AOR On The Radio: Take It Easy

Aurélien Buttin

Songs about love, loss, leaving and letting go never sounded any better than on FM radio between the mid-seventies and mid-eighties, don’t you think?

Soft rock or AOR are probably the best labels you can put on this cloudcast. Adult Oriented Rock (AOR) can be divided between West Coast rock and stadium rock. West Coast rock (or yacht rock) is some kind of a melting pot of rock, soul, disco, funk, jazz, folk, psychedelic and all the pop genres in between, with its foundation in the Californian music scene of the seventies. It's well-crafted, soft-focused pop that was mainly made and played along the West Coast. Kenny Loggins, The Doobie Brothers and their singer Michael McDonald are some of the big names. This sub-genre is somewhat different from rock ballads played by heavier stadium rock bands, like Foreigner and REO Speedwagon, but there’s always room for discussion. How to categorize Fleetwood Mac, for instance? Is it stadium rock, yacht rock or classic rock?

One of the bands that I selected for this cloudcast is Redbone. 'One more time' went to number 22 on the Dutch Top 40 in October 1974. A year earlier Redbone released the politically oriented 'We Were All Wounded at Wounded Knee', which went to number one in the Netherlands. The song recalls the massacre of Lakota Sioux Indians by the Seventh Cavalry in 1890. It was initially withheld from release in the United States and then banned by several radio stations, because of its content. Eventually the song did not chart. 'Suzi girl' was their last hit in the Netherlands. It reached number 36 in 1975.

‘Telegram Sam’ was a UK No.1 smash for T.Rex in February 1972. In the mid-seventies soul singer Gloria Jones, best known for 'Tainted love', became the girlfriend of T.Rex frontman Marc Bolan. Jones joined T.Rex as a keyboard player and backing vocalist. She also inspired him to choose for a more disco-oriented direction. After having a child, their time together came to a tragic end. The T.Rex singer died in a car accident near his home after a concert in 1977, with Jones at the wheel. She moved back to Los Angeles with their son Rolan. ‘Tainted love’ became a worldwide hit for Soft Cell in 1981.

New albums by Michael McDonald (‘Wide open’) and Sparks (‘Hippopotamus’) are out next month! Enjoy this new part of AOR On The Radio! Next up is new episode of Eddy's Eighties Grooves.

Tracklist:

Ed Motta – AOR On The Radio (2013)
Al Sunny – Get It Up For Love (2017)
Leslie Pearl – If The Love Fits Wear It (1982)
Marcus Joseph – I Got You Where I Want You (1978)
Work Drugs – Magic In The Night (2017)
FCC – Ghost Of Love (1980)
Archie James Cavanaugh – Take It Easy (1980)
Parcels – Older (2017)
Dan Croll – January (2017)
Quarterflash – Harden My Heart (1981)
Steve Miller Band – Take The Money And Run (1976)
T.Rex – Telegram Sam (1972)
Sparks – Amateur Hour (1974)
The Sons Of Champlin – You (1976)
The Doobie Brothers – Here To Love You (1978)
Fleetwood Mac – I Don’t Want To Know (1977)
REO Speedwagon – Take It On The Run (1980)
Redbone – One More Time (1974)
Sutherland Brothers & Quiver ‎– Arms Of Mary (1976)
Lori Lieberman ‎– Killing Me Softly (1972)
Smokie ‎– If You Think You Know How To Love Me (1975)
Canyon – Country Lovin’ (1970s)
England Dan & John Ford Coley ‎– I'd Really Love To See You Tonight (1976)
The Fifth Avenue Band – One Way Or The Other (1969)