In 1975, "Love Will Keep Us Together" topped the charts, Jaws packed theaters, a stamp cost 10¢, the average home went for about $39,300.
🎵 Top songs of 1975
"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & Tennille
"Rhinestone Cowboy" — Glen Campbell
"Philadelphia Freedom" — Elton John
🎬 In theaters
Jaws
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
What things cost in 1975
$0.57
Gallon of gas
10¢
Postage stamp
$2.05
Movie ticket
$1.57
Gallon of milk
$39,300
Average home
$4,951
New car
$11,800
Household income
A $0.57 gallon of gas in 1975 has the buying power of roughly $3.30 in 2024 dollars. A 10¢ stamp is around 58¢ today, and a $2.05 movie ticket is about $12.
The biggest moments of 1975
The Vietnam War ended in April.
Saturday Night Live debuted in October.
Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen.
American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts shook hands in orbit during the Apollo-Soyuz mission in July 1975.
Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier fought their epic third bout, the "Thrilla in Manila," on October 1, 1975.
Carlton Fisk waved his 12th-inning home run fair in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series — one of baseball's most replayed moments.
Toys, TV & trends of 1975
The Pet Rock became the must-have gift of the year — a plain rock in a box with its own care manual.
Mood rings swept the country, supposedly changing color to match the wearer's feelings.
Saturday Night Live and Wheel of Fortune both premiered, while Jaws made everyone think twice about going in the water.
Atari's Home Pong console arrived for Christmas 1975, sold exclusively through Sears — and sold out fast.
Van McCoy's "The Hustle" set off a nationwide dance craze, with hustle lessons popping up in church basements and rec centers.
The Jeffersons premiered in January 1975, and everybody sang along as George and Weezy were "movin' on up."
The music scene
Elton John wrote "Philadelphia Freedom" as a gift for his friend Billie Jean King and her Philadelphia Freedoms tennis team, while Captain & Tennille's big hit was actually penned by Neil Sedaka — listen close and you'll hear Toni Tennille sing "Sedaka is back." In the fall, Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run landed him on the covers of Time and Newsweek the very same week, and over in Britain, Queen released a six-minute oddity called "Bohemian Rhapsody."
At the movies
Jaws essentially invented the summer blockbuster in 1975, opening wide with a national TV ad blitz and becoming the first film to gross $100 million. At the Oscars, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest swept the "Big Five" awards — picture, director, actor, actress, and screenplay — the first film to do so since 1934. Meanwhile, Sony introduced the Betamax, and the home-video era quietly began.
Cartoons kids loved
Hong Kong Phooey
Tom and Jerry
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
By 1975 the networks leaned heavily on rerun packages, which is why decade-old favorites still ruled Saturday mornings. The big new face was the 40-foot purple Great Grape Ape, who shared a combined show with Tom and Jerry — pairing new characters with proven classics was the networks' favorite trick of the era.
The world in 1975
World population: about 4.1 billion
U.S. President: Gerald Ford
Disco music dominated the airwaves
Junko Tabei of Japan became the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest in May 1975.
The Suez Canal reopened in June 1975 after being closed to shipping for eight years.
After General Franco's death in November, King Juan Carlos I took the throne and began steering Spain toward democracy.
1975 birthday questions
How old is someone born in 1975?
Someone born in 1975 turns 51 in 2026 (50 if their birthday has not come round yet).
What was the number one song in 1975?
"Love Will Keep Us Together" by Captain & Tennille was among the biggest hits of 1975.
What movie came out in 1975?
Jaws was one of the films packing theaters in 1975.
How much did gas cost in 1975?
A gallon of gas ran about $0.57 in 1975, and a postage stamp cost 10¢.
How much did a house cost in 1975?
The average home went for roughly $39,300 in 1975, against a typical household income of about $11,800.