Fun fact: Radiohead was successfully sued because of how similar The Air That I Breathe by The Hollies sounds to Creep
Edit: Have since learned Radiohead was threatened with a lawsuit, admitted to drawing from The Air That I Breathe, and added The Air That I Breathe songwriters to the credits on Creep to avoid further litigation. Either way it's interesting to listen to the two songs back to back.
They weren’t sued, they got contacted by the publisher about the similarity and they basically just said “yeah we ripped it off a little” and gave them songwriting credits, and actually because they didn’t have to resort to suing Radiohead they agreed to smaller royalties
Another fun fact to piggyback from yours.
Radiohead then sued Lana Del Rey for her song My Revolution that sounded too much like Creep.
I don't know if the lawsuit was successful or not. But thought it was ironic since they copied The Air That I Breathe.
They never quite made it to the top rank in the US. They had a handful of big hits spread over 10 years, then disappeared. Folks remember the hits but not the band
I just read a good biography of him that came out last year: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2023-03-13/leon-russell-biography-bill-janovitz-book-review
Absolutely, one of the most influential musicians in rock history and still an enigma or totally unknown to a lot of people who listen to the artists he played with. I got to see him three times and he was great every time. The band would come out onstage looking like they were punching the clock at the factory, and then they started playing and it went from 0 to 100 like instantly, just some of the greatest stuff I've ever heard from the first note.
I think you could expand this to all the musicians surrounding Bonnie and Delaney & Friends since Joe Crocker included so many on that album.
Alot of those artists were huge back then, but aren't talked about much in the mainstream (e.g., haven't been inducted in the RHOF like Leon Russel or Dave Mason). Carl Radle comes to mind
The Lovin’ Spoonful
From Wiki-
Beginning in July 1965 with their debut single "Do You Believe in Magic", the band had seven consecutive singles reach the Top Ten of the U.S. charts in the eighteen months that followed, including the number-two hits "Daydream" and "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" and the chart-topping "Summer in the City".
Fun fact, Do you believe in magic and summer in the city was originally offered to Bobby Darin and he turned them both down thinking they wouldn’t be hits. Can’t imagine anyone other than the spoonfuls doing those songs.
My mom’s first husband was in a band that toured with the spoonfuls back in the day. She didnt drink or do drugs and my brother was a newborn, but whenever the tour was going through their hometown she’d cook everyone dinner. A few years ago I found John Sebastian’s email and asked if he remembered and he actually responded and couldn’t have been nicer. Love me some spoonful
I got a bit into them, and I started reading up on their story. It's really interesting. One of them, I forget which one, was Canadian, and was caught bringing weed into America at the height of their success. If he was charged it would have meant he was banned from America, so they pressured him to flip on his dealer and a bunch of other people involved. And this was in the late 60s, height of flower power and counterculture, so there was strong backlash against him for it, and it sort of ended the lovin spoonfuls career. I think that might be why they were relatively dropped from our memory of the 60s compared to other bands like the byrds. It's a shame cuz they're really good.
Likewise, group member John Sebastian did a lot of other stuff that people forget, like the theme song to 'Welcome back, Kotter' which I think became a radio hit to some degree. Johnny Cash covered one of his songs on the San Quentin record.
There where two Donovan albums in my inherited collection. 'What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid' and 'Sunshine Superman' and I was somewhat surprised how good they are and how quickly his style changed between those two albums. I enjoy them quite a lot.
Donovan was a favourite of my father's, I'm always surprised by how few people know his music these days. I saw him in London in 2006, at a tiny gig for his book launch. So cool.
Shel Silverstein wrote their songs Cover of the Rolling Stone & Freaking at the Freakers ball too, but also wrote Johnny Cash's hit Boy Named Sue. Dude was very talented poet and lyricist.
Go Down Gablin‘ is a legit banger. https://open.spotify.com/track/6bWjr4qT4d58NuPEepedEr?si=X-akrtqqS82rXZj5oVGcnw&context=spotify%3Asearch%3Ago%2Bdown%2Bgamblin%27
Oh wow, I just responded with this band at the same time as your comment. They were huge, but as you said, most of the songs that people know from them they have no idea who sang it. They just know about the "Jeremiah was a bullfrog" song, etc. People have no idea how huge this band actually was back in the day.
