The 1970s boasted some brilliant pop music. While rock bands were all the rage at the time, there were some talented songwriters and performers diving into the sticky genre. And that’s just what we wanted to dive into below.
We wanted to explore the careers of three of the biggest pop stars of the 1970s. We wanted to see how they got their start and how they evolved. Indeed, these are three pop stars who found new life as solo artists in the 1970s.
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Diana Ross
If you look up the word “glamorous” in the dictionary, chances are you’ll see a picture of singer Diana Ross in her heyday. The woman was fabulously stylish and somehow regal, noble at the same time. Well, that feeling came through in her music, too. Fans of Ross first came to know her thanks to her work in the famed Motown group, The Supremes, which released their debut album, Meet The Supremes, in 1962. But it was eight years later when Ross went solo, releasing her debut LP in 1970. After that, she took her position as queen of all music.
Donny Osmond
Before he was Donny Osmond, Donny Osmond was part of a family band with four of his brothers called The Osmonds, which released its debut LP, The Wonderful World Of The Osmond Brothers, in 1968. But it didn’t take Donny long to stand out. After his brotherly band released one more LP, he released his own debut solo studio album in 1971, The Donny Osmond Album. The hard-working pop star released two albums every year for three straight years in the early 1970s. He knew that the key to work was, well, more work.
David Cassidy
Born on April 12, 1950, in New York City, David Cassidy rose to fame and fortune thanks to television. Strictly speaking, he wasn’t in a band that released traditional albums prior to his solo success. No, he was part of a TV ensemble on the musical sitcom, The Partridge Family. He and his faux family would drive around in a bus and sing songs every week. It was a real hit. Later, though, Cassidy went out on a real-life solo career. At one point, he was the highest-paid entertainer in the world. Cassidy released his debut solo LP, Cherish, in 1972 and followed that up with five more albums during the decade. He was quite the prolific pop star.
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