When Music Was Magic - Classic Rock Hits of the 1970's - Who, Journey, ZZ Top, Rush, and More.

When Music Was Magic: A Tribute To 70’s Rock Vol. 3

The summer of '76 was when everything changed. My best friend Tommy had just gotten his driver's license and his dad's old Chevy Impala, which meant freedom. Real freedom. Not the kind they talked about in history class, but the kind that came with four wheels and an 8-track player.

Our first concert was Rush at the Memorial Auditorium. We'd saved for weeks, working extra shifts at the record store, sorting vinyl and recommending albums to customers who trusted our teenage wisdom more than they probably should have. The moment Neil Peart's drums kicked in during "2112," I felt it in my chest – not just the vibration, but something deeper. Like the music was rewiring something inside me.

That summer became a blur of concert tickets and worn-out album covers. We caught The Who when they came through town, Pete Townshend windmilling his arm like he was trying to generate enough electricity to power the whole city. Elton John at the piano, a technicolor hurricane of sound and sequins. And Fleetwood Mac – Stevie Nicks twirling in black chiffon under the spotlight, her voice cutting through the haze of the arena.

The best nights were the ones we didn't plan. Like when we heard Bob Seger was playing at the county fairgrounds on a perfect August evening. We arrived just as the sun was setting, the stage lights coming to life against the darkening sky. We made our way to the front of the crowd as Seger sang about night moves and running against the wind, his voice like gravel and velvet.
Between concerts, we'd drive for hours, windows down, volume up, singing until our voices gave out. Tommy's car didn't have air conditioning, but we didn't care. The wind in our hair and "Dreams" or "Limelight" or "Won't Get Fooled Again" blasting from the speakers was all the comfort we needed.

Nobody had smartphones back then. No one was recording anything or worrying about social media posts. We were just... present. Fully there in those moments when the guitar solo hit and the crowd went wild and you could feel the collective heartbeat of thousands of strangers all experiencing the same perfect slice of time.

I still have all those ticket stubs, pressed between the pages of old journals. Sometimes I take them out and remember how it felt to be young when music was magic – when a great song could change your life, and the next life-changing song was just a radio dial away.

A heartfelt tribute to the 70s experience, as imagined through the lens of the music that defined it.

Track List:

1. Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits
2. Won't Get Fooled Again - The Who
3. Working Man - Rush
4. Leila - Derek and the Dominoes
5. Don't Look Back - Boston
6. The Chain - Fleetwood Mac
7. Ricky Don't Lose That Number - Steely Dan
8. Time for Me to Fly - REO Speedwagon
9. Pinball Wizard - Elton John
10. Band on the Run - Paul McCartney and Wings
11. Don't Bring Me Down - Electric Light Orchestra
12. Hollywood Nights - Bob Seger
13. Baker Street - Jerry Rafferty
14. Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen
15. Listen to the Music - The Doobie Brothers
16. Barracuda - Heart
17. Fly Like an Eagle - Steve Miller Band
18. Ramblin' Man - Allman Brothers Band
19. Do You Feel Like We Do - Peter Frampton
20. Shooting Star - Bad Company
21. Dream On - Aerosmith
22. Dust in the Wind - Kansas
23. Love Is Alive - Gary Wright
24. Solsbury Hill - Peter Gabriel
25. Renegade - Styx
26. Stranglehold - Ted Nugent
27. Love Is Like Oxygen - Sweet
28. Wheel in the Sky - Journey
29. All Right Now - Free
30. Poor, Poor Pitiful Me - Linda Ronstadt
31. Miracles - Jefferson Starship
32. Smoke from a Distant Fire - Sanford Townsend Band
33. Lowdown - Boz Scaggs
34. Smoke on the Water - Deep Purple
35. La Grange - ZZ Top
36. Hold the Line - Toto
37. No More Mister Nice Guy - Alice Cooper
38. Freebird - Lynyrd Skynyrd

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