Bicentennial images in 1976... I remember this well!

[QueerDuck]

CAPTION: These images are from the bicentennial in 1976, which is what a milestone birthday for America looks like when we don't have a President literally ruining everything great about our country.

[The Wizard]

1. One nation under Zeus.

[QueerDuck]

2. Exactly! Jupiter bless America!

[peppertree]

30. And sure enough - it did!

Jupiter - in the 'natal chart' for the U.S. (a diagram of the heavens on the place and time of any given event) - is conjunct the Sun and Venus.

It's, moreover, in home-oriented Cancer - the sign in which Jupiter is said to be exalted (as its qualities are best expressed).

Had the U.S. been a person, that combination would've brought him or her luck, popularity, talent and success - as well as a relatively happy, prosperous home.

And whatever this nation's faults and foibles, we've certainly had more than our share of all those.

[-misanthroptimist]

3. I remember some of that

Hey, it was 1976.

[QueerDuck]

5. Here are the songs I was listening to... AND STILL DO!!

[-misanthroptimist]

8. Interesting

I have no memory of 19 of those songs. And there's probably at least that number that I never need to hear again.

There's some good stuff in there, too, though.

[QueerDuck]

17. I hear ya... some of them were groaning clunkers! An eye-rolling bookmark of a time in my life.

[LisaM]

25. So I had to count after that and I got 12 that I didn't know.

What always amazes me about old playlists is the variety of songs that everyone knew. There are a number of songs and genres represented where I don't really even like the song or artist, yet I know almost every word. So different from the Balkanized music world we live in now.

[Lifeafter70]

29. I did the same and got 15

But a couple were iffy.

[musette_sf]

41. The list is very Euro

Figured it would be when I saw Sir Cliff, then Boney M, in the mix. All the songs I didn’t know were UK/Euro hits.

[karin_sj]

31. Wow!

That was a fun stroll down memory lane. I remember almost all of those songs. The 70s had such a huge variety of music.

[BumRushDaShow]

59. I remember about 90% of those songs

am guessing a brunch weren't getting the airplay in certain cites at the time. Am surprised they saved K.C. & the Sunshine Band for last as they had a bunch of hits in the 1975/76 era (still have my 45s).

A big one left out was Earth, Wind, & Fire (their "Spirit" album came out in '76 (album #2 Billboard)) including -

Also holdover Rufus and Chaka Khan -

[LeftInTX]

65. They left out Philadelphia Freedom by Elton John. We were told it was recorded for the bicentennial,

However, it's complicated..LOL

It was recorded a year or two earlier in honor of Billie Jean King and possibly the "Sound of Philadelphia".

However, it was embraced in the summer of 76 and played ubiquitiously.

From AI:

Elton John’s 1975 hit "Philadelphia Freedom" was written as a tribute to his close friend, tennis star Billie Jean King . Although often mistaken for a patriotic Bicentennial anthem , its release perfectly timed with the 1976 200-year celebration, cementing it as an unofficial soundtrack to the festivities

Original link https://www.eltonjohn.com/stories/billie-jean-king-talks-about-philadelphia-freedom
TLDR

[LeftInTX]

66. "All By Myself" should have NEVER been released! It's been a blemish on society!

[QueerDuck]

72. I agree. It's a bad one.

Even Celine's cover of it makes me cringe.

[allegorical oracle]

71. Fondly recall "Afternoon Delight" -- it was sweet and happy. Thanks for the memory. nt

[MustLoveBeagles]

4. I wish I remembered it more

I got stuck with the crappy one 😞.

[Initech]

6. The Great American State Fair could have been something really cool.

But nope, we just had to have the fucking asshole back in power, who turned it into a celebration about himself and his twisted version of... whatever the hell he wants America to be, and we got this bullshit instead.

[MineralMan]

7. And a Republican Was President

Gerald Ford. So...

People hate Trump!

[IL Dem]

56. Even though some of us were mad at him for pardoning Nixon.

I think that's a big factor for where we are today.

On the upside, Jimmy Carter was running for election. I was excited about him.

[MineralMan]

57. Sadly, Reagan was waiting in the wings.

Ready for his close-up. Carter didn't have a chance for a second term.

[SharonAnn]

61. Reagan's men convinced Iran to hold on to the American hostages

Until after our presidential election. Didn’t want Carter to get credit for getting hostages released and getting elected.

Nixon did the same think with Vietnam war peace talks to sabotage his opponent.

Just more Republicans dirty tricks.

[LeftInTX]

68. Reagan came to my Wisconsin campus in Jan 1976

I was wierd because I had lived in CA, when he was governor and didn't even know what he looked like.

When I saw him. I recognized him as the "20 Mule Team Borax" guy from Death Valley Days. I think he was wearing make-up.

