Just exactly when did the sixties end, and the seventies begin? The Kent State shootings? The U.S. invasion of Cambodia? The first Earth Day, or the first Gay Pride march? The deaths of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix? All of these events happened in 1970, and that’s the year music writer David Browne chose to pinpoint in his new book.

Browne focuses on four pivotal acts whose albums defined this turbulent time. The Beatles released what was to be their final album, even as Paul McCartney was quietly recording his first solo release and preparing to leave the band. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel were testing the waters of their respective solo ventures. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young were creating Déjà vu while tensions in and out of the studio were pulling them apart. And rising star James Taylor was about to release the single that made his career. All of these musical flashpoints reflect the cultural and political shifts that marked the beginning and end of an era.

Guest:

David Browne, author of 'Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970' (Da Capo); contributing editor at Rolling Stone and author of three previous books including 'Goodbye 20th Century: A Biography of Sonic Youth'