1972 THE STORIES BEHIND THE SONGS

Sex, love, feminism, retro jive, Clint Eastwood, human rights, reggae, an enduring riddle, smoke and ashes—we have the scoop on the most memorable groundbreaking music of 50 years ago.

The pop charts sang some different tunes in 1972. New points of view arrived on the radio to serenade the blossoming feminist movement (Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman”), the emerging world of gay rights (Mott the Hoople’s “All the Young Dudes”) and fresh global perspectives (with the breakthrough of reggae artists, including Johnny Nash with his No. 1 smash “I Can See Clearly Now”). Other new stars went on to become cultural touchstones, including Bette Midler, Roberta Flack, Al Green and Jackson Browne. We go behind the scenes of some of our favorite 1972 tunes.