1970’s Teen Idols
Welcome to my third installment of Teen Idols of the Decades. I have already covered the 1950’s and 1960’s. Click here if you want to check those out. Today’s post is all about the 1970’s Teen Idols. Think shag carpet and strobe lights.
David Cassidy
The 70’s were my decade. Yeah, baby. The early 70’s brought probably the biggest teen idol of the decade with David Cassidy. He didn’t seem like a very nice person. I thought he had some Paul Anka little man anger happening inside of him. He hit it big on The Partridge Family and made a lot of albums and stuff. I was not a fan of his, but I did like The Partridge Family. David died at the end of 2017 after suffering a bit with some health issues. Click here to read my David blog.
Osmond Brothers
The Osmonds were also big in the 70’s. They’ve kind of been popular ever since. Have they ever really gone away? There was even a second generation Osmond group in the 90’s. I think they were all Alan’s sons. Donny & Marie are still going strong in Vegas and other Osmonds are playing in Branson. They seem like such a nice family. I was never a fan but I’ve really come to respect them as an adult. They’re pretty awesome.
Bay City Rollers
The Bay City Rollers arrived on the scene in the mid 70’s. They were supposed to be as big as The Beatles with their “Rollermania”. I didn’t like them at all until Ian Mitchell joined the group. I don’t think I really liked them then either, but I loved looking at Ian. He was a cutie. Click here to read my blog about The Bay City Rollers. I also wrote a separate one for my love, Ian. That can be found here.
Leif Garrett
Leif Garrett also arrived in the mid 70’s. I feel awful for that guy. He grew up with apparently no guidance and got heavily involved in drugs. I know dad wasn’t in the picture, but where the hell was his mom when this was going on? He tried to get clean on Celebrity Rehab. In the season opener, Leif said he hadn’t been sober since he was 14. So sad. Click here to read my Leif blog.
Andy Gibb
Andy Gibb arrived in the late 70’s after the Bee Gees (his brothers) hit it big with the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Gibb was very popular and had many hits. The drugs got to him though and he was dead by age 30. Click here to read my blog about Andy Gibb.
Shaun Cassidy
Shaun Cassidy (David’s half-brother) helped end out the 1970’s Teen Idols. He looked too much like a girl for me. I saw him on Oprah years ago and he seemed like a cool dude. He was a singer (Da Doo Run Run) and an actor (Hardy Boys).
There were other 1970’s Teen Idols like Robby Benson, Vincent Van Patten, Wilie Aames, Tony DeFranco, Lance Kerwin, Michael Gray, Parker Stevenson, Randy Mantooth, and Jimmy McNichol.
So there you have it. I’ve listed who I thought were the biggest 1970’s Teen Idols. I’m sure I left out some obvious ones. Please comment on this blog post and let me know who I should have listed and/or take the survey below. I would love to hear who your favorite teen idols were. Let me know!
Please check back in a couple days for part four of Teen Idols of the Decades. It will be all about the 80’s. You’re welcome.