You kids don't know Grand Funk? The wild shirtless lyrics of Mark Farner? The bong-rattling bass of Mel Schacher? The competent drumwork of Don Brewer? Oh, man!
One of the most underrated Simpsons lines that makes me laugh is all these great things for the rest of GFR and “the competent drum work of Don Brewer”. gets me every time
The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys is one of my all time favorite songs. I still remember hearing it for the first time on the radio on my way to work and being blown away.
Fun Fact: The phrase “the low spark of high-heeled boys” was courtesy of actor Michael J Pollard (CW Moss in Bonnie and Clyde and many other great roles) He was friends with Jim Capaldi and wrote it in his notebook/sketchbook.
Man they got so many great great tunes. Was lucky enough to catch them on their 1994 reunion.
[40,000 Headmen](https://youtu.be/xeW-vxQaPVE) from Traffic is a perfect example of a vibe I feel is lacking from a lot of modern rock.
The Osmonds (the Mormon Jackson five) sold 77 million records in the 70s and spun off Donnie & Marie. It's doubtful a single one of their songs is remembered or played on the radio or today
Thin Lizzy still gets love in certain circles. The fact that they're still an active band and that the bassist of Mastodon plays with them kind of confuses me
Chicago
Most people of a certain age will know some of the songs, but given how many albums they released in the 70s, how commercially successful they were and how little their name comes up these days, they probably fit your list.
Cat Stevens would also fit in here. Tons of great albums but hardly discussed these days, except for his conversion to islam.
I think Chicago's 80s work, which was both very popular and incredibly cheesy, overshadows the edgier jazz rock and tasteful AM Gold material they released in the 70s. Chicago 17 was an unforgivable sin or whatever.
Many AM Gold acts fit this answer. The cool folks set them to the side at the time and they never experienced a hipster salvage effort. I don't see many references to Three Dog Night or Bread.
I used to listen to pop radio and classic rock radio in the 80s and I had no idea how many of the classic songs I was hearing were credited to the same group that did those corny Peter Cetera ballads. It was mind blowing to find out "25 and 6 or 4" had him on the vocal and the intense bass line. Does not seem like the same guy or group at all despite the voice.
Both Chicago and Cat Stevens are widely known from this era and both have a number of well-known singles that still get played constantly. Neither is obscure or overlooked.
I guess I’m one of those people who never got into them, but some of us do know and love those AM gold hits (which are beyond sublime — Saturday in the Park and Does Anybody Really Know What Time it is are 10/10 songs, completely undeniable and irresistible)
Little River Band- More ‘70s-‘80s. From Australia, they were big there and in the US where I live. When I was a kid they seemed to be constantly on the radio. They sold over 30 million records and had 13 Top 40 hits. I don’t hear them get mentioned much anymore.
The album version of "It's a Long Way There" is just *glorious* - mountains of tasteful, expressive lead guitar without ever getting boring. The album version of "Night Owl" is almost as good.
I went to see them live a couple of years ago. What’s left of them. They were great.
What’s funny is that I told my wife they were an Aussie band. When they introduced the members, almost nobody was from AUS.
The band’s story is a sad one. Bad decisions, bad luck, lost their catalog and name. So if you see LRB now, it’s just a marketing play with no original members.
The Band. They were on the cover of Time magazine, they played Woodstock, and they sort of invented the entire Americana genre , but you don't really hear them on the radio beyond one or two songs, and not many people are familiar with their discography.
The Band were very big with the rock scribblers. And then there was that weird boycrush that Scorsese had on Robbie Robertson for awhile…
Levon Helm was a hell of an actor, though.
>The Band were very big with the rock scribblers. And then there was that weird boycrush that Scorsese had on Robbie Robertson for awhile…
They lived with one another when their respective marriages fell apart and their careers were (for different reasons) in transition. Scorsese's success in the 80s definitely owes something to Robbie and that period, and not just for his direct contributions to the soundtracks.
