Rock wasn’t going anywhere either. Bachman Turner Overdrive’s You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet began as a studio joke but turned into a worldwide smash. And back home, South Africa’s Clout proved local bands could go global with Substitute, a track that stormed charts across Europe.

But 1974 wasn’t just about the music. On screen, The Godfather Part II showed sequels could be masterpieces, Mel Brooks had the world in stitches with Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, and disaster reigned in The Towering Inferno. Meanwhile, Evel Knievel crashed his rocket-bike at Snake River Canyon and walked away waving — instantly becoming a legend.

Television was just as wild. Happy Days made everyone want to be The Fonz, Little House on the Prairie gave families wholesome comfort, and The Six Million Dollar Man convinced kids they could run in slow motion and still look heroic. South Africans, though, had to wait — TV only arrived in 1976, which made radio even more special as the soundtrack to daily life.

Politics made headlines too. Richard Nixon resigned in shame after Watergate, while in Portugal soldiers toppled a dictatorship with carnations in their rifles. In sport, Ali’s “rope-a-dope” floored George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle, and Hank Aaron knocked Babe Ruth’s home run record out of the park. Across the world, West Germany lifted the World Cup, though Cruyff’s Dutch team won hearts with their dazzling “Total Football.”

And then there were the unforgettable oddities. A Japanese soldier finally surrendered — nearly 30 years after World War II ended. Streaking became a craze, with pranksters dashing naked across sports fields and even the Oscars stage. Philippe Petit tightrope-walked between the Twin Towers in New York with no safety net, and Rubik’s Cube was quietly invented in Hungary, ready to frustrate us all for decades.

Did You Know? The very first product ever scanned with a supermarket barcode in 1974 was a packet of Wrigley’s chewing gum. One tiny “beep” changed shopping forever.

In everyone’s homes, it was all about lava lamps, Evel Knievel stunt toys, pet rocks, and denim everything. Families marvelled at microwave dinners spinning in their brand-new ovens, while kids roller-skated to disco hits and swapped Wacky Package stickers.

1974 was a year of glitter, groove, and sheer joy. It was the sound of Barry White’s baritone, the sparkle of ABBA’s costumes, the thrill of Ali’s knockout — and the magic of music that still makes us smile today.