Some of my friends went to the event to protest him. I went to the library. He exited the event in a convertable in front of the library and drove around in circles several times. He was all happy, smiling and waving despite. I thought he would leave the event in shame...

https://www.nytimes.com/1976/01/14/archives/eggs-and-jeers-greet-reagan-in-wisconsin.html

OSHKOSH, Wis Jan. 13 (UPI)—Ronald Reagan faced down flying eggs and jeering youths on the University of Wisconsin ‐ Oshkosh campus today in the most hectic moments of his young Presidential campaign.

[RedWhiteBlueIsRacist]

9. I was rockin' with Aerosmith, Bob Seger, Black Oak Arkansas & Jeff Beck/Jan Hammer concert

on July 3/4th '76, Winston-Salem NC. Tickets were something like $12 bucks for the whole shebang!

[brer cat]

10. I remember much of that celebration. I watched the fireworks

from across the river in Arlington.

[oberle]

38. I was on the mall in DC, totally ploughed with some friends, watching the fireworks

Everyone was using the Reflecting Pool to pee in. Yeah, those were the days.

[EYESORE 9001]

11. I went to the glacier of Mount Hood on July 4,1976

I didn’t ski, but I’d been wanting to experience it anyway, so took a ski lift to the highest accessible point. Saw skiers in summer attire, adding to the surrealism of the day.

[electric_blue68]

26. Wow! Very cool!

Beautiful Seattle area mountains!

[EYESORE 9001]

39. For a period of about three years, I went into the cascades every chance I got

Mostly in Oregon, and even though I could see Mount St. Helens when conditions allowed, sometimes hovering just on the horizon, an eerily symmetrical cone reflecting the sun with the brightest white light imaginable, I never suspected that half of that cone would be gone the year after I left the PNW.

[electric_blue68]

60. The ones I knew of were Rainier, Hood and Shasta....

Must have been beautiful and invigorating being up in the Cascades.
That sounds amazing seeing Mt St Helen's like that!
Then we all knew of MSH after it blew up.

We'd be driving on some New England mountains and The Aiderondaks during family vacations when I was a kd/tween/teen.

But my most unexpected amazing mountain experience was when my cousin at Denver Uni (while I was doing a 2/3rds and more northern [S Dakota, Colorado] to the SW USA trip by bus) took me up into The Rockies on his motorcycle(!!!) bc his roommate had taken the car. Yeah, kinda scary, but oh; so beautiful!

[PufPuf23]

12. Made a big American flag out of petunias and marigolds.

Living with gf in an A-frame built as a fishing cabin built on a steep slope. There was a path to deck and front door from parking. The bank above the path was blackberries, rocks and other wild vegetation. Hauled in river silt with PU and wheelbarrow. Built terraces out of rock to retain the soil. The flower bed was about 30 feet by 15 feet. Planted red, white and blue petunias for the stripes and field for the stars. Used marigolds for the stars and to form gold border. Started in the Fall. Planted and pretty well filled in by July 4. The work was almost like penance as slowly progressed. Gf helped too but reminded me as work progressed that it was my idea. Wish had a photo. darn.

[RockCreek]

14. That is seriously impressive!!

[karynnj]

20. Wow!

[patphil]

13. Everything Trump touches dies.

[pat_k]

15. And the tall ships!!

Walter Cronkite reporting

[maveric]

49. I remember watching the Tall Ships sailing into Boston harbor.

And Arthur Fiedler’s concert at the Esplanades.
Boston was festive and proud.

[pat_k]

50. I was in LA at the time, but my partner's family were in NY and had film. Quite a sight!!

[llmart]

63. That's what I remember about it also!

I also remember making a flag sheet cake with stars and stripes but the picture I took was in black and white and the stripes look like they're strips of bacon. My two children were 1 and 5 and I thought it important that they understand what we were celebrating that year (well, at least the 5 year-old could understand). I can't believe how patriotic I was back then, but now I'm just not feeling it, and I guess we all know why.

[RT Atlanta]

16. such a happy time...

more of 'what was taken from us' by the monster at 1600 right now ....

[NewLarry]

18. I remember back in '76 talking to this guy

He was about 60 years old and owned a junkyard.

He had a plan to get rich slow. He was going to buy thousands of bicentennial dollars and save them for the tricentennial, then sell them as souvenirs.

I occasionally wonder whatever became of that old coot. He's only got 50 years to go!

[Unwind Your Mind]

43. Oh I like that

Grandpa collected coins and started us all off early collecting wheat pennies for him

So, I have always been in the habit of tucking away less common coins and have a number of bicentennial quarters. I think I’ll go through those this week.

Thanks for the reminder

[karynnj]

19. I remember it well and it was cool

I worked on Lower Manhattan in the Trade Center area. The entire group I worked in walked to the South Street Seaport area to see the tall ships in the harbor.

Now, THAT was bipartisan.

[QueerDuck]

21. And red/white/blue were THE colors for everything. Not in the tacky MAGA way...

... but in the red shirt, blue shorts and white tube-socks way!

[electric_blue68]

28. Very cool! Been to the South Street Seaport...

Though not since the alterations to Pier 17.

