Turning back the clock half a century to the year of the Cigar’s founding, and what entertainment looked like then. Photo from vectorstock.com.
To celebrate The Good Five Cent Cigar’s 50th anniversary, let’s take a trip back 50 years, to the week of Feb. 25, 1971.
During this time, the United States was heavily involved in the Vietnam War. Thousands of American troops were sent to the region to combat Ho Chi Minh’s Viet Cong forces. The American involvement in the Vietnam war was highly controversial and the Anti-War movement was growing strong in the United States. Many of the struggles of the war effort were hidden from the public by the media to keep support high. Vietnam proved to be one of the most destructive wars in American history, not only because of the mass casualties, but the long lasting injuries and ailments, both physical and mental. The Vietnam War changed American culture forever.
“One Bad Apple” by The Osmonds topped the Billboard charts during this week, with other hits such as “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” by Vietnam-era rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival and the classic “Your Song” by Elton John, which had been released in Oct. 1970, featured further down on the list. “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” has been speculated for Vietnam War messages, with the rain being seen as a metaphor for bombs falling from the sky. However, songwriter John Fogerty insisted that it was about tension within the band that would eventually break up in October of that same year.
Later in 1971, albums such as “L.A. Woman” by The Doors, “Led Zeppelin IV,” “Who’s Next” by The Who and the still-relevant “Imagine” by John Lennon were all released. Following the Queen of Psychedelic Soul Janis Joplin’s premature death at the age of 27 the year before, her album “Pearl” rose on the charts nationwide. James Taylor finished recording his third of 17 studio albums, “Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon” in the final weeks of the month and it was released in April.
“All in The Family” was the most watched show on television, with other notable programs such as “Hawaii Five-0” and “The Carol Burnett Show” further down the list. CBS, NBC and ABC all had their own versions of “movie nights” throughout the week. Some networks have been rebooting and remaking these programs in the last couple of years, including CBS and ABC.
The movie recording of the Woodstock Music Festival from 1969, as well as Disney’s animated classic “The Aristocats” were popular films during this time. “Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory” was released later in the year, which became a cult classic featuring Gene Wilder as the extravagant factory owner, and was later remade by Tim Burton starring Johnny Depp in 2005.
1971 was also an interesting year for fashion. Turtleneck shirts and sweaters were popular for men, while knit dresses and corduroy pants were trendy for women. These items are often featured as a part of the “1970s retro style” that we know and love today.
Obviously, there have been a lot of changes made since 1971. Still, some of our tastes for entertainment of the past have kept it alive, along with new technological advances that have altered the way our world works, including the way we share The Good Five Cent Cigar with our readers.