Pink Floyd: Shine on You Crazy Diamond (1975)

The band wrote this as a tribute to Syd Barrett. The song was split in two to bookend the Wish You Were Here album. Barrett appeared in the studio with a shaved head and eyebrows while the band worked. Rick Wright and Roger Waters failed to recognize their former band mate. At first, the guys claimed they were recording this song, but years later they claim they can't remember if it was "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" or another track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UXircX3VdM

Ted Nugent: Stranglehold (1975)

Rock n Roll had hit a wall by 1974. Ted Nugent represented the next generation which helped reenergize the genre in the mid-70s. Although Bruce Springsteen is credited with saving rock n roll, Nugent, KISS, and other acts also emerged to reinvigorate the music scene in the face of evil disco. This song is just a classic jam.

Live:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHDA5nHlDrQ



Studio:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c3d7QgZr7g

Pink Floyd: Have a Cigar (1975)

Roy Harper sang lead vocals on “Have a Cigar” making it one of two Pink Floyd songs featuring a guest singer (The Great Gig in the Sky). The song is about the music industry and loss of innocence and idealism in the corporate world.  The work includes the line “By the way, which one is Pink?” David Gilmour reminisced that people used to ask the band this question all the time mistaking the group’s name for a person.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMr3KtYUCcI

 

Pink Floyd: Welcome to the Machine (1975)

Pink Floyd grew disillusioned with the music industry after Dark Side of the Moon. Wish You Were Here recounts the band's guilt and sadness over losing Syd Barrett as they hit it big, but also the cannibalistic world of the recording industry. The song is particularly notable for its synthesizers, which help to create an industrial-era world in which the individual is consumed by the collective "machine." It spooked me as a kid!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnzaykWhlXs

Led Zeppelin: Kashmir (1975)

Zeppelin began writing "Kashmir" in 1973 and finally recorded it the following year. The band considered the song one of their greatest musical achievements. Robert Plant was traveling through Southern Morocco when the lyrics came to him. The song is complex creating special challenges for the lyricist:

"Because of the time signature, the whole deal of the song is… not grandiose, but powerful: it required some kind of epithet, or abstract lyrical setting about the whole idea of life being an adventure and being a series of illuminated moments. But everything is not what you see. It was quite a task, ’cause I couldn’t sing it. It was like the song was bigger than me. It’s true: I was petrified, it’s true. It was painful; I was virtually in tears.^"

Live:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAzdgU_kpGo&ob=av2n

Studio:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfR_HWMzgyc

Page and Plant:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO1Bh7rZrog

John Lennon: Stand By Me (1975)

John Lennon recorded a compilation of late 50s and early 60s-era songs that he liked and placed them on his Rock n Roll album. He included a great version of Ben E. King's "Stand By Me" on the record. The song was his last major hit before going into retirement for five years reaching the Top 20 in America and Canada. Lennon's son, Julian, also recorded a version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4_ghOG9JQM

807. Walk This Way by Aerosmith (1975)

"Walk This Way" was a hit for Aerosmith in 1975 and then reinvigorated their career in 1986. The band fell on hard times due to excessive drug use. In fact, Run DMC never heard of Aerosmith before covering the song. Their version resurrected Aerosmith who went on to a enjoy a second run.

Aerosmith:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKttENbsoyk

Run DMC:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B_UYYPb-Gk

876. Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen (1975)

It took three weeks to record "Bohemian Rhapsody." Freddie Mercury pieced together a sad pop song with opera to create something completely original. The lyrics include Arabic references which may be a nod to Mercury's parents who were into Zoroastrianism. When invited to play Top of the Pops, the band filmed a video for the song because it was too complex to play live. It helped usher in the music video golden age which blossomed in the early eighties. "Bohemian Rhapsody" experienced a second life when it appeared in the 1992 movie Wayne's World. The movie spawned a second video which interjected movie clips into the original video. The Wayne's World phenomenon coincided with Mercury's death at the end of 1991.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ

926. Monday Morning by Fleetwood Mac (1975)

Lindsey Buckingham's character is being drive crazy by a lover that can't decide if she loves him or wants out. The song is pretty upbeat for someone losing his mind.

Live Version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wce-6-66UYA

Studio Version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV8k9JQ_OWI

960. Motor City Madhouse by Ted Nugent (1975)

Ted Nugent, professional guitarist and wackmaster extrordinaire, was one of the biggest acts of the mid-seventies. He belongs in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, but his politics and love of hunting alienates him from many of the voters. Plus Jann Wenner is a wuss. "Motorcity Madhouse" was a Detroit radio favorite for a couple of decades.

Studio Version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyIQHEJTULQ

Live Version from 1977:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRiw4vZxSj4

981. Sister Golden Hair by America (1975)

#1 Song from 1975. It's bittersweet and remains a radio favorite to this day.

Best Line: Well I tried to make it Sunday, but I got so damn depressed
Then I set my sights on Monday and I got myself undressed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzUQZw3wfro