[Americanme]

22. I remember July 4, 1976.

I was 14 years old. We were camping up north, near Baldwin, MI. We drove to Ludington on the 4th, my stepdad bought us ice cream, which was a rare thing. We watched fireworks over Lake Michigan. The whole town seemed like one huge party, everybody was happy. Don't have a lot of happy memories from my childhood, but this was one.

[Billsdaughter]

23. We went to Philadelphia the Summer of '76

and it was spectacular!! We spent two weeks in Philly taking it all in and then down the shore to cool off! Great times.

Trump can shit all over everything but he can't take our collective national pride and our fellowship of community that we have with one another. Let's celebrate THAT!

[kimbutgar]

24. I remember seeing these images on TV in 1976

Our country is so awful now and I'm not celebrating on Saturday.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

27. Cherished memory from 1976...

I'd just moved to NYC from SoCal in time for the Bicentennial celebrations. Like the Tall Ships down the Hudson to the Statue of Liberty and Macy's first annual fireworks over downtown. It was big and splashy and filled to the brim with joyous people (despite a really bad economy I was completely unaware of.)

[electric_blue68]

32. TY for photos!

[SleeplessinSoCal]

35. happy to share

[orleans]

47. those are great photos! thanks for posting them nt

[William Seger]

51. The fireworks show was awesome

I rode my bike from Virginia to the Mall to avoid traffic -- biggest show, ever, up until then. Of course, this year will be bigger, since we're celebrating #rump.

[Scrivener7]

67. I was there too. Wasn't it amazing?

[electric_blue68]

33. We lived relatively near the Manhattan side of the GW Bridge so on July 4th we walked down....

We: my dad, my sis and I, my cousins, aunts & uncles walked downed to under the bridge parkland near the Little Red Lighthouse to watch the Tall Ships sail by!

Sooo fun to see all the different types of ships. They sailed up past a bit, then turned around and came back down. I don't have my slides any more.

Then that night we went down to the southern area of Manhattan to see the fireworks.

[Hey Joe]

34. I got to march in the big Philadelphia parade with

my high school band on July 4 ‘76 and it was an awesome experience!
One band from every state got to go with expenses paid for the trip and fortunately we were the #1 band in Florida that year!
Still have great memories of that trip and how impressive the city of Philadelphia was with the old statues, monuments and buildings.
Made a big impression on this 16 year old kid!

[PCIntern]

40. I was there!

There was very little antipathy or anger. We were very proud citizens that year. Nixon was gone, the Vietnam War was over and other than economic issues which always plague us, there were no national negatives, at least for the celebration. Now we have a carnival barker as a tinhorn Mussolini destroying the holiday.

[Hey Joe]

42. Yes PCIntern, when we think of how far we have

fallen , it puts a damper on this 250th anniversary.

[Beartracks]

36. Republicans under Trump: Find out what's made America great, and do the opposite. n/t

Or, rather: Assume things you don't personally like are a national crisis, and try to fix them.

=======================

[MerryBlooms]

37. I was 13, in Mr. Yarnell's 8th grade History class

Man, we did debates, mock election... It was lovely.
He was also my home room teacher, heard morning announcements... Good times 🥰

[VGNonly]

44. I was working at Cedar Point

the amusement park. The fireworks show was spectacular, seemed to go on and on.

Good times!

[purr-rat beauty]

45. Watch trump try to use these

Sprinkle a little AI here; a little AI there and the peons will have no idea

[SpankMe]

46. I was a teenager for the bicentennial

Yet, it still feels like it happened somewhat recently. It sucks that 50 years have passed and it feels like less than 20.

This means I'll be dead sooner than I thought.

[Ilsa]

48. There was a subdivision in Sugarland Tx with

interior colors and wallpaper all in Bicentennial or flag/patroitic themes. Lots of RWB.

I was a teenager for the Bicentennial.

[Raine]

52. I remember Bicentennial minutes, fire hydrates painted to look like

little people and the train that had historical things you could see on it.

[QueerDuck]

53. OMG... I remember the bicentennial minutes too!

&list=PLIaYdGRW2eLy-pmZZH0Jes08zYugK4aLy

[TBF]

54. I was 9 - and remember the parade

in the small town I grew up in

[UpInArms]

55. The tall ships in New York harbor

[Quiet Em]

58. I was eight. I remember being excited about it because we talked about it alot at school

Other than that my only memory is of my Uncle in his cut off jean shorts, topless, with a can of genny cream ale in his hand blowing off fireworks in the backyard.

[MorbidButterflyTat]

69. Similar except the beer was Old Milwaukee

[Quiet Em]

70. lol

[miyazaki]

62. I was just a tot but I remember the cool bicentennial quarters.

Could actually buy something from the ice cream man with just a quarter.

[Glaisne]

64. I saw Operation Sail from Liberty Island in NYC

On Independence Day. An exciting day for a 13 yo.