77s Message Board | Print: How did you first hear of the 77s?

Posted by jeffrey k. on 05-15-2007 at10:04:

Being that I wasn't even into my teen years when the 77's first released records, I didn't actually hear of the band until the 1987 self-titled record came out. A friend of mine had a well intentioned older brother that hoped to free me from what he called the "evils" of listening to U2, and played me the tape. I still remember where I was....sitting in the drive through window line of a Wendy's on Manchester Rd. in St. Louis. I remember thinking "Do It For Love" was a cool song....but when "I Can't Get Over It" came on I was hooked.

jeffrey k.

Posted by Rod on 05-15-2007 at10:05:

I worked at a Christian bookstore in 1982, when Ping Pong came out.
Word required that we buy at least 3 records and 2 cassettes of each release. They sat on the shelf for a long time. We did sell a lot of The Imperials, Dino, Evie and Keith Green. Of course, Amy Grant was starting her stranglehold on the industry with Age to Age.

Posted by JR88 on 05-15-2007 at10:42:

somewhere around '91.......found Sticks and Stones in a Christian bookstore and digged the cover then I found 88 and I was hooked!

Two reasons I picked up The Lost Dogs first album.....ROE and TAYLOR......

Posted by snowblind on 05-15-2007 at12:21:

I had a couple of friends that were big into the 77s back in the early- to mid-80s and kept telling me that they were great. Someone even tried to give me their tape of Ping Pong, but my musical tastes had not matured enough to appreciate good music -- so I declined. Later on, I bought a cassette of the Island Records s/t release and then I was hooked.

Posted by PennSt8 on 05-16-2007 at16:38:

Heard "Renaissance Man" on the radio late one Saturday night, but couldn't find the album anywhere in podunk western PA. About a year later, found All Fall Down in a bookstore at Penn State. Still have the vinyl.....

Posted by Sharon on 05-16-2007 at17:03:

I saw the video of "Different Kind of Light" on a show called "Real Videos" back in the early 80s and have followed them ever since.

Posted by dennis on 05-16-2007 at17:09:

a buddy of mine gave me a mix-tape of 77s tunes from the first two records.

Posted by tom tom blue on 05-16-2007 at17:28:

1984 with ALL FALL DOWN...the tape cover looked cool and at the time i discovered VECTOR and Charlie Peacock...ever since that time...i have been listening if i remember right i bought the tape thru one of those record clubs

Posted by zing on 05-16-2007 at19:24:

One day our high school band director told us that everyone could choose a christian music cd and he would order and pay for it. (still can't figure that one out, since there were over 50 people in the band). I heard this one guy talk about how great the 77's were and I thought I'd give them a shot since the CD would be free. I ordered Sticks and Stone and I've been hooked ever since.

Posted by Squidzit on 05-16-2007 at20:53:

Who are the 77s? Confused

Driver8 got me hooked. I resisted at first, but after he got me to listen to Sticks and Stones I thought they were a good little band. Pleased

Too bad they broke up. Frown

Posted by Alex on 05-17-2007 at00:28:

Got to hear "You don't scare me" when I was sixteen. Loved it - but the whole AFD album was too much pop for me. I was more into AC/DC style hard rock back then. Years later I grabbed a cheap copy of 88 at a christian concert CD- table and was hooked.

Alex

Posted by Audiori J on 05-17-2007 at00:42:

Saw glimpses of them in magazines, our music store had a walkman/headphone setup where you could pre-listen to stuff before you buy. I think I heard them first there.. would of been All Fall Down I think. I had seen the Ilsand record in music stores before that but had not heard them.

Posted by audiori on 05-17-2007 at00:52:

I actually remember both of us listening to Ping Pong over the Abyss on that little tape player.. when it was new I assume. At least I thought you listened to it too. I have a very clear memory of hearing the title track blaring through those crappy headphones.. Tongue

I also remember hearing "Renaissance Man" (from the same album of course) on a sampler tape I had at the time. Seems like it had Undercover and a few others on it. I don't guess that was "whats shakin'" was it?

Posted by audiori on 05-17-2007 at01:12:

Oh, no.. that wasn't "Whats Shakin'".. I think it was called "soaring" or something along those lines. It looked like a praise and worship maranatha record with a soaring dove on the cover, etc. But it was full of the 77s, Undercover and other similar artists. That may have been a little later though.. can't remember.

Posted by 77 bc on 05-17-2007 at05:12:

I was looking for the last time that I answered this one, but couldn't find it.

Mine relates back to Old School A of G "C.A. Rally's." I had become buddies with a guy, during Northern MO district youth camp, and he attended church in O'Fallon, MO. While catching up with him at a "Sectional C.A. Rally" he told me about an incredible ALBUM that he had just bought, called PPOTA. I immediately went out and placed an order for the disc. This was in 1982.

Thought the album was WAY better than the other stuff that was available at the time (at the christian bookstore) and pretty much wore that album out. When AFD came out, I was very disappointed, and did not listen again until a buddy loaned me Sticks & Stones. From that point on, I have been a loyal fan, but RARE listener of AFD.

Posted by peawinkel on 05-17-2007 at08:05:

I have been a Sevens fan from the start. I had become fed up with what was on radio at the time (I was very offended by the masturbation song by Cyndi Lauper that was in constant rotation) and I decided I would create my own imaginary radio station (P-103, I think I called it) by making Christian rock cassette tape mixes. I think I made 20 tapes over a 3 year period. To have an adequate variety of artists on each tape, I had to expand my listening base so I sought out new Christian rock music. I'm assuming that I discovered the 77's through a CCM advertisement or review. I was always into classic rock (Kansas, Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin)...wasn't really into the new wave or punk scenes...but Ping Pong blew me away mainly from the high energy rock & in-your-face lyrics from 2 songs mainly, the title track & It's So Sad.
I've been a listener & purchaser of their music ever since.

Posted by Amadeus on 05-17-2007 at19:26:

It was 1991 and I had just got back from overseas duty and was going on to my next assignment in Florida. I came across a few people who were part of The Navigators and they invited me to one of their weekly meetings. I was told the group leader was a musician and he sang alot as well as lead the Bible study. When I got there this guy was great, he was into Kansas/AD, Livgren, Barry McGuire, etc and he played that stuff before we started the study and afterwards a guy I befriended asked me what I was into and he gave me Sticks and Stones to listen to. I put it into my cassette player on the way home and I was immediately blown away. That weekend, he and I went to a Christian bookstore in Pensacola that was known to carry some of the non-mainstream Christian music and I bought all the 77s I could find.

On a side not, the church I attended in Destin, FL had Dave Hope (Kansas/AD) as their youth pastor. Great guy.