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I was 9 years old in 1971. Sometimes, I wish we could go back to those times, at least in some ways.
1971 was the year that President Nixon announced that he would go to China early in 1972. This was a stunning breakthrough at the time, after over 20 years of fierce hostility between 'Red' China and the US. 1972 was the year of the actual China visit, as well as a major summit with the Soviet Union in Moscow. Many people thought the Cold War was finally coming to an end. That wasn't really the case, but there was definitely a thaw.
1972 was the year that US involvement in the Vietnam War effectively ended. The war was winding down in 1971-72 and wasn't the issue it had been in the 1960s.
I remember that period of being a time of relative economic prosperity, compared to later years when higher inflation and unemployment hit the country. It was a somewhat innocent time before the Arab oil embargo and the gas lines. I don't think anybody could have imagined that we could have an energy crisis before it actually hit.
Long hair was popular, on men and women. So were bell-bottoms. Popular music was relatively upbeat. Television was still pretty innocent back then. 1971 was the year that "All in the Family" debuted, and it was considered groundbreaking at the time, since most televisions up to then had avoided controversial topics.
Life was very different then. Kids just went out to play rather than on organized play dates. Most mothers were not in the workforce, and stayed home with their kids. In my neighborhood, the mother who worked more than part time was a rare thing. Kids had a lot more freedom at younger ages then because it wasn't a time of such fear. Hitchhiking was pretty popular back then.
For those of you who were adults back then, were the 70s really a simpler time, as they seemed to me, or did it just seem that way to me because I was only a kid at the time?
I was born in 1953, so was 18 years old in 1971. I was in the army till 1974. I remember the early 70s as the beginning of the end of the golden period which started in the 50s. Lots of work for all who wanted it started to end. Slowly at first, but increased as the seventies went on.
I remember standing in line to see Clint Eastwood's movie 'Dirty Harry'..... Clint was a massive movie star in 1971. There were a lot of stars in those days compared to now. Like Clint, Paul Newman, Robert Redford, John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Ryan O'Neil, Sean Connery, Marlon Brando, Richard Burton, Lee Marvin, Steve McQueen, Gene Hackman, Jack Nicholson George C Scott, Donald Sutherland, Dustin Hoffman, Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Warren Beatty, and Charlton Heston. That's just off the top of my head. Compare that list, to what we have now.
The music scene was sad after the Beatles had broken up, but stars like Rod Stewart and David Bowie were on the rise. Young people still had plenty of hope for the future. We felt the downturn was a blip, and things would soon improve. Vietnam to the English, was a war being fought a long way away, and not something most young English people were concerned about.
People were happier back then I believe. More optimistic. Drugs were not something in general society. I used to socialize in bars, and clubs. I never saw drugs for sale, or folks using them. There were record stores full of LPs in racks. The music was great, the clothes were colourful, and we knew how to have a good time!
English Dave - and we only have ITV, BBC1, BBC2 TV channels. TV's didn't have remotes in England. And UK introduced decimal currency. Boy was it confusing! I worked on a market on a Saturday (was in HS) and all the old ladies refused to discuss prices in new money. I had to keep converting it for them to pound, shillings and pence.
Yes, less drugs, mostly in big cities and nothing like now.
Less promiscuity.
Less choices in food, that is fast food, and packaged foods at the stores. People cooked at home a lot more.
People were generally more respectful of each other. Wasn't cut throat world like now.
But for women, less pay, less career opportunities although it was improving.
Cars in America were like boats with big bench seats! Nobody used seatbelts. Car seats, what were they? Gas station attendants filler her up, checked your oil and washer fluid and washed your windshield..aah, good old days!
Customer service was far superior to now. In many stores you were treated like royalty.
You could call for "time and temperature", I forget which number we dialed.
America ruled the moon!
Cool music - Three dog Night, Rod Stewart, Temps, Bee Gees, Marvin Gaye, Carpenters...
And yes, it was a simpler time. Way less stress. People didn't have as much stuff, didn't buys so many things...way less materialistic.
I was a junior in HS in 1971-72. I remember the Jesus freaks well. Music on AM was pop as previously reported; FM offered something more. But my folks console stereo was the only FM radio in the house.
