National Lampoon
March 1974
March, 1974, and according to the Billboard Hot 100, the single atop the charts is 'Seasons in the Sun' by Canadian folkie Terry Jacks.Looking through the pages of the March issue of the National Lampoon, we see advertisements for various LPs: Puzzle was a progressive rock / fusion band from Chicago who signed to Motown in 1972, and released two albums: Puzzle in 1973, and The Second Album in 1974. Their second album is available for listening here.
Their single, 'Mary Mary', is a nice little pop song.
Carly Simon strikes a pose in a maternity dress for her album Hotcakes, from which the single 'Haven't Got Time for the Pain' was a major hit.Panasonic provides an ad for a proto-boombox called the 'RQ-448S Cassette Tape Recorder with FM/AM radio'.
The March issue of the Lampoon is not very good. It's theme is the 'Stupid Issue', but the humor is too Henry Beard, and too highbrow, to really connect with the reader.The comic book parody takes aim at an easy target, Classics Illustrated, and Plato's 'The Republic'. The parody is one long, rather dull wink-wink joke about Plato's followers......dainty dudes, all.
At least we have.....boobies !The black-and-white comics lodging in the back of the magazine are competent, if not overly inspiring, here in the March issue.All in all, the March, 1974 issue of the Lampoon was not all that special. And that's how it was, fifty years ago.............