Celebrating the great Class of 1972
We are celebrating the great Jackson County classes of 1972 on the 50th year anniversary of their graduation! The class of ’72, of course, has a great song to go along with its graduation - “School’s Out!’’ by Alice Cooper.
Other top popular songs of 1972 included “Take It Easy’’ by the Eagles, “Do It Again’’ by Steely Dan, “Good Hearted Woman’’ by Waylon Jennings, “Delta Dawn’’ by Tanya Tucker, “After Midnight’’ by JJ Cale and “Back Stabbers’’ by The O’Jays. Carole King won the Grammy Award for Best Song Of The Year - “It’s Too Late’’ and the Grammy Award for Best Album Of The Year - “Tapestry.’’
The eight-track tape player was still the most common accessory for the vehicles driven by teens in 1972 and short skirts for girls were still popular at high schools and colleges across the nation.
There were still just three major TV networks in most American homes but times were changing. HBO, the first pay cable network, was transmitted by Time, Inc. M*A*S*H premiered on CBS. Atari introduced the arcade version of Pong, the first video game. The price of a stamp was 8 cents.
Telephones were still primarily just fixtures in Americans’ homes. No teen carried around a mobile phone or cell phone like they do today. If teens wanted to know what was going on in their towns in the evenings, they had to go out and drive around town to find out.
With the Paris Peace Accords signed on Jan. 27, 1973, the end of active U.S. involvement in Vietnam came to an end and the draft saw the last men conscripted on Dec. 7, 1972. The Selective Service System continued to assign draft priority numbers in March from 1973-75 in case the draft was extended, although it never was.
The National Institute of Mental Health and the U.S. Surgeon General issued a report in 1972 that claimed exposure to violence on television fostered aggression in children.
Top movies included “The Godfather’’ and “Deliverance.’’ Richard M. Nixon was the U.S. President but shortly after graduation on June 17 five men were apprehended by police in an attempt to bug the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C.’s Watergate complex, starting the Watergate scandal.
The Dallas Cowboys were Super Bowl Champions that year defeating the Miami Dolphins. The Oakland A’s won the World Series beating Cincinatti and the L.A. Lakers were NBA champs by beating the New York Knicks. 1972 was a great year to be graduating from high school. Just ask any of the grads from that year!
