
Never a Dull Moment
1971 - the Year That Rock Exploded
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Narrated by:
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David Hepworth
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By:
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David Hepworth
About this listen
A rollicking look at 1971 - the busiest, most innovative and resonant year of the '70s, defined by the musical arrival of such stars as David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Joni Mitchell.
On New Year's Eve, 1970, Paul McCartney told his lawyers to issue the writ at the High Court in London, effectively ending The Beatles. You might say this was the last day of the pop era.
The following day, which was a Friday, was 1971. You might say this was the first day of the rock era. And within the remaining 364 days of this monumental year, the world would hear Don McLean's "American Pie", The Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar", The Who's "Baba O'Riley", Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven", Rod Stewart's "Maggie May", Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On", and more.
David Hepworth, an ardent music fan and a well-regarded critic, was 21 in '71, the same age as many of the legendary artists who arrived on the scene. Taking us on a tour of the major moments, the events and songs of this remarkable year, he shows how musicians came together to form the perfect storm of rock and roll greatness, starting a musical era that would last longer than anyone predicted. Those who joined bands to escape things that lasted found themselves in a new age, its colossal start being part of the genre's staying power.
Never a Dull Moment is more than a love song to the music of 1971. It's also an homage to the things that inspired art and artists alike. From Soul Train to The Godfather, hot pants to table tennis, Hepworth explores both the music and its landscapes, culminating in an epic story of rock and roll's best year.
©2016 David Hepworth (P)2016 Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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- By wylie smith on 01-12-23
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Laurel Canyon
- The Inside Story of Life in L.A.'s Legendary Rock and Roll Neighborhood
- By: Michael Walker
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Laurel Canyon was the neighborhood perched above the clubs and record companies of Sunset Strip where Joni Mitchell, Jim Morrison, Graham Nash, Cass Elliot, Carole King, Don Henley, and Peter Tork, just to name a few, lived and collaborated to make an indelible mark on our music and our culture.
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Interesting book. Poor reader.
- By Louise on 09-09-06
By: Michael Walker
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Uncommon People
- The Rise and Fall of The Rock Stars
- By: David Hepworth
- Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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The age of the rock star, like the age of the cowboy, has passed. Like the cowboy, the idea of the rock star lives on in our imaginations. What did we see in them? Swagger. Recklessness. Sexual charisma. Damn-the-torpedoes self-belief. A certain way of carrying themselves. Good hair. Interesting shoes. Talent we wished we had. What did we want of them? To be larger than life but also like us. To live out their songs. To stay young forever. No wonder many didn't stay the course.
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INSIGHTFULL!
- By CLAUDIA R KENNEDY on 02-18-18
By: David Hepworth
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All Things Must Pass Away
- Harrison, Clapton, and Other Assorted Love Songs
- By: Kenneth Womack, Jason Kruppa
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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George Harrison and Eric Clapton shared a legendary and tumultuous friendship that shaped not only their respective lives and careers, but the shifting face of rock itself in the early 1970s. All Things Must Pass Away traces that friendship from its earliest roots in 1964, when Beatles-averse blues-rocker Eric met George backstage at the Hammersmith Odeon, through the messy trials of Clapton's affair with Harrison's wife, Pattie Boyd, to the turn of the century, as the two elder statesmen of rock traded honors during Harrison's final days.
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I know some but not all…
- By Rick R. on 08-25-21
By: Kenneth Womack, and others
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The Islander
- My Life in Music and Beyond
- By: Chris Blackwell
- Narrated by: Bill Nighy
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Since its founding in 1959, Island Records has been home to legendary artists representing wildly divergent musical styles, yet who share the same maverick, outsider spirit of its founder, Chris Blackwell. Time and again, Blackwell and his Island cohorts identified and nurtured musicians overlooked by other labels, including Bob Marley, U2, Cat Stevens, Grace Jones, Roxy Music, Traffic, Nick Drake, Tom Waits, Robert Palmer, Free, the B-52’s, John Martyn, and Jimmy Cliff.
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A Record Label Boss in Flip Flops Tells His Story
- By Ann Arbor on 12-15-22
By: Chris Blackwell
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The Wrecking Crew
- The Inside Story of Rock and Roll's Best-Kept Secret
- By: Kent Hartman
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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If you were a fan of popular music in the 1960s and early '70s, you were a fan of the Wrecking Crew - whether you knew it or not. On hit record after hit record by everyone from the Byrds, the Beach Boys, and the Monkees to the Grass Roots, the 5th Dimension, Sonny & Cher, and Simon & Garfunkel, this collection of West Coast studio musicians from diverse backgrounds established themselves as the driving sound of pop music - sometimes over the objection of actual band members....
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Left Guessing
- By Patrick King on 04-29-14
By: Kent Hartman
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Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)
- A Memoir
- By: Sly Stone, Ben Greenman - contributor, Questlove - foreword
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the few indisputable geniuses of pop music, Sly Stone is a trailblazer and a legend. He created a new kind of music, mixing Black and white, male and female, funk and rock. As a songwriter, he penned some of the most iconic anthems of the 1960s and ’70s, from “Everyday People” to “Family Affair.” As a performer, he electrified audiences with a persona and stage presence that set a lasting standard for pop-culture performance.
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Thank You!
- By Gina M. McKenzie on 10-20-23
By: Sly Stone, and others
What listeners say about Never a Dull Moment
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-30-16
A blast from the past
Very enjoyable for someone like me who was there in 1971. I especially like all the political and cultural context filled in. The author is a bit cynical, but then I suppose some of it is justified. But very enjoyable and interesting, and well read by the author.
