxophone, and fiddle, while Crofts handled drums, mandolin, keyboards, and guitar. From 1972 to 1976, the duo had a string of five gold albums for Warner Bros., with an additional greatest-hits compilation certified double platinum. The group became embroiled in controversy in 1974 due to the title track of their Unborn Child album, an anti-abortion song written from the fetus' point-of-view; the album was a critical failure, while the single flopped and outraged abortion advocates, who held demonstrations at many of the group's shows.
By 1976, Seals & Crofts' appeal began to decline; their albums failed to sell as well, and they scored their last Top 40 hit in 1978 with ‘You're the Love.’ Warner dropped them shortly after their 1980 LP The Longest Road, but by this time, both Seals and Crofts were more interested in devoting themselves fully to the Baha'i religion they had converted to back in 1969. The two have reunited occasionally at Baha'i gatherings, and for a short 1991-1992 tour; Crofts has lived in several different countries, while Seals moved to a Costa Rican coffee farm in 1980.”
Thanks for watching Friday Night Live.
Goodnight!
