OS94: Spring Break 1976 Bicentennial Boogie

Most people remember 1976 as the time of America’’s 200th Birthday, the Bicentennial. The Vietnam War was over, Nixon was banned from the White House, and Pet Rocks were going the way of the Hula Hoop.it was a brand new day all the way from New York to LA and everyone was squeezed into denim so tight they had to use a coat-hanger and lie down to zip up.What many have forgotten for obvious reasons is how loud and crazy it got wherever you celebrated the annual rite of spring. Spring Break ‘76 was the time to get the party started, on the dance floor, on the beaches, in the bars and in the streets, and for some in a glamorous overnight lock box.Musically it was a wild time as well. People were listening to a great mish mosh of different kinds of music, split right down the middle between those who wanted to hustle and those who wanted to head bang. The air smelled like a 50/50 blend of Coppertone oil and exhaust fumes from a van with a wizard painted on the side.Disco and heavy metal was like mixing a Cuervo Sunrise with a Coors Rocky Mountain Sundance). KC and the Sunshine Band hooked up with Bad Company and things got very loud and very wet, all in the name of the red white and boogie down blue.Fort Lauderdale became Fort Liquordale when local bars began selling all you can drink beer for $1.50. But you didn’t have to get smashed to enjoy this Rock and Rip soundtrack that we are about to dive into headfirst while we hope there is water in the pool.I’m Professor Mikey and Old School is out of bounds! I just spent a brand new two-dollar bill, got my all night beer wrist band, and have enough left to hit the jukebox and never fear the reaper. Come on baby, we’ll be able to fly. It’s Spring Break 1976, the Bicentennial Boogie!The Sylvers make it big on the Midnight Special:SPRING BREAK 76 PLAYLISTDon’t Fear the Reaper Blue Oyster CultCherry Bomb The RunawaysBlitzkrieg Bop The RamonesDouble Trouble Lynrd SkynrdFool for the City FoghatJailbreak Thin LizzyNobody’s Fault Led ZeppelinRunning with the Pack Bad CompanyYou Make Me Feel LIke Dancing Leo SayerBoogie Fever The SylversYou Sexy Thing Hot ChocolatePlay That Funky Music Wild CherryGolden Years David BowieIn Zaire James WakelinKid Charlemagne Steely DanNightrider ELOIt’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock and Roll) AC/DCLive is a Minestrone 10ccSo It Goes Nick LoweBohemian Rhapsody QueenListening to all this great music from 1976 is more than a little jarring. I mean 50 years have gone by and these songs sound as fresh as the day that they cut them into viny. Having been around in 1976. I can guarantee you that nobody gave much of a wit about the music that had come out in 1926. It was long gone like Babe Ruth in the great Gatsby.Many things struck me about the Bicentennials who birthed the Mllennials. One was the length of so many careers in this mix. Steely Dan was around for a long time and people are still amazed at the sound they put out… Blue Öyster Cult became a model for so many bands while they were originating a lot of darkness on their ow The disco darlings were doomed to be pigeon holed in an era of predictable music that had been helped out by the fact that so many hippies who had listened so closely to their Woodstock notions usually sat and grooved… for around 10 or 15 years. After that much sitting on their fannies music fans were ready to move it. They were ready to shake their booties. New music comes and goes, and if you’re lucky, it takes its place in the culture and then your heart and you’re able to go back to the spring break of 1976 with the flip of a switch. We are going to close with the biggest song of Spring Break 76, perhaps more popular today than it was a half century ago. On schedule to be around in 2076 and probably 2126 I’m Professor Mikey. Enjoy this podcast in anytime you feel like taking the trip back and staying out of jail Spring Break 1976. –Bicentennial Boogie!Professor Mikey's OLD SCHOOL is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Thanks for reading Professor Mikey's OLD SCHOOL! Chances are you know someone who would LOVE this. This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit professormikey.substack.com/subscribe