You’re not going to see a CD like Rock Steady 1971 at a Starbucks today. You’d have to go back to 2006 when this CD was on sale at the cash register where you paid for your Venti. Starbucks celebrated their 35th Anniversary with this 15-song album that mixed familiar songs with some unfamiliar ones (unless you were listening to FM Rock stations).
In the familiar category, there’s The Doors with “Riders on the Storm,” Al Green’s “Tired of Being Alone,” and CCR’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain.”
In the unfamiliar category, instead of “Bang a Gong” we get T. Rex’s “Planet Queen.” And Nick Drake’s “One of These Things First.” And, instead of “Black Magic Woman” we get Santana’s “No One to Depend On.”
Also included are dependable hits like David Bowie’s “Changes,” Aretha Franklin’s “Rock Steady,” and Marvin Gaye’s “Mercy Mercy Me.” How many of these songs from 1971 do you remember? Do you remember the first time you walked into a Starbucks? GRADE: B
TRACK LIST:
| 1 | John Lennon– | Jealous Guy |
| 2 | The Kinks– | 20th Century Man |
| 3 | Joni Mitchell– | All I Want |
| 4 | Al Green– | Tired Of Being Alone |
| 5 | The Doors– | Riders On The Storm |
| 6 | Creedence Clearwater Revival– | Have You Ever Seen The Rain |
| 7 | Marvin Gaye– | Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) |
| 8 | Stevie Wonder– | If You Really Love Me |
| 9 | Aretha Franklin– | Rock Steady |
| 10 | David Bowie– | Changes |
| 11 | T. Rex– | Planet Queen |
| 12 | Nick Drake– | One Of These Things First |
| 13 | Grateful Dead*– | Truckin’ |
| 14 | Santana– | No One To Depend On |
| 15 | Janis Joplin– | Mercedes Benz |
I’m familiar with all but the Nick Drake. As for why these particular songs were chosen to celebrate Starbucks’ anniversary is anyone’s guess—but I suspect the availability of the music rights played a huge role.
Deb, here’s the Billboard Year-End Hot 20 singles of 1971:
No. Title Artist(s)
1 “Joy to the World” Three Dog Night
2 “Maggie May”/”Reason to Believe” Rod Stewart
3 “It’s Too Late”/”I Feel the Earth Move” Carole King
4 “One Bad Apple” The Osmonds
5 “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” Bee Gees
6 “Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)” Raiders
7 “Go Away Little Girl” Donny Osmond
8 “Take Me Home, Country Roads” John Denver
9 “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)” The Temptations
10 “Knock Three Times” Tony Orlando and Dawn
11 “Me and Bobby McGee” Janis Joplin
12 “Tired of Being Alone” Al Green
13 “Want Ads” Honey Cone
14 “Smiling Faces Sometimes” The Undisputed Truth
15 “Treat Her Like a Lady” Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose
16 “Brown Sugar” The Rolling Stones
17 “You’ve Got a Friend” James Taylor
18 “Mr. Big Stuff” Jean Knight
19 “Do You Know What I Mean” Lee Michaels
20 “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” Joan Baez
I was never a Starbucks fan, their coffee is too acidic and their food tastes like cardboard, yet I did hang out in a few of them in the late nineties whenever the Caribou I favored was insanely crowded (the nineties were a stupid decade). The only CDs I ever bought from them were a few Christmas CDs that weren’t bad but again Caribou had better Christmas CDs. I do give the company for buying Hear Music right when everybody was switching to downloads. Not a smart business decision but as someone who still proudly buys CDs I thought it was a grand gesture.
But, I wasn’t aware Caribou sold CDs, too. We don’t have any Caribou stores in Western NY. But we have plenty of Starbucks, Tim Horton’s, and Dunkin’ Doughnut coffee stores. There’s always a line at the Take-Out lane.
They sold CDs for a few years, mostly Christmas discs and some were quite good collections of the usual standards. I think they also did a few Starbucks-like theme collections but none of them looked very worthwhile. All of our Caribous are gone. I believe the chain imploded or at least shrank dramatically. Too bad. Though they were a chain they were much cozier than Starbucks which has always seemed too sterile to me.
I’d recommend picking up the Caribou Christmas CDs. Last time I looked you could get them pretty cheap.
I have no idea why spellcheck changed my name to But.
Byron
Byron, the evil WORDPRESS spellchecker is always changing names and words to cause chaos! I occasionally pick up a bag of Caribou coffee at Target. Wonderful Beth Feydn sent me a couple bags of Caribou coffee for Christmas! Yummy! I’ll check out Caribou CDs now that I know they exist. Thanks for the heads-up!
I remember the first time I walked into as Starbucks. It was the first time I walked out of a Starbucks. Ridiculaously high prices, a stupid name for each coffee size, syrupy and la-di-dah ways to prepare the drinks, and coffee that tasted like burnt ashes. And why the hell would I want them to write my name on my coffee cup? And what the hell is a barista and why should we think that’s cool?
As far as the music on the CD, a few decent songs but, like their coffee, I couldn’t be bothered buying it.
Stay off my lawn.
