ABBA released their second studio album Waterloo March 4, 1974. It was their first album to be released internationally. The single Waterloo was released the same day, and it was the song that won ABBA the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest.
The single reached #1 in many countries. It reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and ended the year at #49. The album only reached #145 on the Billboard 200 charts.
The album generated the singles Honey, Honey, which peaked at #27 US Billboard Hot 100, and Hasta Manana.
Donna Summer released her debut album Lady of the Night in the Netherlands, February 26, 1974. She had been "discovered" by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte while she was singing backing vocals for Three Dog Night. They approached her about recording her own album.
The Hostage was the first single released and entered the top three charts in Belgium and Spain. Lady of the Night hit the top ten in Austria. The album did not chart.
Luna 22, launched May 29, 1974, was a lunar orbiter from the Soviet Space program. It was the second of the "advanced" lunar orbiters, the first being Luna 19. Luna 22 entered lunar orbit on June 2 and performed without any problems. It returned photos for fifteen months, well past its intended mission conclusion, April 1975.
Luna 22 depleted its maneuvering propellant on September 2, and the mission formally ended in November 1975.
The Pointer Sisters first appeared on the Grand Ole Opry October 25, 1974, becoming the first black female group to perform at the venue. They performed Fairytale which went on to win a Grammy for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group.
Swedish super-duper-group ABBA released their hit single Waterloo March 4, 1974. It was the first single from their second album Waterloo and it won the Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden in 1974.
In 2005, at the 50th anniversary celebration, Waterloo was chosen as the best song ever in the competition. It has sold 5 million copies world-wide.
The first annual American Music Awards was held on February 19, 1974 and produced by Dick Clark Productions. African-American artists won big, winning at least one award in each of three categories, and sweeping the Soul/R&B category.
Stevie Wonder won two awards: Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Song for Superstition.
Charley Pride also won two awards: Favorite Country Male Artist, and Favorite Country Album, A Sunshiny Day with Charley Pride.
Roberta Flack won for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist
The Temptations won Favorite Soul/R&B Band/Duo/Group
Al Green won Favorite Soul/R&B Album for I'm Still In Love With You.
Diana Ross won Favorite Pop/Rock Album for Lady Sings the Blues.
Three days after its premiere in Los Angeles, The Towering Inferno was released in theaters December 19, 1974. Irwin Allen produced the film, combining two novels: The Tower by Richard Martin Stern; and The Glass Inferno by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson. The disaster flick starred an all-star cast including Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, and Gregory Sierra.
It opened to mostly positive reviews and became a box-office smash, becoming one of the biggest grossing films of 1975. It won three Academy Awards: Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Song for We May Never Love This Way Again.
John Williams was nominated for his original score. Fred Astaire was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. He didn't win the Oscar but did win a Golden Globe for his role.
I suppose the success of Airport in 1970 was the main impetus behind the making of this movie, to which the only connection to Airport 1975 is George Kennedy as Joe Patroni. Airport 1975, released October 18, 1974, was a box office blockbuster, becoming the third largest grossing film of 1974 behind The Towering Inferno and Earthquake, which starred both George Kennedy and Charlton Heston (Alan Murdock in Airport 1975).
Critics were not impressed, and the movie has been inducted into the Razzie Awards' Hall of Shame (along with its two sequels).
Dana Andrews plays Scott Freeman, the pilot of a twin-engine private Beechcraft Baron, who has a heart attack in flight and crashes into the cockpit of a 747, killing two crew members and blinding the captain. Airport 1975 was heavily parodied in Airplane!, a comedy taken from Zero Hour! which also starred Dana Andrews.
The cast was star-studded with big names like Gloria Swanson, Karen Black, Efram Zimbalist, Jr., Susan Clark, Linda Blair, and Helen Reddy.
Reddy garnered the only award nomination as she was nominated for the Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer - Female.
The third version of Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians (And Then There Were None) was released April 23, 1974. It starred Elke Sommer, Oliver Reed, Richard Attenborough, and Orson Welles.
