Fourteen from '72: The Music That Made the Year

1972: No Prizes for Peace

In 1972, the Vietnam War continued to demand its sacrifices of blood and resources. In September, terrorists from the Black September movement killed 11 Israeli competitors at the Munich Olympics. The Nobel Committee decided not to award a Peace Prize. Other notable events were:

• Shoichi Yokoi was discovered on the island of Guam. He was a Japanese soldier who had not known that Japan had surrendered in 1945.
• Pioneer 10 was launched. It would become the first man-made craft to leave our solar system. It is still heading away and can be found in the constellation of Taurus.
• In a move away from destruction, 70 countries signed the Biological Weapons Convention and Presidents Brezhnev and Nixon signed SALT 1.
• The Best Picture Oscar went to The French Connection (Released in 1971).

1. "Layla"—Derek and the Dominos

Two sources inspired this song, written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, one was a 7th-century Persian tale of doomed love; the other was the more immediate fact that Clapton was in love with Pattie Boyd who was married to Clapton's close friend George Harrison.

Many fans consider Layla to be the best rock song of all time.

2. "Virginia Plain"— Roxy Music

Virginia Plain is a type of tobacco. Bryan Ferry was something of an artist and had painted a giant cigarette packet with a girl draped on it. He liked the name so much that he used it for the band's debut single.

3. "You're So Vain"—Carly Simon

Mick Jagger sang backing vocals on this song, but is not the subject. Warren Beatty has been identified as an inspiration, but there are, it seems, two other men who prompted Simon's acidic observations.

Simon has been deliberately vague about the people referenced in the song which is good publicity.

4. "Crocodile Rock"— Elton John

This was the first of Elton John's songs to make number one in the United States. Co-writer Bernie Taupin described the song as "fun". It was, in fact, a homage to a song by an Australian band called Daddy Cool who had a hit with "Eagle Rock" in 1971.

5. "Doctor My Eyes"—Jackson Browne

Jackson Browne first made his name writing songs for other musicians. Most notably, perhaps, co-writing "Take It Easy", the first hit for The Eagles that came out in 1972, the same year as Browne's debut solo album.

"Doctor My Eyes" was inspired by Browne's eye problems, but the theme easily lent itself to use as a metaphor to describe someone who has seen too much.

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6. "Hellbound Train"—Savoy Brown

Savoy Brown occupied the middle ground between the club circuit and stardom. Formed in England in the mid-sixties, the band group found early success in the United States where they were constantly on the road. The album Hellbound Train hit the Billboard Top 40 and the band kept working until 2022, when founder and guitarist Kim Simmonds died.

7. "Blowin' Free"—Wishbone Ash

The two guitars of Andy Powell and Ted Turner gave Wishbone Ash a distinctive sound that found an appreciative audience in the seventies. The band ended up with two guitarists because nobody could decide who should be in the band.

The same willingness to reach a consensus was responsible for their name. Band members wrote down suggestions for a name for the group on pieces of paper, the papers were divided into two piles, and one from each pike was picked to form a compound name.

8. "If You Don't Know Me By Now"—Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes made this much-covered song famous, but it wasn't written for them. Writers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff were a fundamental part of the Philadelphia soul scene of the seventies and penned the song with Labelle in mind. Labelle didn't take it up and it was passed on to Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes—a group founded in the mid-'50s as The Charlemagnes.

9. "Do It Again"—Steely Dan

This was the opening track of Steely Dan's debut album, Can't Buy a Thrill, and heralded a new direction in popular rock music. The leaders of the group—Walter Becker and Donald Fagen—were musicians of consummate skill and lyricists with a faculty for keen observation. Their music would enthrall rock fans throughout the following years with a series of albums that never grew stale.

10. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"—Roberta Flack

In 1975, Smokey Robinson released an album called A Quiet Storm. The album's title became the name of a movement within R&B that encompassed songs influenced by jazz and were romantic and smooth. Sade's music would be a more modern example. Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" predated the term, but is a fine example of the genre.

11. "Close To The Edge"—Yes

That the lyrics to this track are based on Herman Hesse's 1922 novel, Siddhartha, will probably not surprise those people who felt that Yes was more than a little pretentious. Well, the group was not alone in that; progressive rock had more than its fair share of artists who felt they were on the cusp of discovering the key to life's mysteries. Still, Yes was ahead of the field with their wonderful musicianship.

12. "Thick as a Brick"—Jethro Tull

"Thick as a Brick" isn't a track, it's a segment from a musical version of an epic poem. The poem was the work of eight-year-old Gerald Bostock (aka Little Milton). Gerald's disqualification from the Society for Literary Advancement and Gestation is the lead story in the newspaper that forms the album cover.

Jethro Tull's parody of a concept album is a richly complicated piece that bears multiple listens.

13. "School's Out"—Alice Cooper

"School's Out" was number one in the U.K. but only reached seventh on the Billboard Hot 100. In writing this song Alice Cooper was trying to capture the excitement of the last day of school before vacation. He succeeded and also illustrated an important point. Despite what older people believe, the young haven't changed much over the years.

14. "Why Can't We Live Together?"—Timmy Thomas

This number hit the charts in 1973 but was recorded in 1972 so should be included in this list. The Vietnam War inspired the song and it expresses sadness and bemusement at the mounting list of casualties that were being reported.

Timmy Thomas wrote, produced, and played the number using a rhythm machine and organ. It was recorded in mono, which was surprising even then. Younger readers might have to ask their parents (or grandparents) what a mono recording is!

© 2024 Stephen Tomkinson