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🔵 YouTube Playlist: “'74–'75“ is a song by American band the Connells from their fifth studio album, Ring (1993). The acoustic ballad was released as the album's third single in 1993, but it did not chart in the United States. It would later become a European hit for the band in 1995, reaching the top 10 in a total of 11 European countries and peaking at No. 1 in Norway and Sweden. It also charted in the top 20 of the United Kingdom. Since the Connells never had another hit, they are widely seen as a one-hit wonder. In the song, singer Mike Connell nostalgically reflects on the passing of time and how people he used to know have changed now. The music video, directed by Mark Pellington, features students from Needham B. Broughton High School's Class of 1975 and compares the photographs from their yearbook, with how they look and have aged since then. James Masterton described “'74–'75“ as a “gently strummed song“ in his weekly UK chart commentary in Dotmusic. A reviewer from Music Week rated it three out of five, adding, “Commercially alternative with a capital C, this laid-back, rootsy, countrified single drifts through the ears pretty agreably. Expect a positive response from nostalgic radio programmers.“ Rob Ross of Popdose called it “emotionally-charged and poignant.“ Michael Hamm of The Guardian said the song was a “masterful piece of mass market soft-pop songwriting.“ American magazine Trouser Press described it as “so sweet [it] borders on cloying“. “'74–'75“ became a hit in Europe in 1995, particularly in Sweden and Norway, where it topped the singles charts. In Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, and Switzerland, it reached the top five. In Germany, the song peaked at No. 7 and remained on the chart for 28 weeks. The single also reached the top 10 in Austria, Ireland, and the Netherlands.“'74–'75“ was the band's only top-20 hit in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at No. 14 in August 1995. In March 1996, the single re-appeared on the UK Singles Chart at No. 21. The song ended 1995 as Europe's 23rd-best-performing song, climbing to No. 8 on the Eurochart Hot 100. Following the songs's success, the Connells embarked on a European tour with Def Leppard. The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Mark Pellington. It was shot at Needham B. Broughton High School in the band's hometown Raleigh, North Carolina in 1993, and features members of the Class of 1975, juxtaposing yearbook pictures with footage of the same people as they appeared in 1993. On November 14, 2015, to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1974–1975 class, a remixed video of the song was released, showing the class members as they looked 22 years after the original video was released.