Two points
Hair was getting longer
Weed was getting stronger
But not everyone was smoking weed or dropping acid. That's more a romantic notion about those times than actually factual. The drug laws were still very tight. I'm sure someone will come along and disagree about that with "facts" to prove it, but I lived back then and also was well aware of what was and wasn't going on. I knew some pot smokers and long hairs who were still marked as hippies. Just were.
Beer was most popular followed by that cheapo wine like Annie Greensprings, etc. Learned quickly to never mix the two.
Vans were the most hip vehicle besides the muscle cars. Nobody really owned SUVs and the term did not exist in those days. In good weather, guys wore tank tops and jeans and sandals; girls had those lacey looking tops and jeans. Sometimes halter tops. But never at school.
Most people had no microwaves back then, nor vcrs, nor video cameras, nor cell phones. Not even portable house phones or answering machines. By and large antenna tv still ruled. No computers, not even a hand held calculator. Color Tv had finally become well established in those years and all broadcasts were in color by 1971.
In 1971 I was 20 years old and in college, although part of my problem at the time was that I didn't really know what I wanted to do with my life. By the second semester of the following year I dropped out and got a job selling high end stereo equipment. With my employee discount I was able to buy some nice JBL L-100 speakers and other gear. I needed that to listen to all the good music. Anyway, the draft board didn't notice my absence from college that semester and by the Fall semester I was back in school again for another two semesters until I finally enlisted in the Army without graduating. I later returned to school, but that's another story.
I had a car back then that actually worked, on occasion, a Bug Eyed Sprite. Gas was cheap.
On the whole, I'd say the early 70s were interesting times. As others gave said, everyone smoked, the rock music was good, and life seemed to be much simpler. But for the Vietnam war, life was good. I'd say the middle class had an easier time of it than they do today.
For those of you who were adults back then, were the 70s really a simpler time, as they seemed to me, or did it just seem that way to me because I was only a kid at the time?
I was a little kid in the 70s (too young to remember much of 1971) and I think it seemed simpler just because you were a kid. My kids now are 6, and their lives are much the same. They play outside, ride bikes, play ball with friends, rather care-free. They have X-box when I had Atari lol! Main difference is I had to to my homework on paper and they use an iPad for much of it. Sometimes I envy my kids, without many cares in the world.
Just entering Kindergarten in 1971, they had us bring a plastic coffee can lid to school. We filled it with wet plaster and made an impression of our hand print on it. Kept it for many years and chucked it, along with those bronze baby shoe plaque things everyone did, what a waste of natural resources, they should have used that bronze for more shell casings in Vietnam.
I was the last kid to get a star on their chart for the category of shoe lace tying, it was a bummer. Even today, I like shoes with velcro straps or buckle/zipper boots. Boy do we need scouting, that's what president Ford said on TV when I got older, but he was an eagle scout, I was knot-tard.
Got in trouble one time for pulling my weiner out in the hallway close to, but before entering the boys bathroom, I got in a hurry, I got in trouble. I hated to take a nap on those cots early in the afternoon, when teacher pulled the shades and shut off the lights, I hated her, she was a B.
We sang the Candy Man song, learned our ABC's, numbers, simple words and it was pretty light duty compared to what they teach now in K. We had a big B&W console TV set at home, horrible spring loaded pole lamps, one of those old X-mas trees with the aluminum foil branches of various lengths, we always assembled it as a family. We played croquet out in the back yard in the summer. We burned trash in a 50 gallon oil barrel back by the alley, that was fun.
All the candy at the store was fantastically cheap, candy bar/candy cigarettes 10 cents, bottle of pop 15 cents, fruit pie 20 cents, box of Ho Ho's 70 cents. One of our cars had wing windows.....nice. We shucked our own pop corn off the dried ears of corn, learned to polish our Sunday shoes and cowboy boots. I got in trouble for playing Cookie Monster with the Oreo Cookies and spreading cookie crumbs all over the kitchen floor.
That's about it for '71, sorry I couldn't be of more help on this one.
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Gas station attendants filler her up, checked your oil and washer fluid and washed your windshield..aah, good old days!
