At last we reach a year when I know I was actively listening to some music that I am still happy to listen to today. Of course I was still limited mostly to what Radio 1 was playing, but I was engaging with it a lot more.

It is a missed opportunity that it was a few years before I caught up with Hunky Dory, Led Zeppelin 4, Nursery Cryme, Meddle or The Yes Album, and even longer before I got to appreciate Maggot Brain and Tago Mago but I know I was enjoying T. Rex during 1971.

For some reason it is America and A Horse With No Name that really stands out for me. I think that something in the lyrics just struck a chord with me. I can vivdly remember that one week Crackerjack did a pastiche of the song and I repeat that he influence of Crackerjack on the musical tastes of the under-10s in the early 70’s has been massively overlooked!

The single wa released in late 1971 and really took off in 1972 so it may be a bit of a cheat listing it against this year. Listening to it now I can’t quite understand how it appealed so much to a 9-year-old. It is quite an understated song, and very heavy on atmosphere, but that dreamy feel just appealed to me on some level. It still crops up as the music on adverts more than 40 years later and still has the same lethargic feel to it.