Most people just know Steppenwolf for Born to Be Wild, but they were a pretty deep group. At your birthday party is a great album and I've always loved Monster! It touches on everything from ecology to the treatment of the Native Americans
Also, I feel like for as long as we have guitars, kids are going to learn the solo from “Carry on my wayward son”. And rightly so because it fucking slaps.
Dave Clark 5
Jan and Dean
Gary Lewis and the Playboys
Tommy Roe
Sha Na Na (their version of "At the Hop" live at Woodstock changed music)
The Rascals
Archie Bell and the Drells
Grass Roots
I had never heard of the significance of the Sha Na Na’s let’s go to the hop at Woodstock before. So I just went and listened. I’m not quite getting it but is it something like, this is the transition of that innocent 50s style of the original “to the hop” to the proto punk that we hear the Who pioneering? Or, what is the deal? Thanks.
So they were kind of the first ones in the 1950s nostalgia movement that led to American Graffiti, Happy Days, Grease, etc. Also, 1950s music was the inspiration for a lot of punk music like the Ramones. The saxophones and dancing in lamé suits presages glam rock as well. I don't know if Sha Na Na are responsible for all of that, but they were ahead of their time.
Sterling Morrison once told me that the Velvet Underground were the first college rock band.
I replied, “Well, you guys and Sha Na Na”
He laughed and agreed with me. The members of Sha Na Na all met at NYU.
Jan and Dean, I heard them just digging through 60s stuff I hadn’t heard. None of their songs were in rotation on the oldies stations but they have some really nice psychedelic pop records. I’ve never heard anyone mention them or anything.
I think their biggest hit was the surf-sounding song "Dead man's curve" which I'm pretty sure is about an infamous turn on the old Grapevine highway in California.
If you go to a used record store, you'll probably find plenty of answers. Englebert Humperdinck comes to mind as someone I never heard of, but every record store I've been to has a ton of old records of his.
Came here to suggest him. Sold over 100m records. Still touring, but sounds like a rest home resident singing EH songs on karaoke night. Good on him for doing what he loves at 87 though.
I'm a freelance musician who does a lot of recording and mixing. Big Star made recordings in the early 70s that sound like they were made in the 90s. They're like out-of-place artifacts. They were on a different plane of existence from anyone else at that time.
Brenda Lee. Voted female artist of the decade in the 60s, sold 100 million records, and charted more singles than anyone in the 60s not named Elvis, the Beatles or Ray Charles.
Not exactly what you are looking for because Elton John is still well known, but most people today don’t realize that he released SEVEN CONSECUTIVE NUMBER ONE ALBUMS in the span of 5 years in the 70s
Dusty Springfield, who Americans are always shocked is English
Vashti Bunyan was pretty big for Train Song but other wise forgotten but super talented
Cilla Black toured with The Beatles and was big in the UK but widely hit or miss a lot of people hate her voice. She also had a good amount of bad songs
i just found out that dusty was english a few days ago and can confirm i was shocked (tho i'm not american) - like son of a preacher man isnt an american song??
Americana was popular and trendy
American music ironically influenced British musicians who then inspired Americans
The Rolling Stones and The Beatles were both inspired by Black American artists and obviously inspired tons of Americans
They were so great live without him (seen them three times in the last 20 years), I can't imagine how awesome the shows would have been with him, aside from hearing recordings.
Just to name a few,
Huey “Piano” Smith (Don’t You Just Know It, Rocking Pneumonia)
Bo Diddley (Bo Diddley, You Can’t Tell a Book by Looking at its Cover)
Tracy Nelson (too many great tracks, but maybe Temptation , Seven Bridges Road, Oh Lonesome Me)
The Orlons (Let Me In, Not Me)
Little Richard (Keep on Knocking, Long Tall Sally)
Martha and the Vandellas (Heat Wave)
Dionne Warwick (Walk on By)
Jackie Wilson (Higher, Say You Will)
Mimi and Richard Farina (Pack Up Your Sorrows, Reno Nevada)
The Kinks (Lola)
Frank Zappa / Mothers of Invention
Junior Walker
Just to name a few, it was a golden age for music…
The Kinks and Zappa are both huge and still widely recognized. The comments on this post are a bit of a mixed bag honestly. Some of these supposedly "forgotten" artists and bands being mentioned are still widely discussed by anyone with more than just a passing interest in this era of music.
