{"id":1624,"date":"2024-06-26T15:16:48","date_gmt":"2024-06-26T15:16:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/musiclegacy\/?page_id=1624"},"modified":"2025-07-07T15:22:28","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T15:22:28","slug":"class-of-1979-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/musiclegacy\/class-of-1979-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Class of 1979"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Times<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1979 seniors returned for their final year at Cortland after the first \u201ctest tube baby\u201d, Louise Brown was born in Northern England, the world of rock and roll lost drummer Keith Moon of the Who, the college-based frat house comedy Animal House became the most successful comedy movie, and two new sitcoms debuted – WKRP In Cincinnati and Taxi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also proved to be a sober time in the world. President Jimmy Carter held secret meetings for 13 days with Egypt\u2019s President Anwar Sadat and Israel\u2019s Prime Minister Menachem Begin at Camp David, known as the Camp David Accords.  After several attempts to get these sworn enemies to agree to peace, the Accords were eventually signed on March 26, 1979 at the White House.  Sadat and Begin each received the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In November, the nation watched in horror as the evening news covered the \u201cmass murder suicide\u201d of 914 members of the People\u2019s Temple led by cult leader, Jim Jones. Members were so enthralled by Jones\u2019 conspiracy theories that they moved to Guyana, South America, insolated themselves in a compound and synchronized their watches to chug a fruit flavored drink laced with cyanide. The popular phrase \u201cdrinking the Kool-Aid\u201d referring to a person who believes in a dangerous idea because of perceived high rewards, can be traced back to Jonestown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February of 1979, the Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran after 15 years in exile and condemned Iran\u2019s Western style government. Upon Khomeini\u2019s return, the current Shah and his family were forced into exile securing the Ayatollah Khomeini as leader of the Iranian Revolution. Later that year, Iranian women were denied equal rights and required to wear a hijab, Western culture was banned, and traditional Sharia Law was strictly enforced.  By the end of the year, 52 American diplomats would be kidnapped and held hostage for 444 days.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1979 launched an abundance of new music genres born from the angst of harsh inner-city life around the world.  New Wave, Ska, Hip Hop, Reggae, Punk and Electronic music were on the charts and played in the clubs from Blondie, Talking Heads, Bob Marley, The Police, Elvis Costello, The Specials and Joy Division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rock fans put the final nail in the coffin of Disco with \u201cDisco Demolition Night.\u201d A Chicago Shock Jock from rock station WLUP (The Loop), created an extreme radio promotion at Comiskey Park asking listeners to bring their disco records to the White Sox double header. 55,000 willing fans showed up to watch the explosion of a huge pile of their disco albums while chanting \u201cDisco Sucks!\u201d The resulting bonfire destroyed Comiskey\u2019s mid-field and the crowds were dispersed by cops in riot gear.  As was said years later: \u201cDisco Demolition Night\u201d stands in infamy as one of the most ill-advised promotions of all time, but arguably one of the most successful in radio history.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notable Events (right click on the links below to access media)<\/p>\n\n\n\n