What's Going on the the World in the 1970s besides perfume?

The 1970s were called the "Me Decade". It was a trend-laden, fad-happy decade and people did as they pleased. It was the decade of disco, mood rings, pet rocks, bellbottoms, hip huggers, the leisure suit, platform shoes, designer jeans and the string bikini. While the 1960s were full of political and cultural movements, the 1970s shifted away from the social issues and more towards self-examination. 

There were also many medical and technological advancements. This was the decade that gave us the first in-vitro fertilization, the MRI scanner, genetic engineering, the barcode, the personal computer, floppy disks, printers, microprocessors and email.

There was more variety in music during the 1970s than ever before. The 70s saw the rise of disco. Funk, jazz, pop and soul remained popular throughout the decade. Rock music played an important part in the 1970s and some of the best rock-n-roll music of all time was recorded during the era. Punk rock, hard rock, prog rock and heavy metal all achieved various amounts of success. Progressive or prog rock created a new generation of bands including Genesis, Yes, Jethro Tull, ELP, King Crimson and Pink Floyd and peaked during 1971 to 1976. Many bands had by the mid-1970s reached the limit of how far they could experiment in a rock context. A number of symphonic pop bands, such as Supertramp, The Alan Parsons Project and ELO, brought their orchestral-style arrangements into a context that emphasized pop singles while allowing for occasional instances of exploration and Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd opted for a harder sound in the style of arena rock. Other bands such as The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Queen and Black Sabbath started or strengthened their fan base. Reggae and electronic music also saw a rise in popularity.

The 1970s was the era for vinyl records. It was the decade of American Pie, Me and Bobby McGee, You've Got a Friend, A Horse With No Name, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Lean on Me, Ben, Tie a Yellow Ribbon, Delta Dawn, Time in a Bottle, The Way We Were, Billy Don't be a Hero, Annie's Song, The Streak, Cat's in the Cradle, Mandy, Lovin' You, Rhinestone Cowboy, One of These Nights, Disco Duck, Dancing Queen, Hotel California, Stayin' Alive, Le Freak and I Will Survive. Throughout the 1970s the top of the Billboard Charts were held by: The Jackson 5 and Michael Jackson (solo), Simon & Garfunkel, Stevie Wonder, Three Dog Night, The Carpenters, Tony Orlando and Dawn, Rod Stewart, Bee Gees, Cher, Eagles and John Denver. This was my era. I just had a blast looking through all of the songs that were popular during the 1970s!!

Television in the 1970s pushed what was considered acceptable to new limits. The family sitcoms declined and "young, hip and urban" sitcoms were debuting. Many of the shows that came out challenged bigotry by making fun of it especially All in the Family which ran for just about the entire decade. The mid to late 1970s saw the beginning of "jiggle television" with shows like Charlie's Angels and Three's Company. Soap operas rose in popularity and variety shows boomed again later in the decade after the cancellation of The Red Skelton Show and The Ed Sullivan shows in the early 1970s.

One of the biggest shows of the 1970s was The Brady Bunch. Although never highly rated during its original run, it has been broadcast in syndication continuously since 1974 and many generations of children have grown up with it and the Bradys have become the quintessential family in all of television. Also during the 1970s, cigarette ads were banned on television.