Friday, June 27, 2014

Remembering the Summer of 1974

Bob Radil tonight will be featuring the music of the summer of 1974 tonight.  Back in those days I listened to WABC which had a very tight playlist.  Some of the big hits of that summer were:

  1. Rock the Boat - The Hues Corporation (RCA)      
  2. You Make Me Feel Brand New - The Stylistics (Avco)        
  3. Billy, Don't Be a Hero - Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods (ABC)
  4. Rock Your Baby - George McCrae (T.K.)                      
  5. Sundown - Gordon Lightfoot (Reprise)                      
  6. The Streak - Ray Stevens (Barnaby)                        
  7. Band On the Run - Paul McCartney & Wings (Apple)          
  8. Be Thankful For What You Got - William deVaughn (Roxbury)

I am sure that Bob will feature many of the rarities of that summer that were not played on WABC.  Anyway when I hear the music of a specific time period, I go back and think of what I was doing at that time.  Many of the entries of this Journal are autobiographical.  In 2008 I detailed my time in New Brunswick, NJ from May 1974 - December 1976.  In this entry I'll focus on the Summer of 1974.

In the Spring after several months of job hunting I landed my first professional job at a chemical company called Rhodia which was the American division of a French chemical company called Rhone-Poulenc. It was involved in the manufacture of fragance chemicals. Some of my co-workers (I am only giving their first names) were Jack, Lou, Richard, Alexandra, Marshall, Karin and Joe.  It was dificult making the transition to industry as I had spent my entire life as a student.   In the previous journal entry I discussed my social life at that time.  In June 1974 I went on singles weekend at a dude ranch in upstate New York.  I also remember a Jewish singles group at the YMHA in Highland Park.  During that summer I lived at 9 Hartwell Street until the fall when I moved into a high rise building called the Colony House.

I found out that Rhodia abandoned the New Brunswick plant in 2000.  A few years ago Rhodia was bought out by a chemical company named Solvay.

I guess I will be thinking of the events of that summer as Bob plays the music.

No comments:

 
Personal-Journals blog