Reading the cast and watching the trailer, it doesn't seem as if the screenwriters didn't care much for Agatha Christie's version and decided to write their own mystery story, loosely based on the novel.
A hotel in Iran instead of a isolated island? C'mon, man!
Jack Fischer, born January 23, 1974 in Louisville, Colorado, went into space aboard Soyuz MS-04 to the International Space Station in April 2017. He participated in Expeditions 51 and 52 and performed two EVAs for a total of almost 7 hours.
Agatha Christie's classic novel, Murder on the Orient Express, published in 1934 was brought to the screen November 24, 1974. It boasted an all-star cast that had 58 Academy Award nominations and 14 wins. The movie itself won an Oscar. Ingrid Bergman won for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, beating Madeline Kahn for her performance in Blazing Saddles. It had been nominated for five other categories.
Murder on the Orient Express starred Albert Finney (as Hercule Poirot), Sean Connery, Lauren Bacall, Anthony Perkins and Michael York.
It was nominated for a Grammy for Best Original Score. It was the 11th highest grossing movie of 1974 and received a 90% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes.
My girls, the Pointer Sisters appeared on the Carol Burnett Show, September 28, 1974, the third episode of the eighth season. I couldn't find any pics or videos of the episode, but they sang Steam Heat and Carol joined them on Salt Peanuts.
Cosmonaut Evgeny Tarelkin, born December 29, 1974, went into space aboard Soyuz TMA-06M to the International Space Station. He was part of the crew for Expeditions 33 and 34. He stayed in space for over 143 days.
Mariner 10, launched in November 1973, made its second of three flybys of Mercury September 21, 1974. It had made a flyby of Venus prior to its first visit of Mercury. Mariner 10 managed to photograph almost half of the planet during its second encounter. It flew within 30,000 miles of the southern hemisphere.
Sergey Ryzhikov, born August 19, 1974, has spent about six months in space aboard the International Space Station. He served as commander of Soyuz MS-02, launched in October 2016. He was part of the crew of Expedition 49, with fellow cosmonaut Andrei Borisenko and astronaut Robert Kimbrough. He returned to Earth n April 2017.
Another favorite M*A*S*H episode, Private Charles Lamb (Season 3, Episode 14) aired on December 31, 1974. A Greek colonel is grateful for the 4077th and their excellent treatment of his men, so he throws a typical Greek celebration for them. The feast includes lots of ouzo and a lamb for lamb chops.
Radar (Gary Burghoff) is appalled that the lamb will be slaughtered for the feast, so he manages to secure a release and trip home for "Private Charles Lamb" on Bo-Peep Airline. To allay any suspicions, Radar manages to create a lamb from Spam for the party.
Loretta Swit (Margaret Houlihan) does not appear in this episode.
I could not find a clip of this episode anywhere! Only the entire episode which costs money.
Helen Reddy's eerie tune Angie Baby reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart December 28, 1974. It also reached #1 on the Billboard Easy Listening and Billboard Cash Box Top 100.
Written by Alan O'Day, Angie Baby is about a young girl who is "touched", not mentally handicapped. She doesn't have any friends and does not attend school, so she finds solace in the songs on the radio. Then a young man "with evil on his mind" visits Angie, but things do not go as he planned. He disappears and becomes her "secret lover" although everyone thinks he died.
Reddy once said she has never disclosed the real meaning of the lyrics because she loves hearing all the theories listeners have come up with. She also said it was the only one of her songs she didn't have to push radio stations to play.
Universal Pictures released its blockbuster disaster movie Earthquake November 15, 1974. After the success of Airport (1970) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972), a slew of disaster pics were released in 1974 including The Towering Inferno and Airport 1975. Earthquake was the third grossing film of the year, with The Towering Inferno being the top-selling film.
The movie has an all-star cast that includes Charlton Heston, George Kennedy, Victoria Principal, Ava Gardner and Lorne Greene. It won an Academy Award for Best Sound and one for Special Achievements in Visual Effects.
John Williams received a Golden Globe nomination for his original score.
