Detroit’s '70s Music Scene: A Time of Transition

Detroit’s '70s Music Scene: A Time of Transition

By 1973, Detroit’s vibrant music scene was fading. Only a few acts like Bob Seger and Ted Nugent found national fame out of a crop of influential Detroit bands including MC5, SRC, and the Frost. Legendary venues like the Grande Ballroom and Eastown Theatre were all but gone. Locally, new bands failed to form. The Rockets were one of the few who played their own music. Instead, cover bands dominated the club scene, and DJs spun R&B funk at after-hours parties. And as was the case in cities like New York, punk rock came to Detroit, rising up around a place known as Bookies Club 870. On the horizon: techno. David Carson, author of Grit, Noise and Revolution: The Birth of Detroit Rock ‘n’ Roll, presents a look back at Detroit in the '70s—a decade of music that struggled to find its identity. Register Now!