But, if these songs brought people together, the bands that created them were falling apart. Both Simon & Garfunkel and the Beatles broke up in 1970, as did Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
Meanwhile, great new musicians and groups rose to take their place, including Elton John, the Jackson Five, the Carpenters and James Taylor, all of whom released breakthrough songs that same year.
Whole new genres emerged as well, making 1970 a unique year that will live forever in musical history -- and in our memories.
And, this was a prime college year for me. My favorite music has always been that played during my high school and college years which would be Palatine High School in Palatine, Illinois, and Northern Illinois University in DeKalb and University of Georgia in Athens.
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SINGERS AND SONGWRITERS
"FIRE AND RAIN" (James Taylor)
It didn't just make James Taylor a star, this song kick-started a whole singer-songwriter movement. By the next year, pop music was dominated by solo stars who both wrote and sang their own tunes, including Carole King, Carly Simon and Cat Stevens.
Taylor's song, which cracked the Top 5, contrasted sad lyrics -- inspired by his stay in a mental institution -- with the warmest possible vocal delivery. Carle King later said her hit "You've Got a Friend" was her answer to Taylor's lyric. "I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend." And, that's King playing piano on "Fire and Rain."
--RoadDog
TRIVIA TEASER: Which actor detailed his battle with Parkinson's disease in his 2003 memoir "Lucky Man"?
(Michael J. Fox)
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