March 1974

March 1974...  40 years ago...  Like last month, I was edging towards 14 years old, in 8th grade and living in Pittsburgh. Watergate was coming to a head, as a grand jury indicted 7 presidential aides, and declared Nixon was involved in a cover-up.  On a lighter note, The Great Gatsby opened in theaters (The Robert Redford version).  And the Partridge Family ended it's 3.5 year run on ABC TV.

What was happening in music?

Albums released in March 1974 include:

• Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic:  Steely Dan's 3 album, with their biggest hit "Rikki Don't Lose That Number...
• Eagles - On The Border:  The third album from the Eagles, featuring "Already Gone" and "James Dean"...
• Frank Zappa - Apostrophe:  No, not his 3rd album, but his most successful. Though I didn't own the album until later, this was my introduction to Zappa, with "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow" and "Cosmic Desbris", among others.

Meanwhile:

Only 3 songs made #1 on the Top 40 during the 5 weeks of 3/1974:

• Seasons In The Sun - Terry Jacks (3/2/74, 3/9/74 and 3/16/74)
• Dark Lady - Cher (3/23/74)
• Sunshine On My Shoulders - John Denver (3/30/74)

But there were some great songs on the charts.  A sampling of songs that made their Top-40 debut in March 1974 (with the month's peak position for the month in parenthesis):

• Bennie And The Jets - Elton John (#4)
• I'll Have To Say I Love You In A Song - Jim Croce (#22)
• Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo - Rick Derringer (#23)
• Let It Ride - Bachman Turner Overdrive (#32)