1971
The year in music, movies, TV, fads & memories
In 1971, “Joy to the World” by Three Dog Night topped the Billboard year-end Hot 100 and IV by Led Zeppelin and What's Going On by Marvin Gaye were on every turntable. A Clockwork Orange, Willy Wonka and Dirty Harry were in theaters, and All in the Family, Columbo and Soul Train premieres were on TV.
The headlines: Pentagon Papers published. New that year: Intel 4004 microprocessor. Fads of the year: Hot pants and Schwinn Sting-Ray choppers. Gas was 36¢ a gallon and a stamp was 8¢. On the shelf: a row of Now and Laters, a can of Shasta and a set of Weebles, with Scooby-Doo on Saturday morning.
🎂 What music raised you?
Drop your birthday and we'll rewind to your golden era — the years the songs imprinted for life.
🔙 Backtrack — 1971
The world around the music — what was on screen, and what was on the shelf.
🎬 Set the scene
1971 had a simple formula: Scooby-Doo, a Laffy Taffy, a pitcher of Kool-Aid, then circle the roller rink under a disco ball until somebody called you in.
📼 Saturday cartoons
- Scooby-Doo👕 tee →
- Schoolhouse Rock!
- Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
- The Pink Panther Show
- Hong Kong Phooey
- The Jetsons
- The Flintstones
📰 Headlines
- Pentagon Papers published
- 26th Amendment (voting at 18)
- Attica Prison uprising
- Disney World opens
- Mariner 9 orbits Mars
💡 Tech & Firsts
- Intel 4004 microprocessor
- First email (the @ sign)
- Pocket calculator (Busicom)
- First videocassette (U-matic)
- Liquid-crystal display advances
🏆 Sports
- Pirates win the World Series
- Colts win Super Bowl V
- Bucks win the NBA title
- Ali-Frazier 'Fight of the Century'
- Canadiens win the Stanley Cup
🤪 Crazes & fads
- Hot pants
- Schwinn Sting-Ray choppers
- Black-light posters
- Pop-rock musicals
- CB radio
👖 Clothes
- Hot pants peak
- Maxi skirts
- Platform shoes rise
- Wide collars
- Suede fringe
💵 What it cost
- Gas: 36¢/gal
- Stamp: 8¢
- New car avg: ~$3,700
- Median home: ~$25,000
- Gallon of milk: ~$1.15
🧸 Toy chest
🍬 On the shelf
Billboard Year-End Hot 100
📊 Full chart →- 1
Joy to the WorldThree Dog Night - 2
Maggie MayRod Stewart - 3
I Feel the Earth MoveCarole King - 4
One Bad AppleThe Osmonds - 5
How Can You Mend a Broken HeartBee Gees - 6
Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)The Raiders - 7
Go Away Little GirlDonny Osmond - 8
Take Me Home, Country RoadsJohn Denver - 9
Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)The Temptations - 10
Knock Three TimesTony Orlando & Dawn - 11
Me and Bobby McGeeJanis Joplin - 12
Tired of Being AloneAl Green - 13
Want AdsHoney Cone - 14
Smiling Faces SometimesThe Undisputed Truth - 15
Treat Her Like a LadyCornelius Brothers & Sister Rose - 16
Brown SugarThe Rolling Stones - 17
You've Got a FriendJames Taylor - 18
Mr. Big StuffJean Knight - 19
Do You Know What I MeanLee Michaels - 20
The Night They Drove Old Dixie DownJoan Baez - 21
What's Going OnMarvin Gaye - 22
Uncle Albert / Admiral HalseyPaul & Linda McCartney - 23
Ain't No SunshineBill Withers - 24
SignsFive Man Electrical Band - 25
She's a LadyTom Jones
More from 1971
🎤 Big in 1971
🎚️ 1971 genres
🎛️ Behind the boards & the pen — 1971
The hands behind 1971 — the producers and songwriters who actually shaped that year's records. Eddy Offord was on 4 of them.
🎬 Movies of 1971
All soundtracks →The soundtracks that scored 1971 — every song and where it played.
🎚️ Related vibes
All themes →Themed rooms that lean on the sound of 1971.
🌀 Things 1971 remembers wrong
All Glitch Files →Mandela-effect cases that were on the shelf, the screen or the radio in 1971. Which do you remember?
What does 1971 remind you of?
The drive, the dance, the heartbreak, the summer. Add a memory of 1971.
Community Memories
How well do you remember 1971?
7 quick questions — the songs, the artists, the year. No cheating. 😏
📼 Take this 8-track with you
Build this in your own Spotify in two taps — free, no account needed here. (For Apple Music or YouTube, open songs one-by-one below.)
Then open the free helper
🎵 1971 albums on vinyl
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📻 70s gear
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