Popular animated TV shows of the 1970s included Scooby-Doo, Where are You!, Schoolhouse Rock!, Josie and the Pussycats, The Addams Family, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, Hong Kong Phooey, Star Trek, Super Friends, Jabberjaw, and Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels.Hard rock, heavy metal, and progressive rock, rose in the 1970s, with bands such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Kiss, Supertramp, and Yes, achieving widespread popularity and helping define the sound and image of rock music during the decade.Kung fu became a major pop culture phenomenon in the 1970s through films like Enter the Dragon and the popularity of martial arts stars such as Bruce Lee, as well as the television series Kung FuThe late 1970s saw the rise of punk rock, with bands such as Ramones, Pistols, and The Clash emerging from New York and London and influencing fashion, youth culture, and the sound of popular music.

The Volkswagen Beetle and Toyota Corolla line of cars were popular in the 1970s, making the world's best-selling automobiles at the timeThe Volkswagen Beetle and Toyota Corolla line of cars were popular in the 1970s, making the world's best-selling automobiles at the time.Reggae music rose to worldwide prominence in the 1970s, led by artists such as Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Jimmy Cliff, spreading Jamaican musical styles and Rastafari culture internationallyFour Olympic Games were held in the 1970s, Sapporo and Munich in 1972, Innsbruck and Montreal in 1976, all during the Cold War, and prompting significant events like the Munich massacre in 1972 and the African-led boycott in 1976.8-track cartridges were a popular music format in the 1970s, widely used in car stereos and home audio systems, and became a defining part of how people experienced music during the decadeDuring the early 1970s, popular music continued to be dominated by musicians who had achieved fame during the 1950s and the 1960s such as the Rolling Stones, The Who, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, and Eric Clapton. In addition, many newcomer rock groups such as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin appeared. The Beatles disbanded in 1970, but each member of the band immediately released a highly successful solo album, and Paul McCartney especially would remain extremely popular throughout the decade. Singer-songwriters such as Elton John, James Taylor and Jackson Browne also came into vogue during the early 1970s.

The 1970s saw the rapid commercialization of rock music, and by the mid-decade there were a spate of bands derisively dubbed "corporate rock" due to the notion that they had been created by record labels to produce simplistic, radio-friendly songs that offered clichés rather than meaningful lyrics. Such bands included The Doobie Brothers, Bread, Styx, Kansas, and REO Speedwagon.

Funk, an offshoot of soul music with a greater emphasis on beats, and influences from rhythm and blues, jazz, and psychedelic rock, was also very popular. The mid-1970s also saw the rise of disco music, which dominated during the last half of the decade with bands like the Bee Gees, Chic, ABBA, Village People, Boney M, Donna Summer, KC and the Sunshine Band, and others. In response to this, rock music became increasingly hard-edged, with early metal artists like Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple. Minimalism also emerged, led by composers such as Philip Glass, Steve Reich and Michael Nyman. This was a break from the intellectual serial music in the tradition of Schoenberg, which lasted from the early 1900s to the 19The 1970s also saw artists from Motown records become popular across the globe. Artists like the Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye dominated the record charts across the world and had a significant influence on pop culture, including breaking down racial barriers.[Classical and experimental music influenced both art rock and progressive rock genres with bands such as Pink Floyd, Yes, Todd Rundgren's Utopia, Supertramp, Rush, Genesis, King Crimson, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Jethro Tull, The Moody Blues and Soft Machine. Hard rock and heavy metal also emerged among British bands Led Zeppelin, Queen, The Who, Black Sabbath, UFO, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, and Judas Priest. Australian band AC/DC also found its hard-rock origins in the early 1970s and its breakthrough in 1979's Highway to Hell, while popular American rock bands included Aerosmith, Journey, Lynyrd Skynyrd and shock rockers Alice Cooper, Blue Öyster Cult, and Kiss, and guitar-oriented Ted Nugent and Van Halen. In Europe, there was a surge of popularity in the early decade for glam rock.

After a successful return to live performing in the late 60s with his TV special, Elvis Presley regained his popularity through Vegas performance engagements and concert tours throughout the United States until his death in 1977, which helped him acquire a new generation of fans. His 1973 televised concert, Aloha from Hawaii Via Satellite, aired in over 40 countries in Europe and Asia, as well as the United States, making it one of the most popular concert events of the decade.

The second half of the decade saw the rise of punk rock, when a spate of fresh, young rock groups playing stripped-down hard rock came to prominence at a time when most of the artists associated with the 1960s to early 1970s were in creative decline. Punk bands included The Pistols, The Clash, The Ramones, Talking Heads, and mThe birth of modern computing was in the 1970s, which saw the development of:

Intel 4004, the world's first general microprocessor

the C programming language

rudimentary personal computers, with the launch of the Datapoint 2200

pocket calculators

the Magnavox Odyssey, the first home video game console

the Sony Walkman, built in 1978 by Japanese audio-division engineer Nobutoshi Kihara

consumer video games, after the release of Computer Space

the earliest floppy disks, invented at IBM, which were 8 wide and long, commercially available by 1971

email, with the first transmission in 1971

electronic paper, developed by Nick Sheridon at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC)

the Xerox Alto of 1973, the first computer to use the desktop metaphor and mouse-driven graphical user interface (GUI)

The 1970s were also the start of:

fiber optics, which transformed the communications industry

microwave ovens, which became commercially available

Betamax and VHS VCRs which became commercially available and especially VHS would become widely used for home entertainment in the 1980s and 1990s.

the first voicemail system, known as the Speech Filing System (SFS), invented by Stephen J. Boies in 1973

e-commerce, invented in 1979 by Michael Aldrich

DiscoVision in 1978, the first commercial optical disc storage medium

positron emission tomography, invented in 1972 by Edward J. Hoffman and fellow scientist Michael Phelps

cell phones, with the first call transmitted in 1973, Martin Cooper of Motorola

car phone services, first available in Finland in 1971 in form of the zero-generation ARP (Autoradiopuhelin, or Car Radiophone) service

Microsoft was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen.

The Apple I and II Plus (pictured), invented by Steve Wozniak, helped spur the microcomputer revolution at the time.The first scientific hand-held calculator (HP-35) is introduced.Fernsprechtischapparat (FeTAp) 611-2 Telephone8-inch floppy diskA Philips N1500 video cassette recorder, with wooden cabinet.Seventies women's fashion was an era of stylish contradictions, defined by liberated silhouettes, earthy bohemian aesthetics, and the glitz of disco. Key staples included high-waisted flared jeans, flowy maxi dresses, and platform shoes, shifting women's clothing toward both comfort and bold self-expression.Mens 1970s fashion was an era of bold self-expression, defined by iconic trends like flared bell-bottoms, plunging wide-collar shirts, platform shoes, and three-piece leisure suits. It perfectly blended vibrant disco glamour with laid-back, earthy bohemian styles, making it a standout decade in menswear history.Women's hairstyles in the 1970s celebrated volume, texture, and self-expression, ranging from sleek, center-parted looks to glamorous, disco-ready afros and bouncy layers. The defining looks of the decade—the feathered blowout, the shaggy cut, and the natural afro—remain heavily influential and highly requested today.What hairstyle was popular in the '70s for men? Feathered hair, shag cuts, afros, and long, unkempt hair were some of the most popular styles for men in the 1970s. Above all, this decade in men's hair marked a departure from short, polished styles.