1970s Coming of Age Music

Music from Generation Jones

Earlier this year, I wrote an article about Generation Jones — an expression some use to describe the younger cohort of Baby Boomers, born between 1955 and 1964.

(Some readers of my article didn’t like the term “Generation Jones”, coined by social commentator, Jonathan Pontell. I’ll be using it in this article, but if it’s not for you, apologies. Please substitute it with the terminology you prefer.)

It was fantastic reading the comments I received from members of Generation Jones, people I consider my cool older siblings. They shared their experiences and how they distinguished themselves from older Baby Boomers. If you read my piece, do check out the comments section as some great stories were shared.

The main thing my Generation Jones readers kindly corrected me on was their coming-of-age music. And boy, was I remiss!

In my original article, I mentioned punk, new wave and 80s MTV popstars. If I’m brutally honest with myself, I mentioned this music because it’s music I love. But is it really defining Generation Jones music?

Well actually, it’s just a tiny selection of the music Generation Jones listened to. Some members were (and some remain) punks, but there’s much, much more to Generation Jones music than punk.

“I never got into the punk thing except a couple of Ramones songs.”

“Only a subset of us Jonesers were seriously into punk.”

“I ended up too old for Beatles and too young for punk.”

“I’m no punk. Despised the whole culture and all the ‘music’. I was into progressive rock; so were all my peers.”

I’ve written this article to pay tribute to the excellent music some members of Generation Jones told me they grew up listening to. For the most part, I’ve limited this musical exploration to the 70s, the decade when many Generation Jones folk came of age. Otherwise, this article could go on forever.

Before and beyond punk

A massive omission in my article was that I didn’t mention progressive and album-oriented rock (AOR).

“I think the 60s are ending about now. Now we are really starting the 70s. The emphasis is shifting back to entertainment instead of being ‘relevant’ … In fact, I wouldn’t call our station progressive radio. That’s outdated. I call it radio. But I heard a good word in the trades, AOR. That’s Album-Oriented Rock. That’s a name for the 70s.” Kid Leo, 1975

Progressive and AOR took rock n roll to its next level. Gone were the barriers to song length, lyrics and composition methods. Gone were the days of just one or two singles from an album even being played on-air.

“I think that prog rock is the science fiction of music. Science fiction speculates on what the future might be and look like and how we’ll get there, and yet there’s always a central theme of humanity, or there should be. Progressive rock has the same concept of exploration into the parts of the music world that hasn’t been explored.” William Shatner

Generation Jones also listened to the classic rock that extended from the mid-60s through to the mid-90s, glam rock, garage rock and some old-time rock n roll.

Disco sucks

I have vague, early childhood memories of “disco sucks” bumper stickers, so I knew it was a polarising music genre.

Some members of Generation Jones liked their disco, but many didn’t. Instead, they were into metal, jazz, ska, new wave and, of course, prog and other forms of rock.

“I think the so-called fringe genres of that time was overshadowed by disco and other popular crap as the FM airwaves were being wrestled away from the stoners into the mainstream.”

“Disco was a little early for me and grunge was a little late. But new wave was right on time.”

But disco played an important part in 1970s music. Not everyone was rock-focused.

Disco influenced DJ culture, early hip-hop, post-punk, house music and rave culture.

So much music

Generation Jones grew up listening to a huge variety of music. Besides the genres I’ve mentioned, they were exposed to jazz, electronica, R&B, folk, dub, reggae, two-tone, country, rockabilly, post-punk, industrial, Motown, new romantic and more.

“Music of the 70s seems to be the most diverse and innovative of the 20th century.”

Many Generation Jones readers rightfully called me out for not mentioning two of the most influential bands of the 1970s, perhaps the 20th century — Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.

Led Zeppelin

“To say that Led Zeppelin invented heavy metal is like saying Einstein was good with numbers.” JD Considine

Without Led Zeppelin, there’d be no hard rock and no heavy metal. The band changed the music industry forever. The influence of Led Zeppelin meant that AOR and stadium rock were here to stay.

One of the most versatile bands you’ll hear, Led Zeppelin were virtuosos in folk and blues rock and psychedelia, as well as hard rock and metal, accompanied by an orchestral flavour never heard before.

“Led Zeppelin — talented, complex, grasping, beautiful and dangerous — made one of the most enduring bodies of composition and performance in twentieth-century music, despite everything they had to overpower, including themselves” Mikal Gilmore

Pink Floyd

“Pink Floyd were the architects of two major music movements — psychedelic space-rock and blues-based progressive rock — and became known for their biting political, social and emotional commentary.

“With 1973’s Dark Side of the Moon and 1979’s The Wall, the band created two of the most ambitious (and best-selling) albums of all time — and underscored that personal torment could resonate on a massive level.” Andy Mabbett

Pink Floyd didn’t just focus on a couple of hit singles; their entire albums were works of art. In an era of AOR, that was definitely the right approach.

With Pink Floyd, you got everything — profound lyrics, legendary guitar solos, and sound and light extravaganzas.

Musicals

I suggested Cats might be a musical Generation Jones enjoyed, but most of my readers disagreed. Yes, this musical featuring adults dressed in disconcerting cat costumes did premier in 1981, a year the Joneses might have been theatre-going. But the musicals my readers preferred were, on the whole, edgier.

• A Chorus Line
• Chicago
• Hair
• Little Shop of Horrors
• Rent
• Rocky Horror
• Saturday Night Fever
• Tommy

Other popular mentions

There were many bands my Gen Jones readers mentioned multiple times: Queen, Fleetwood Mac, David Bowie, The Ramones, Elvis Costello, The Pretenders, Yes, The Clash, INXS, ELP, Genesis, Van Halen, Supertramp, Black Sabbath, The Eagles, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Simon & Garfunkel, AC/DC, Michael Jackson… There were even more, but it’s impossible to mention them all.

These are just some of the artists Gen Jones readers told me they listened to. The list was a long and good one. The music Gen Jones came of age to is as impressive and as diverse as the members themselves. As one reader commented:

“I think the Gen Jones generation was defined by being a wild mix of music and musical tastes: Rock, Metal, Glam, Prog, Pop, R&B, New Wave, Ska, Disco, and Punk!”

And I know there’s still plenty of music I’ve missed. Are you Generation Jones? Hit me up in the comments with your defining music.

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