HERC SR, as both of the loyal Hideaway viewers know, is the primary reason HERC became a music fan - his constant playing of music, no matter what the activity, has both ingrained that behavior (HERC has a playlist for EVERYTHING) and given HERC a deep and undying love for music. One of HERC's fondest musical memories of his father is the double eight track tape set he had called Superstars Of The 70's. Also released (and later acquired by HERC) as a four LP vinyl box set (above), the compilation was released in 1973, on the eve of HERC's favorite decade in music 1974-1983.
While the inimitable Jim Bartlett has covered this set and it's sequels(!) several times over at his virtual place, sharing his memories, HERC is here to share the pictures and the music. And one memory.
HERC SR.'s dream car was a 1968 Chevelle SS 396, exactly like the one pictured above. He bought it new off the lot as an Airman for a few grand and then had to leave it with HERC's MOM and baby HERC when he was sent over to Vietnam. He returned in one piece to find his car in one piece. Around 1978, he undertook an incredible customization, rebuilding and retuning the engine for maximum performance with the help of a drag racer and redoing the interior with the help of HERC's MOM, a seamstress by trade, into a luxurious diamond tuck and roll pattern. He also repainted the car a rich, shiny, metalflake brown similar to the shade of brown bordering the image at the top of this post. In addition to ditching the CB radio that called the car's underdash its home for the past couple of years, HERC SR replaced the old tape player with a new top of the line eight-track tape player, an amplifier and four new speakers. One day, given his choice of tape to play in the new tricked out ride, HERC chose the tape on the right, above, tape 2 of the double tape set. It was an old favorite. Why? Because it had two of his favorite then and still favorite now rockin' road tunes: Zep's "Whole Lotta Love" and The Faces' "Stay With Me". Without further ado, this is Superstars Of The 70's, quite possibly the greatest star-filled, hit-packed, hardest-rocking compilation album ever.
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Unlike a lot of eight-track tapes, the tracklisting is the same as the vinyl, with each album side representing a program on the tape. Tape 1 consists of the first four sides, pictured above, for a total of twenty-four tracks.
While Tape 2 (below) is made up of sides 5-8 (above) of the album, a total of twenty-five tracks.
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BONUS ALBUM PLAYLISTS
Superstars Of The 70's Vol. 2 - Heavy Metal
Superstars Of The 70's Vol. 3 - Rockin' Easy
missing Fleetwood Mac's "Sentimental Lady"
Superstars Of The 70's Vol. 4 - Silver Bullets
missing The Persauders' "Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me"
Love the car and the story. Still got the vinyl?
ReplyDeleteRegrettably, I no longer have any of the Superstars Of The 70s records. They were sold off in the great vinyl purge of 1987/1988.
DeleteAlso, regrettably my father sold the Chevelle upon receiving his transfer orders from Illinois to Arizona. Bought a Chrysler Cordoba as his daily driver. He heard from a former co-worker that the Airman that bought it lost control of it one night and totaled it in a ditch shortly after we had moved to Arizona.