Customer Reviews

We Had Joy, We Had Fun: The "Lost" Recording Artists of the Seventies

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If you were listening to AM radio in the '70s this book should take you back. The book reviews the artists' careers in their own words and talks about what they're doing in the '90s. It also has photos and a discography of each artist's Billboard Top 100 hits. There's also a ranking of the top 100 "Lost 45's" of the 70's (based on votes from Scott's radio show) - "Seasons in the Sun" is #1.

Some notable moments from the book: (1) Albert Hammond, best known for one hit, wrote many classics for other artists (including "One Moment in Time"); (2) Helen Reddy refuses to reveal what she thinks one of her hits is about, preferring to leave it as a mystery for listeners; (3) Three Dog Night changed the lyrics of one of Leo Sayer's songs; people who heard their version first accuse him of changing Three Dog Night's song.

This book is a look at a lot of what people were REALLY listening to in the '70s, which is not just the "classic rock" superstars the era is remembered for. "Stairway to Heaven" never made the Top 100, but the Osmonds and the Partridge Family had huge hits. Many of us in the '70s enjoyed guilty pleasures like the songs and artists in the book, and this book takes us back to wherever we were (late childhood? teen years?) when we were listening to the incredible diversity on AM radio.

Scott suggests that there may be more to come: a focus on artists who peaked in the '60s and a look at one-hit wonders.