Highlights from The Class of 1973: April

Let’s set the Wayback Machine for April 1973!

It was a long way from the iPhone, but the first handheld cellular phone call was in New York City this month.

The World Trade Center officially opened.

When he couldn’t acquire the rights to Flash Gordon, George Lucas started work on a concept for a space opera of his own…which he originally called The Star Wars.

The movie Paper Moon opened starring Ryan O’Neal and his daughter Tatum O’Neal.

Paul McCartney released his album Red Rose Speedway with his group Wings.  The album featured the hit “My Love.”  To help promote the record, McCartney had his first solo televsion special, James Paul McCartney.  The album did well.  But it was Sir Paul’s later release that year, Band on the Run, that became a major success.

Vicki Lawrence went to #1 for two weeks with her song “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia.”  Also fighting for a position in the Top 10:

“Neither One of Us (Wants To Be the First To Say Goodbye)” by Gladys Knight and the Pips, “Killing Me Softly with His Song” by Roberta Flack, “Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I Got) by The Four Tops, and “Sing” by The Carpenters.

One of the biggest TV shows in April 1973 wasn’t a regular series.  It was actually an Elvis Presley special, Elvis—Aloha from Hawaii, which reached a third of all the television viewers on the Wednesday evening it was broadcast.

. . . .

Join Great Moments in Vinyl as we pay tribute to The Class of 1973 with the music and cultural highlights of 50 years ago.  It’s a fundraising concert for the Steger-South Chicago Heights Library.  Look for us at the Steger VFW on Saturday, November 4th.  The event begins at 5:00.  We’ll take the stage at 7:00.  Featuring Phil Angotti, Casey McDonough, Debbie Kaczynski, Jim Barclay, and William Lindsey Cochran.

Here's the link for tickets:  https://www.sschfriends.org/sign