The seventies were a good decade for the mustache. The seventies were also a good decade for sideburns, afros, and chest hair. But who can deny the mighty power of the mustache? Not since the late 1800’s had facial hair on one’s upper lip enjoyed such popularity.

And there are so many different kinds of mustaches to choose from! The Handlebar, the Fu Manchu, the toothbrush, the walrus…the list is endless. If I could grow a mustache, I would almost certainly find myself in a dilemma as to which style to grow.

As I learned more about the mustache, I discovered that there are clubs and competitions that exist soley to celebrate facial hair. Who knew? For example, The Handlebar Club was founded in 1947. The World Beard and Moustache Association exists to “promote the worldwide appreciation of beards and moustaches, and to co-ordinate international events, including competitions, held in such a manner as to encourage friendship among those with beards and moustaches.” Should you want to stay up-to-date on our very own Team Beard USA, check out the The Beard Team USA Blog (they talk about mustaches too).

A number of the members of the Village People sported mustaches, including Glenn Hughes. As I have elaborated in great detail in a previous blog post, Shaft’s star Richard Roundtree had a particularly fine mustache (and still does). Richard Roundtree brought the mustache to an entirely new level. Of course, no conversation about mustaches is complete without mentioning perhaps the most infamous mustache of them all. The truly amazing, the one and only, the mustache to beat all mustaches… worn with aplomb by Tom Selleck. I know, I know, Tom is more of an 80’s icon than a 70’s icon, but he was also prolific in the seventies so I feel compelled to include him.

Before I end my ode to facial hair, I leave you with one last mustache. No one can pull off the walrus mustache quite like Frank Zappa: