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How Did I Completely Forget a Band I Once Loved So Much?

They weren’t Springsteen or the Smiths, but still…

Paul Combs
4 min readJun 20, 2023
The Babys (Image: Goldmine Magazine)

I am deep into the process of editing my newest novel, a process I despise almost as much as the 1985 Starship song “We Built This City.” At such times, I am always on the lookout for something to distract me from the task at hand, and a few days ago the perfect distraction presented itself: a list of bands that released their debut albums in 1976. I pushed the manuscript aside and settled in for a trip back in time to reunite with my 10-year-old self.

After nearly five decades, I had forgotten both the quantity and quality of debut albums that were released during the year of America’s bicentennial celebration. In 1976, we first heard Blondie, Boston, Heart, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the Ramones, the Runaways, Pat Travers, and The Babys.

Wait…The Babys? I loved them in the late ’70s and early ’80s, yet had somehow forgotten they ever existed. How was this possible?

At this point, some of you are thinking that you didn’t forget them because you’ve never heard of them before this moment. I think you actually would recognize a few of their songs; we’ll know for sure as we get into the Rate-A-Record portion of this trip down memory lane. I can say with certainty that you have heard…

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Paul Combs
Paul Combs

Written by Paul Combs

Writer, bookseller, would-be roadie for the E Street Band. My ultimate goal is to make books as popular in Texas as high school football...it may take a while.

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