"74–75" is a song by American band

the Connells The Connells are an American musical group from Raleigh, North Carolina. They play a guitar-oriented, melodic, jangle-pop style of rock music with introspective lyrics that often reflect the history or culture of the American South. Though the ...

from their fifth studio album, ''

Ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...

'' (1993). The acoustic ballad was released by Alternation Records as the album's third single in 1993, but it did not chart in the United States. It would later become a European hit for the band in 1995, reaching the top 10 in a total of 11 European countries and peaking at 1 in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. It also charted within the top 30 of the UK Singles Chart on two occasions. Since the Connells never had another hit, they are widely seen as a

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music performers with ...

. In the song, singer Mike Connell nostalgically reflects on the passing of time and how people he used to know have changed now. The music video, directed by

Mark Pellington Mark Pellington (born March 17, 1962) is an American film director, writer, and producer. Life and career Pellington was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Bill Pellington, an All-Pro linebacker who played American Football, football with t ...

, features students from

Needham B. Broughton High School Needham B. Broughton High School (commonly known as Broughton High School) is one of thirty-two high schools in the Wake County Public School System. It is located at 723 St. Mary's Street, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Broughton was ...

's Class of 1975 and compares the photographs from their

yearbook A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a type of Annual publication, a book published annually. One use is to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school. The term also refers to a book of statistics or facts published annually ...

, with how they look and have aged since then. ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' ranked "'74–'75" number 50 in their list of "NME Writers' Top 50 Singles" in December 1995.

Background

The song is built around an Am-C-G-Am chord progression. Mike Connell said it "was pretty much just another failed relationship song" that took influence from older bands such as

the Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...

and

Big Star Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1971 by Alex Chilton (vocals, guitar), Chris Bell (vocals, guitar), Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). They have been described as the "quintessential American ...

to more contemporary artists including

Echo & the Bunnymen Echo & the Bunnymen are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch (singer), Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. By 1980, Pete de Freita ...

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

, the Replacements and

Teenage Fanclub Teenage Fanclub are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in Glasgow in 1989. The group were founded by Norman Blake (Scottish musician), Norman Blake (vocals, guitar), Raymond McGinley (vocals, lead guitar) and Gerard Love (vocals, bass), al ...

. Connell was living in a one-bedroom apartment in his hometown of

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

when he began writing the song in early 1991, and he struggled for months to finish the lyrics. Connell remained grateful that the record label did not attempt to influence his writing, as "at the height of the grunge era, 1993, they sure as hell would not have suggested that we come up with an acoustic-based, mid-tempo snoozer." The song reached Europe two years later when A&R representatives from the Intercord label requested to issue the album ''Ring'' in Germany. Connell expected ''Ring'' to sell a few thousand copies at most, but the surprise success of "'74–'75" propelled it to the 45th-best selling album of Germany in 1995. Decades after its success, Connell remained confused about how the song became so popular. "I think the tune is catchy enough, but it’s really kind of a snoozer," he said. Lead vocalist Doug MacMillan said, "I wouldn't have released that song as a single either" but compared the song's melancholic emotional tone to that of

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island, New York, in the hamlet of Stony Brook, in 1967. They have sold 25 million records worldwide, including 7 million in the United States. ...

's "

(Don't Fear) The Reaper "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is a song by American rock band Blue Öyster Cult from the 1976 album '' Agents of Fortune.'' The song, written and sung by lead guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, deals with eternal love and the inevitability ...

Critical reception

In his weekly UK chart commentary in ''

Dotmusic ''Dotmusic'' was a music webzine that existed as a standalone website from 1 June 1995 to December 2003. Initially intended as the web complement to the UK music industry trade magazine ''Music Week'', the site was relaunched in December 1998 as a ...

'',

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a British music critic and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worke ...

described "74–'75" as a "gently strummed song". A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' rated it three out of five, adding, "Commercially

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...

with a capital C, this laid-back, rootsy, countrified single drifts through the ears pretty agreeably. Expect a positive response from nostalgic radio programmers." Rob Ross of Popdose called it "emotionally-charged and poignant." Michael Hann of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' said the song was a "masterful piece of mass market soft-pop songwriting." John Robinson from ''

'' declared it as "an already near-classic AOR swoon which finds the redoubtable Peele, his quaintly named chums Steve Potak, Doug, George, and the brothers Connell sifting through their high school graduation year books and checking the sideburns. And — sniff, parp — haven't we all changed?" American magazine ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' described it as "so sweet tborders on cloying".

Chart performance

"74–'75" became a hit in Europe in 1995, particularly in Sweden and Norway, where it topped the singles charts. In Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, and Switzerland, it reached the top five. In Germany, the song peaked at No. 7 and remained on the chart for 28 weeks. The single also reached the top 10 in Austria, Ireland, and the Netherlands. "74–'75" was the band's only top-20 hit in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at No. 14 in August 1995. In March 1996, the single re-appeared on the UK Singles Chart at No. 21. The song ended 1995 as Europe's 23rd-best-performing song, climbing to No. 8 on the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately f ...

. Following the songs's success, the Connells embarked on a European tour with

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drummer), Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen (guitar, ...

Music video

The accompanying music video for the song was directed by American film director, writer, and producer

. It was shot at

in the band's hometown

in 1993, and features members of the Class of 1975, juxtaposing yearbook pictures with footage of the same people as they appeared in 1993. On November 14, 2015, to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1974–1975 class, a remixed video of the song was released, showing the class members as they looked 22 years after the original video was released.

Formats and track listings

* 7-inch single :A. "74–'75" – 4:36 :B. "New Boy" (live at the Purple Dragon Studio in Atlanta, GA) – 4:44 * French CD single #"74–'75" (album version) – 4:36 #"Logan Street" – 3:39 * European maxi-CD single #"74–'75" (album version) – 4:36 #"Logan Street" – 3:39 #"Fun & Games" (live at the Purple Dragon Studio in Atlanta, GA) – 3:07 #"New Boy" (live at the Purple Dragon Studio in Atlanta, GA) – 4:44 * UK cassette single #"74–'75" – 4:36 #"New Boy" (live at the Purple Dragon Studio in Atlanta, GA) – 4:44

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the European maxi-CD single and the ''

'' album booklet. Studios *Recorded in March 1993 at Dreamland Studios (

Bearsville, New York Bearsville is a hamlet in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the town of Woodstock. It is located along New York State Route 212, within Catskill State Park and just to the west of the hamlet of Woodstock. Bearsville was named not for ...

) *Mixed in April 1993 at Carriage House Studios (

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

) *Mastered at Sterling Sound (New York City) The Connells * Mike Connell – music, words, vocals, guitar *David Connell – bass * George Huntley – vocals, guitar,

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

*Doug MacMillan – vocals, guitar *Peele Wimberley – drums, percussion *Steve Potak – piano, organ, keyboards *The Connells – production Recording and production * Lou Giordano – production, mixing *David Cook – engineering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Influence

Fran Healy of Scottish band Travis has said that he wrote " Writing to Reach You" while listening to "74–75" on the radio.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:74 - 75 Songs about nostalgia Songs about teenagers Songs about old age 1990s ballads 1993 singles 1993 songs 1995 singles The Connells songs Music videos directed by Mark Pellington Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Sweden Rock ballads