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40 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | DECEMBER 2021 A 1970's House Party! Soul Train was an American music-dance television program which aired in syndication from Oct. 2, 1971, to March 27, 2006. A house party in the 1970s was respectable and out of sight! It was a safe place to gather with family and friends and a chance to make new friends as well. One could dance to the groovy tunes of Earth, Wind, and Fire, Aretha Franklin, The Jackson Five, James Brown, The Isley Brothers, Al Green, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, and others. Dances such as The Funky Chicken, The Bump, The Bus Stop, and The Hustle were popular. We lived in the Age of Aquarius, where men dressed in bell-bottom pants, apple caps, dashikis, and wore big gold medallions around their necks with unbuttoned shirts. The women wore big hoop earrings, jumpsuits, blouses with bell-shaped sleeves, hot pants, miniskirts, and high-heel boots. The legal drinking age was eighteen in most states in the seventies. Wines like Mad Dog 20/20, Cold Duck, and Ripple (a Sanford and Son favorite) was the alcohol of choice. People also drank spiked punch from the infamous red plastic cup. Kitchens were a popular hangout spot at house parties. A full spread of fried chicken, potato salad, macaroni and cheese, and ribs were always available. Parents would gather around the kitchen table to play games such as Dominoes, Spades, or Bid Whist while talking, drinking, laughing, and smoking cigarettes. A designated person managed the record player and stacked the LPs or 12-inch records so they would automatically drop until a song skipped. Then someone would pull a coin from their pocket and lay it on top of the stylus to steady the needle so everyone could continue getting down! The Theme from Shaft, written and recorded by Isaac Hayes, was a favorite song among Black people. "Can you dig it?" This composition won the 1972 Academy Award for Best Original Song. Hayes became the first African American to win that award in a non- acting category. "Right on!" In the dark, couples would slow dance in corners of the room. The mood was copacetic until the lights came on, then everyone knew the party was over! AACC Event(s): This year's Christmas Party will be on Saturday, Dec. 11 at 2 pm. The theme is "A 70's House Party," so pull out your seventies outfit for the party of the year! The next AACC meeting is Monday, Dec. 6 at 6 pm in The Lodge. Contact Betty Ann James at (951) 572-5538 or email infotoaacc@ gmail.com. ~ Regina Thomas African American Cultural Club