Jerry, I do drink Starbuck Blonde coffees which are smoother and less acidic than the other Starbucks offerings. And I do like their chocolate covered coffee beans! My lawn is buried under a foot of snow. But, I’m thankful I live in North Tonawanda and not West Seneca where the Lake Effect Snow Ban dumped 80 inches of snow on them!
These are some great, actual hits from some A-list artists. Starbucks obviously has deep pockets.
I don’t drink coffee so I’d never run across this.
Now, if it was on offer with Diet Coke, I might have purchased it.
Beth, Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi are essential to Good Health!
Nope, can’t remember the first time we walked into a Starbucks. When Jackie retired in 2004, they gave her a Starbucks gift card and we started going more regularly (though we had gone before). Jackie always liked it way more than me (though I am not quite as vehement as Jerry about it). For some years we were going almost every day, generally after lunch. We’d get our coffee and sit for an hour using the wifi. (Days when we had brunch – once a week or so) – we skipped Starbucks.) But we started cutting back, and the pandemic broke the addiction. Now we just make our own coffee at home in the afternoons, and no, even Jackie doesn’t miss Starbucks.
We do get Starbucks French Roast in Costco, when it is on sale. Otherwise it is Kirkland French Roast. Either way, we mix half of that and half Community Coffee Cafe Blend.
As for the music, meh. I’d say I’m familiar with 10 of the 15.
Jeff, I buy Starbucks Blonde coffees at BJ’s Warehouse or Sam’s Club and brew them in my Cuisinart coffee maker each morning. Unless I’m on a trip (a rare occurrence now), I seldom buy coffee at a Starbucks. I don’t like the lines, I don’t like the prices, and many Starbucks don’t have much comfortable seating anymore.
I know and like most of these records – but what is the connection to Starbucks?
Anyway I hate Starbucks as much as I hate Subways, visited just once and grrr …
Now we drink coffee only at home, really strong with some real milk and not sweet at all.
Generally US cooking is too sweet for us, even ice cream.
Wolf, America is addicted to sugar so almost everything is super-sweet. I’m with you on Subway. A mediocre, over-priced submarine sandwich. Trying to figure out why these songs “represent” the Starbucks Anniversary is baffling.
Because many of the songs would be overplayed in a Starbucks? I don’t remember when I first went to one, but it was probably the S-branded coffee bar in a Banres and Noble. Sugar-free iced ventis were what I’d usually get. As a veteran of a childhood of instant coffee, the excessive acidity never bothered me too much…now, with meds that already squeeze the liquid out of me to clean the sugars out, I mostly use coffee as a flavoring in my almond milk, rather than the large infiusions of free black coffee at most of my office jobs, very much including TV GUIDE, over the decades. At least Sb didn’t buy the Bee Gees’ song for that disc.
Todd, our Barnes & Nobles still have a Starbucks inside (so does Target) and on the rare occasion I’m in a B&N, I’ll buy a small cup of Starbucks Blonde coffee since my B&N card gives me a discount.
I know all these. Not a bad selection although I don’t care for the Stevie Wonder track. Never been in a Starbucks. I don’t drink coffee.
Steve, I’m not fond of that Stevie Wonder track, either.
Not a fan of Starbucks. The one within walking distance from my house shut down a couple of years ago. A local ootfit called Empty Cup opened in the same location and both the coffee and prices are better. It seems to be doing very well. On the other hand, a independent shop called Timothy’s (no connection to Tim Hortons) that I liked recently shut down. Think COVID did it in as it seemed to have a group of regulars. Also the Tim Hortons in the closest shopping centre to my home also closed. Most Tims seem to be very busy with plent of drive-throughs.
Kent, our Tim Horton’s drive-throughs are big money makers. A dozen cars in line isn’t unusual.
I don’t drink coffee often and Phil hated Starbucks so not much. He thought Mcdonalds was better than Starbucks. However, his taste is not to be trusted because he drank instant coffee at home.
Patti, many of my coffee-addicted friends rave about McDonald’s coffee. I’ve tried it and liked it, but the hustle and bustle of going into a McDonald’s is seldom appealing. The McDonald’s drive-throughs have long lines, too.
I don’t remember my first time at Starbucks except it wasn’t that long ago relative to 1971. A couple of independents in Austin have better coffee but just as if not more expensive. My favorite song from 1971, BJ Thomas’s Long Ago Tomorrow, which no one else remembers I’d bet.
Fred, you’re right. I don’t remember BJ Thomas’s “Long Ago Tomorrow” but I remember his “The Eyes of a New York Woman” from 1968.
The only money I ever spent at Starbucks was when my granddaughter had a brief appetite for one of their sodas! The idea of a $5.00 coffee appalls me! Other than one cup in the morning–a recent habit–I don’t drink coffee anyway! As for the CD, there are a few good songs on it but not enough to pump up any enthusiasm in me!
Bob, as I recall, you said you enjoy music from the 1970s. But, you’re right: there’s not enough on ROCK STEADY 1971 to pump up enthusiasm.
Other than a random song, I think the music I like ceased around 1975!
Bob, I enjoy a lot of music from the 1980s and 1990s…but that’s just me!