By the 1970s, the British Invasion musical movement wasn’t done. Groups had seen how successful the influx of UK rockers to the US had been in the decade prior. And there was only more reason to go full steam ahead.
Here below, we wanted to highlight three groups from back in the day that kept that dream alive. Indeed, these are three British Invasion bands from the 1970s whose melodies still echo decades later.
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Led Zeppelin
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While The Beatles are known as the British Invasion rock band of the 1960s, Led Zeppelin certainly has a claim to be known as the rock group of the 1970s. With banshee frontman Robert Plant, six-string wizard Jimmy Page, explosive drummer John Bonham, and multi-instrumentalist marvel John Paul Jones, the rock outfit was a veritable supergroup back in the day. And yet today, many of Led Zeppelin’s songs continue to be heard on the radio airwaves and people’s personal home playlists. Some stations even have entire “Get The Led Out” rock blocks daily. Truly, no band has rocked better.
Pink Floyd
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Even though Led Zeppelin had a major influence on the 1970s, Pink Floyd was right there with them, neck and neck. Led Zeppelin was a bit more of a straight-ahead rock band. Pink Floyd liked to veer out into the stranger and more psychedelic realms. And in the 1970s, the band experienced a real big high. From 1973 to 1979, Pink Floyd released these four albums consecutively: The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977), and The Wall (1979). That’s, well, insane! And that’s only a slice of the band’s illustrious career.
The Who
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No rock band has ever been more explosive than The Who. And there isn’t much competition. Not only could the group expand your mind with interesting and wild albums like Tommy, but the outfit could make you feel like the amplifiers, the stage, the roof, and the universe itself were about to go up in one loud, thunderous boom thanks to some guitar chord or kick-drum hit. It’s no wonder the band enjoyed a lengthy career, one that saw The Who release a new album as recently as 2019. Some bands can just go forever and ever.
Photo by Gems/Redferns