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6 people found this helpful
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- DSR WALK
- 02-20-19
Very Entertaining
I never ealized how much music there was in1971 . It was so much fun remembering all of the great music groups that were making great albums when I was a child. I reaaly enjoyed the great passion of great rock and roll that the author has in this book. At times hes hard to follow but I still enjoy all of the research he shares on the greatest year of music in American history
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- Nowlill
- 04-10-24
Waiting for 1972
Perfectly read, delightfully written, I’m glad I was alive then. I’m sharing this with my daughters so they can be jealous of me.
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-24-17
I was born in 1971
So this is like a backstage pass to the soundtrack to my life. Thanks David.
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- Amazon Customer
- 05-05-22
Fun listening!
If you experienced that time or are a fan of that era's music you will enjoy this audiobook!
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- Anonymous User
- 06-10-24
These Are the Good Old Days
This is a fabulous listen. It captures a defining period in the history of popular music. The book invokes numerous memories of the countless aural sensations I experienced as a 7 year old in 1971, sensations that gave me my first thrills at being alive on Earth. As the author indicates, so much was happening at the time, which we just thought was a natural part of society's creative process, that we had no idea how the songs, albums, and groups we heard were constructing a canon that still dominates in the 21st century. (I listened as I read a news story picturing 80-year-old Mick Jagger and announcing yet another Rolling Stones tour in 2024 - let's forget about that 1981 "Farewell Tour" - oops...)
David Hepworth is equally compelling as author and narrator, and the interplay of facts and storytelling ended up capturing my attention from start to finish. I was so entertained that I stopped caring about a few minor disagreements, and I enjoyed the 1971 time stoppage and the format of breaking up by months, including a favorite playlist at the end of each month (though maybe J.C. Superstar should have been included in the year's top 100?...). Bravo and looking forward to more with Anticipation!
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- Dubi
- 03-28-22
Recalling a Great Year in My Musical Life
David Hepworth turned 21 in 1971 and recalls this as the best year in the history of rock and roll in Never a Dull Moment, a month by month reminiscence that focuses on the Rolling Stones, Carole King, Stevie Wonder, The Who, Rod Stewart, David Bowie, Led Zep, the former Beatles, and many many others. He places these in the context of current and pop culture events, as well as other aspects of the music business -- record company execs, the music press, technological advances, and the like.
I turned 15 in 1971, a watershed year for me, including my own pivot that Hepworth describes -- switching from 45s and AM radio to LPs and FM (from singles to albums). I got my first album (Blind Faith), got my first real guitar and used it at my first live performance (Nantucket Sleighride), formed my first band, The Summer Snowflake (lasted three days), and saw my first live concerts -- Procol Harum at the Capitol in Passaic, Grateful Dead at the Felt Forum. Lots of other indelible moments.
Hard to give Hepworth more praise than by conjuring up these memories in one place over a half century later -- to put them all together in the context of his evaluation of this year in rock music is mildly epiphianic for me.
One can criticize this book for being a bit scattershot. Each month is devoted to at least one major artist, plus a few secondary, often related artists. But to be so all encompassing means that some get barely a mention. But who am I to complain when my all-time guitar hero, my mentor-instructor, is mentioned in such a positive way (even though Hepworth mistakes his gospel blues for fiddle tunes). And in the penultimate mention before the epilogue -- Nantucket Sleighride!
Give Hepworth credit for not only focusing on big names and major releases. He includes quite a bit about what artists who hit in later years were doing in 1971, like Springsteen, Jonathan Richman, Talking Heads, and the New York Dolls, among others. And artists like Nick Drake who recorded in 1971 but didn't gain recognition for many years.
Great stuff for classic rock fans, possibly good stuff for younger fans who may have heard their parents or grandparents listening to this music, or their own music heroes covering or sampling these songs or naming them as influences. You may not agree with everything, but at the very least, food for thought.
Kudos to Hepworth for his narration. He is not perhaps the most polished of voices, being a writer, not a voice actor, but no one else could have captured his mildly sardonic tone and totally apropos English accent.
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- Dave Holak
- 05-24-21
Great recap of an amazing year of music
Enjoyed every minute of this 1971 recap. Mind blowing how much happened in music is 1971, there was truly never a dull moment.
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- Robert
- 03-04-18
1971 Great year in Rock History!
He presents a compelling case for 1971 being the most substantive year in the rock era. A lot of interesting information and behind the scenes intrigue of many rock ledgands. If you love classic rock and roll, I highly recommend this one!
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- wylie smith
- 11-30-23
Interesting, but Hepworth's book differs from my m
I di enjoy this book as Hepworth put 1971 in an order (his order) while my memories of 1971 are day to day rather than organized in a whole. While I appreciate seeing how things fit together, both in the moment and in the future, I would not chosen a lot of Hepworth's topics. But Hepworth reminds me that studio technology was improving and making records sound better, and that rock was starting to remember its past rather than focusing on raising its artistic content. While the rock press wrote later about Pete Townsend's missing opera Lifehouse, Hepworth (in my opinion) is definitely correct in stating that "Who's Next" is far superior to an opera. And that Glyn Johns was correct to make Townsend focus on the songs, not the content. As an album purchaser, I was distressed that "Sergeant Pepper" was dubbed 'art,' and that 'serious' musicians had to keep progressing album by album. (Conversely, I found the soloing by Cream to be boring at times, but not nearly as boring as the legions of guitarists that followed who felt obliged to take long, aka boring, solos.) I say this. in part, because Hepworth claims that the next movement in pop/rock/soul was hiphop. Not to denigrate hiphop, but the nerxt step in rock was punk as it sent musicians and their audiences back to three chords, danceable music, and the basic emotions of rock.
So while I like a lot of the stories that Hepworth writes about, I find some of his conclusions arguable as he omits the facts that don't fit his ideas. But I do love the observations of the times like smaller venues and the availability of tickets. So I guess that I am asking why can't his memories be more like mine.
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