I have always said I “grew up” in the 80s. But chronologically that’s not entirely true. I “came of age” in the 80s, but the boy to teenager progression – what we typically mean by “growing up” – took place in the 70s; in fact, I became a teenager just as the decade was changing: I turned 13 in 1979.
Recently, I have had a yen for all things seventies. Maybe it’s because I’m turning 60 this week and that feels like another transition: middle aged to senior citizen. Maybe its because our country and the world are so complicated and frightening right now, that I’m longing for a simpler time. I mean, it takes a lot to knock Nixon in 1974 off his spot atop the worst presidents ever list, but he seems downright cuddly compared to the current White House occupant. And maybe its because Iran is center stage, as it was in 1979 during the hostage crisis, and we are once again in a gas affordability/availability crisis, that the seventies are on my mind. In a good way.
To be honest, I don’t know what it is. But I find myself listening to The Captain and Tenille and Neil Sedaka (who just died last month) and watching retro commercials on YouTube: “when you’re tired of McDonalds and you don’t know what to do…Pup ‘n’ Taco” (that was an LA thing) and Ricardo Montalbán telling us about the “rich Corinthian leather” of the Chrysler Cordoba.
The seventies feel like a warm, slightly faded photograph – soft around the edges, sunlit, and full of textures that feel both distant and oddly familiar. There’s the hum of a vinyl record playing in a living room with that faint crackle just before the music begins. Time moved just a little bit slower, allowing moments to stretch and settle.
There’s something grounding about the aesthetic of the decade: earthy tones, flared jeans, shag carpets under bare feet. Harvest gold kitchens with avocado bathrooms. We lived without the distraction of screens. Evenings often meant flipping through a total of three network TV channels, committing to whatever was on, and sharing the experience rather than curating it. In my family, we never missed The Love Boat. I briefly wanted to be a cruise ship “purser” (Gopher’s character) though I did not know then and I do not know now what a purser does.
The seventies also carry a cultural rhythm that feels unfiltered; letters were written by hand, photos were developed days later, and anticipation was part of everyday life.
If I had to guess, I think what I’m longing for isn’t just the decade itself, but the feeling it represents: a balance between simplicity and change, between intimacy and discovery. It’s the idea of being present without trying so hard to capture the moment, of living in a world where not everything was immediate, and not everything needed to be. I don’t necessarily want to go back, but I do want to recapture that slower pulse, that analog warmth, and the sense that life, even in its uncertainty, had a kind of steady, human rhythm.
“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes” is attributed to Mark Twain, but there’s no evidence he actually said it. Still, it rings true. A problematic presidency, conflict with Iran, gas shortages, and an American anniversary.
In 1976, I was 10, in the fifth grade, and had the coolest teacher at Mark Keppel Elementary in Glendale: Mrs. Straub. She once gave me a ride home in her Triumph TR7, and for awhile it knocked Jim Rockford’s Pontiac Trans Am out of the running for the car I most wanted to have when I got my license (still six years away).
And America was celebrating its bicentennial – 200 years of independence.
Now, in 2026, America will celebrate its semiquincentennial – 250 years of independence. Not only is the name – bicentennial – simpler to say, but in 1976, President Ford did not appear on a commemorative coin or add his signature to US currency – Donald Trump has done both, even though federal law says no living president can appear on US currency.
Times were simpler. Life was easier. Not convinced? Come with me back to 1976, when The Captain and Tennille had a massive radio hit with “Muskrat Love,” reaching number 4 on the Hot 100 chart. It also reached number 2 on the Cash Box chart, which ranked it as the 30th biggest hit of 1976.
Nibbling on bacon
Chewing on cheese
Sam says to Suzie
Honey, would you please be my Mrs
Suzie says yes with her kisses
Uh huh… that was a hit! I’ve just added it to my iTunes – it’s my favorite song right now.
