The music business never met an anniversary it didn’t almost instantly turn into a marketing hook. Nevertheless, milestones are important markers — especially when considering the growth and evolution of a city, a region, or a state’s creative output.
Over the next few weeks, we’re turning our gaze back toward Texas-tied albums celebrating significant birthdays this year. We’re starting off with a batch of records, arranged chronologically by release date, which will mark 50 years of existence this year. (Our apologies to those readers for whom these albums are hallmarks of youth — life comes at you fast.)
Seals & Crofts, I’ll Play for You (released March 14, 1975)
Jim Seals and Dash Crofts — both Texas natives — were on their way to hitting their soft rock stride with this, the pair’s seventh studio album. The title track cracked the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, while another tune, “Castles in the Sand,” also made an impact on the charts. Performers on this record include drummer Jeff Porcaro and pianist David Paich. The pair later formed Toto.
ZZ Top, Fandango! (released April 18, 1975)
A bit of technicality this record is — it’s half live, half studio work. For its fourth album, ZZ Top captured a 1974 New Orleans performance and then went into the recording studio with producer Bill Ham to cut six new songs, including the legendary “Tush,” which closes out Fandango!
Willie Nelson, Red Headed Stranger (released May 1, 1975)
It’s the album that changed everything for Willie Nelson. His 18th studio record catapulted him to the front ranks of country music, and set the stage for the next phase of his career, which continues to this day. Cut in a cozy Garland studio largely with just piano, guitar and drums, Stranger yielded Nelson’s first number one single, “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” and was eventually certified double platinum.
Eagles, One of These Nights (released June 10, 1975)
This album — the band’s fourth studio effort — would be the last release to feature all of the band’s original members, including Linden native and Dallas resident Don Henley. It’s also the record which made the band global stars. Nights, which would be the first of four number one albums for the band, spawned three singles — the title track, “Lyin’ Eyes” and “Take It to the Limit” — and earned the group a Grammy for best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal.
Stephen Stills, Stills (released June 23, 1975)
In the decade that was the 70s, Dallas native Stephen Stills released nine solo albums and two albums with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Sandwiched in between all of that was relentless touring, which produced a live album as well. Stills was the singer-songwriter’s sixth solo album, and includes guests like Ringo Starr, David Crosby and Graham Nash, as well as tunes written by Neil Young.
Edgar Winter, Jasmine Nightdreams (released June 1975)
Beaumont-born singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Edgar Winter pulled freely from multiple genres over the course of his acclaimed career, infusing his approach to rock music with jazz, blues and R&B. He drifted in and out of a group setting over the course of the 1970s, so while this is his fifth studio effort, it’s technically only his second solo album, arriving after 1970’s appropriately titled Entrance.
Kris Kristofferson, Who’s to Bless and Who’s to Blame (released Nov. 1, 1975)
The south Texas-born singer-songwriter’s sixth solo album didn’t yield any enduring classics on the order of “Sunday Morning Coming Down.” Kristofferson, who died last year, might have been a tad distracted from music, as he was in the midst of his 1970s Hollywood renaissance. He’d just appeared in Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and on the cusp of starring alongside Barbra Streisand in A Star is Born. Still, it’s a fine showcase for Kristofferson’s sturdy songcraft, featuring contributions from his then-wife, Rita Coolidge, as well as Leland Sklar, Billy Swan and Donnie Fritts.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on X (@prestonjones). Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
