America was much less politically correct in 1974

Stevie Wonder had a hit in 1974 with the song “Living for the City.”  The record includes one phrase which could get you in trouble if you said it today…”Cause where he lives, they don’t use colored people.”  The expression “colored people” is frowned upon now.

Seventy-four was the same year “Blazing Saddles” played in theaters.  The Mel Brooks comedy about a black sheriff in the Old West frequently used “the N word” which gets deleted from the movie now, when seen on TV.  The same word was found in the title of a Richard Pryor comedy album released in 1974.

New TV shows featuring black performers which began in ’74 included “That’s My Mama,” “Get Christie Love!,” and “Good Times.”  Comedian Jimmie Walker played J.J. on “Good Times,” and came to UW-La Crosse that fall to perform comedy at Main Hall. 

It was a time when people sometimes chose to “Rock the Boat”…the name of a hit song in 1974, Yesterday in La Crosse.