My Mom and I were at Woolworth’s department store in the early 70s and I bought the boxed set, Superstars of the 70’s. The 4-album set was a compilation release from Warner Special Products[1], a division of Warner Bros. Records, in 1973. It contains 49 songs by 41 artists. A copy on Amazon.com carries a 5 out of 5 rating.
The question is … How did Warner get all these great songs on one compilation? The sound of these is very good but there were no credits to be found anywhere. Side one, song one was the Alice Cooper classic, “School’s Out”.”Surf’s Up” by the Beach Boys was a 1971 release on their 17th album by the same name.
I’ve always loved the song “Summer Breeze” by Seals and Croft and “Both Sides Now” by Judy Collins and we’re still on the first side of record one. It also included “Sail Away” by Randy Newman and “Tightrope Ride” by The Doors.
Some of my other favorites were “Roundabout” by Yes, “Paranoid” by Black Sabbath, “Marrakesh Express” by Crosby, Stills, and Nash, “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell, “American Woman” by The Guess Who, “Hush” by Deep Purple, “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin”, and “Lucky Man” by Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
Songs and Artists Included:
- School’s Out – Alice Cooper
- Summer Breeze – Seals & Crofts
- Surf’s Up – Beach Boys
- Sail Away – Randy Newman
- Both Sides Now – Judy Collins
- Tightrope Ride – The Doors
- Lonely Days – Bee Gees
- Fire & Rain – James Taylor
- Truckin’ – Grateful Dead
- Where Is The Love – Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway
- Love The One You’re With – Stephen Stills
- Roundabout – Yes
- Light My Fire – Doors
- White Rabbit – Jefferson Airplane
- Marrakesh Express – Crosby, Stills & Nash
- Purple Haze – Jimi Hendrix Experience
- To Love Somebody – Bee Gees
- Lola – Kinks
- Anticipation – Carly Simon
- American Woman – Guess Who
- We, Gotta, Get You A Woman – Todd Rundgren
- Ventura Highway – America
- Run Run Run – Jo Jo Gunne
- Tumbling Dice – Rolling Stones
- (Sitting On) The Dock Of The Bay – Otis Redding
- Hush – Deep Purple
- If You Could Read My Mind – Gordon Lightfoot
- The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face – Roberta Flack
- Foxey Lady – Jimi Hendrix Experience
- Whole Lotta Love – Led Zeppelin
- Take It Easy – Eagles
- A Horse With No Name – America
- Cowgirl In The Sand – Byrds
- Big Yellow Taxi – Joni Mitchell
- These Eyes – Guess Who
- Domino – Van Morrison
- Amazing Grace – Judy Collins
- Listen To The Music – Doobie Brothers
- Woodstock – Joni Mitchell
- In The Midnight Hour – Wilson Pickett
- City Of New Orleans – Arlo Guthrie
- Doctor My Eyes – Jackson Browne
- Paranoid – Black Sabbath
- One Way Out – Allman Brothers Band
- (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman – Aretha Franklin
- Stay With Me – Faces
- Chicago – Graham Nash
- Happy – Rolling Stones
- Lucky Man – Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Footnotes
- Warner Special Products was a division of Warner Music Group that specialized in creating and distributing compilation albums, box sets, and other special releases. The division was active from the 1960s through the early 2000s, and during that time, it released numerous popular and critically acclaimed albums. Warner Special Products was responsible for creating and releasing many popular and highly successful compilation albums, such as the “Superstars of the 70’s” set mentioned earlier, as well as other sets like “Pure Disco” and “The Millennium Collection.” The division also released box sets that covered the careers of individual artists, such as “The Complete Studio Recordings” by Led Zeppelin and “The Complete Columbia Recordings” by Johnny Cash. In addition to its work in the compilation album and box set market, Warner Special Products also provided music licensing and clearance services to other companies. For example, the division was responsible for clearing the rights to many of the songs used in the popular video game “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.” Warner Special Products was eventually merged into the Rhino Entertainment division of Warner Music Group in the early 2000s. However, many of its classic releases continue to be sought after by music fans and collectors today. [Back]
Further Reading
Sources
- Warner Special Products. (n.d.). Discogs. https://www.discogs.com/label/246207-Warner-Special-Products
- Warner Special Products Division. (n.d.). Gracenote. https://www.gracenote.com/about-us/history-of-gracenote/warner-special-products-division/
- Warner Special Products. (n.d.). AllMusic. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/warner-special-products-mn0002391014/biography
- Discogs
- Allmusic
- Amazon
