1971: One Across, Two Down(novel) by Ruth Rendell;
"There are only two things that interest Stanley: the crosswords and getting his hands on his mother-in-law's money"
Where Have All Our Heroes Gones (song) by Bill Anderson, album Where Have All Our Heroes Gone; lyrics: "And sometimes when it rained you'd sit beside me / And we'd race raindrops down the window pane
You'd bring me coffee and we'd work crossword puzzles together / We don't do anything together now"
Crossword(song) (video; 2:18) by Jeff Cooper and the Stoned Wings, album Purple Haze / Tribute to Jimi Hendrix
1972: Crossword Puzzle (song) by Dana (BBC Top of the Pops) from album All Kinds of Everything; MayasMix @ 18:35; lyrics:
"Isn't life a little bit like a crossword puzzle? Giving you lots of trouble / I'm scratching my head to find the clues
In the black and white that make up yesterday's news / And my crossword puzzle is keeping me in a muddle"
Last Bus to Woodstock(mystery) by Colin Dexter; "Inspector Morse, the irascible detective whose penchants for cryptic crosswords, English literature, cask ale and Wagner reflects Dexter's own enthusiasms."; named after champion solver Jeremy Morse; "In the same way he's fascinated by crosswords, the puzzle of solving the murder is what drives him on." ~John Thaw (Morse protrayer)
1976: Crossword Puzzle(song) (video; 4:51) from musical Starting Here, Starting Now; MayasMix @ 43:25; lyrics: "I am sitting here doing the Sunday Times Crossword Puzzle. Somehow the words won't come. I am staring at squares but my eyes never focus, and my mind's feeling strangely numb. It's a fact that a word..."; synopsis: "A woman holding a NY Times’s reveals that ever since her Hecky left her, she has been unable to focus on the crossword puzzle. As she tries to answer some clues, she is continually distracted by thoughts of him. Slowly, it is understood that the reason Hecky left her was because, being the intelligent woman that she is, when they did the crossword together, she always got all of the answers before him. This led to much frustration and arguing and eventually Hecky couldn’t handle it anymore. As she stumbles through each clue, she becomes more upset and less in control of her emotions."
1979: Crossword (song) by Jethro Tull, album Stormwatch (iTunes; 3:38); MayasMix @ 00:00; lyrics: "Life is a clue in your crossword...Your life is a clue in the crossword."
Crossword (song) (video; 2:18) by Jeff Cooper and the Stoned Wings, album Purple Haze / Tribute to Jimi Hendrix
1973: Crossword Puzzle (album) by Partridge Family (no puzzle songs)
1976: Crossword Puzzle (song) (video; 4:51) from musical Starting Here, Starting Now; MayasMix @ 43:25; lyrics: "I am sitting here doing the Sunday Times Crossword Puzzle. Somehow the words won't come. I am staring at squares but my eyes never focus, and my mind's feeling strangely numb. It's a fact that a word..."; synopsis: "A woman holding a NY Times’s reveals that ever since her Hecky left her, she has been unable to focus on the crossword puzzle. As she tries to answer some clues, she is continually distracted by thoughts of him. Slowly, it is understood that the reason Hecky left her was because, being the intelligent woman that she is, when they did the crossword together, she always got all of the answers before him. This led to much frustration and arguing and eventually Hecky couldn’t handle it anymore. As she stumbles through each clue, she becomes more upset and less in control of her emotions."
1978: American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (ACPT site) started by Will Shortz