By the age of 16, a boy starts to become a man, while often still remaining a boy for quite some time thereafter (decades thereafter in my case). For boys and girls alike, this age can also be a period of transition for one's taste in music. It was for me, anyway.
I was born on January 17th of 1960, so I was 16 for most of 1976. And it was indeed the start of a metamorphosis in the music I liked most, as I began to broaden my pure pop scope beyond then-recent Top 40 and the stuff I remembered from earlier years into attempts at deeper discovery. My interest would expand dramatically in 1977, and stumble toward a more clearly-defined understanding of the music that moved me in 1978. Ultimately, my music is just...well, my music.
Yeah Yeah Yeah. When I was 16, The Beatles still dominated my view of the top of the pops; that needle's never really moved much, and it likely never will. I liked oldies. I liked Top 40 AM radio, but I was starting to feel increasingly estranged from much of what I heard on Syracuse's WOLF-AM, particularly the early disco (or perhaps proto-disco) and mellower sounds. I was not yet listening to much, if any, FM radio; by the end of '76, WOUR-FM was my radio station.
So this is an attempt to create a list of what I might have thought were The Greatest Records Ever Made when I was 16 going on 17 in late 1976. I was in the fall semester of my senior year in high school, and there were a whole lot of changes lurking just around the bend. December would bring my first rock concert. Christmas break would usher in...well, that's a tale for next time. All day and all of the night.
An attempt like this cannot possibly succeed; forty-two years after the fact, there's just no way I can recall with precise accuracy what music I thought was the bee's knees (that was popular slang in '76, right?). I can't say for certain which then-obsessions Carl '76 would have declared an all-time classic, nor which that awkward teen just happened to dig a lot in the moment, but wouldn't have proclaimed as Beatles-caliber. I'm positive that I've cruelly forgotten about some records I considered absolutely essential at the time. But I think it's a decent approximation, and a fair portrait of my soundtrack in 1976.
In the fall of 1976, I had my first job (though it would last less than a month). I was growing closer to a friend's younger sister, and we'd eventually start having lengthy telephone conversations every night. In the popular parlance of '76, I had begun to party. I was writing more and more. We'll come back soon to examine how the soundtrack changed and/or remained the same one year later.
Alice's Restaurant Massacree Arlo Guthrie
Baby Blue Badfinger
Ballroom Blitz Sweet
Bell Bottom Blues Derek & the Dominoes
Born To Be Wild Steppenwolf
Both Sides Now Judy Collins
Come And Get It Badfinger
Come Together The Beatles
Changes David Bowie
Day After Day Badfinger
A Day In The Life The Beatles
Different Drum The Stone Poneys
Dizzy Tommy Roe
Do Ya Electric Light Orchestra
Don't Fear The Reaper Blue Oyster Cult
Eight Miles High The Byrds
Every Little Thing The Beatles
Feelin' Stronger Every Day Chicago
Fire The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown
Get Off Of My Cloud The Rolling Stones
Glad All Over The Dave Clark Five
Go All The Way The Raspberries
Go Now! The Moody Blues
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Elton John
Gudbuy T' Jane Slade
Happy Together The Turtles
Help! The Beatles
Helter Skelter The Beatles
Hey Jude The Beatles
Highway Star Deep Purple
Homeward Bound Simon & Garfunkel
House Of The Rising Sun The Animals
Hush Deep Purple
I Am A Rock Simon & Garfunkel
I Am The Walrus The Beatles
I Can See Clearly Now Johnny Nash
I Think We're Alone Now Tommy James & the Shondells
I Wanna Be With You The Raspberries
I'm Into Something Good Herman's Hermits
I'm Looking Through You The Beatles
(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone The Monkees
If I Fell The Beatles
It Won't Be Long The Beatles
It's My Life The Animals
Jet Paul McCartney & Wings
Johnny B. Goode Chuck Berry
Lay Down (Candles In The Rain) Melanie
Layla Derek & the Dominoes
Let It Be The Beatles
Let's Spend The Night Together The Rolling Stones
Like A Rolling Stone Bob Dylan
Lola The Kinks
The Long And Winding Road The Beatles
Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress The Hollies
Long Long Time Linda Ronstadt
Love Hurts Nazareth
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds The Beatles
Magic Man Heart
More Than A Feeling Boston
Midnight Confessions The Grass Roots
My Little Town Simon & Garfunkel
Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye Steam
New York Mining Disaster 1941 The Bee Gees
The Night Before The Beatles
No Matter What Badfinger
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) The Beatles
Nowhere Man The Beatles
Peace Of Mind Boston
Pleasant Valley Sunday The Monkees
Revolution The Beatles
Ride Captain Ride Blues Image
Rock And Roll Love Letter The Bay City Rollers
Ruby Tuesday The Rolling Stones
Runaround Sue Dion
Runaway Del Shannon
Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting Elton John
School's Out Alice Cooper
She Said She Said The Beatles
She'd Rather Be with Me The Turtles
Slow Down The Beatles
Smoke On The Water Deep Purple
The Sounds Of Silence Simon & Garfunkel
The Story In Your Eyes The Moody Blues
Summer In The City The Lovin' Spoonful
Tangled Up In Blue Bob Dylan
The Tears Of A Clown Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
Temptation Eyes The Grass Roots
Thick As A Brick Jethro Tull
Twist And Shout The Beatles
Uneasy Rider The Charlie Daniels Band
We Gotta Get Out Of This Place The Animals
When Will I Be Loved Linda Ronstadt
White Rabbit Jefferson Airplane
Why Can't We Be Friends War
Yesterday The Beatles
You Don't Own Me Lesley Gore
You're No Good Linda Ronstadt
You've Got To Hide Your Love Away The Beatles
You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling The Righteous Brothers
Zor And Zam The Monkees
NEXT TIME: WHEN I WAS 17
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