A new mini-series, titled, 1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything, will begin airing on Apple TV Plus starting May 21st. Variety reported the eight-part program is based on author David Hepworth's critically acclaimed book, 1971: Never A Dull Moment, which chronicled the groundbreaking year, which solidified the place of the singer-songwriter and underscored the power and importance of what is now called “classic rock.”
1971's producer James Gay-Rees, explained, “I remember sitting in a room with David Hepworth as he gave me the context of what was happening socially and politically that year, alongside which albums were coming out that year. And. . . it was a slightly jaw-dropping moment, because the list just seemed to never end, and I couldn’t believe that all those records came out of that one year. I mean, some of these months alone are kind of iconic moments for music.”
James Taylor led the singer-songwriter movement that was in full-force by 1971. He told us that he's not the type of writer who can just bang out an album over a couple of week's worth of writing sessions: “They sort of come through me, and I, and I wait for them to show up. I can do things that help them show up — usually sitting down playing the guitar, so, my guitar technique is central to it. I’m not. . . I don’t read music, I don’t write it, so I, sit down and basically wander around on the guitar until something starts to present itself.”
Rod Stewart, one of the biggest stars — if not the biggest — of 1971 — admitted to us that he never thought he'd achieve so much through singing when he first turned professional: “Oh, when I first came into it, I was getting paid 35 pounds a week. And I thought, 'Well, 35 pounds a week,' y'know, 30 years ago, was a lot of money. I thought, 'Well, this is absolutely wonderful. If it lasts for six months, I'll be able to save up and buy a, y'know, modest sports car and go out and pull all the girls (laughs)'”
Legendary producer, Chic co-founder, and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Nile Rodgers shed light on the changes Marvin Gaye brought to Motown starting in 1971: “When I watched Motown go from what I would call a real slick pop place to, sort of, more politically-based R&B — y'know when Marvin Gaye did What's Going On and (sings) 'and rockets, moon. . . ' and that stuff (sings) 'make you wanna' — 'Inner City Blues' and all of that kinda stuff. And it was just amazing to me because not only did they have that, but all of a sudden the vibe of Motown changed and they started getting the self-contained bands and the edgier, sort of, R&B stuff. That was, like, and amazing era of Motown to me.”