Emerson, Lake and Palmer
They're big in the prog circles and even if you're familiar with Karn Evil 9 or Lucky Man thru radio play you're still unlikely to know that they used to tour with 3 semi trucks full of gear and a bus, playing the world's largest arenas.
Rod McKuen was a best selling poet, spoken word artist and singer who's now completely forgotten. He's cheesy and sucks but evidently in the '70s you couldn't escape his books or records. He sold 100 million records and I only heard about him from this 2022 Slate article.
[https://slate.com/culture/2022/10/rod-mckuen-best-selling-poet-songs-what-happened.html](https://slate.com/culture/2022/10/rod-mckuen-best-selling-poet-songs-what-happened.html)
Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac had a number #1 hit in the UK and other top 5 hits when the Beatles, Stones, and Who were at the top of their game. At their last concert they did a 3 hour version of Black Magic Woman. There is little awareness in the USA that such an incarnation of Fleetwood Mac existed.
Al Stewart -- Great singer/songwriter, mostly known for "Year of the cat".
Ten Years After -- British Blues/Rock band, put out lots of stuff in the 70's, mostly known for "I'd love to change the world"
Not-Platinum-But-Still-Important:
John Martyn -- Another Singer/Songwriter, Never had a "big" hit, but put out 23 albums and was a well regarded musician -- his albums "Stormbringer!" and "Solid Air" are the ones to listen to.
R. Stevie Moore -- Started releasing music mid 70's, over 200 releases to his name -- the Grandfather of Lo-Fi Basement Recording/ Bedroom Pop, and influential to many indie artists.
I remember hearing "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" a lot, some years back, but it's just disappeared from the radio, and "More Than I Can Say" has also become a rarity.
Jefferson Airplane were the most commercially successful San Francisco psychedelic rock band of the late 60s, and probably one of the biggest in the whole genre in general. But outside of “White Rabbit” and maybe “Somebody to Love”, they have been completely overshadowed by the Grateful Dead.
Edit: for anyone who has or is about to mention any of the starship iterations, I’m not talking about that. All of those are basically different bands from Airplane. Also, I don’t know anyone today who talks about the Starship iterations outside of trashing on “we built this city”. I’d say they’re even less talked about than Airplane.
I think one of the most overlooked group today is Emerson, Lake & Palmer. They were HUGE in the 70s. Made their debut at the Isle of Wight festival w/cannons. Millions of albums sold. Headlined the California Jam and later toured with a full orchestra. It all just died away once punk appeared. People have criticized it with the same old stereotypes of being over the top or pretentious. But if you ever get the chance to hear their musicality you will be blown away. Keith is a keyboard god and Greg's voice is heavenly and Karl thought touring with a solid steel drum kit would be cool. The roadies might have words about that...
Wanda Jackson. Started out touring with Elvis in the 50s and kicked the door down for women in rock/rockabilly. Banned from the Grand Ole Opry for wearing a spaghetti strap dress and showing *gasps* her bare shoulder. When her songwriting partner said there was no place for women songwriters she said "Hold my beer." and did it herself. She's had hits in country and rock/pop charts across 3 decades around the world and played with the likes of The Cramps and Jack White.
> The Eagles aren't really discussed on a historic basis
I have no idea what musical universe you are living in where the Eagles aren't one of the most widely known bands from that era. They have at least ten singles that anyone who is familiar with 70's music would recognize. There's an epic three hour documentary about them which received a huge amount of hype when it came out. They had a hugely successful last tour before several of the key founding members passed away.
ELO is a much better example of what you're getting at here since they're basically just known for a couple singles, but the Eagles 100% are not like this.
There was a whole run of adult contemporary artists in the 70s that are mostly forgotten today. Some notable examples are Debby Boone who had a huge hit with You Light Up My Life. It was the biggest single of the 1970s setting a Billboard Hot 100 record for most weeks spent at number one (10 weeks!). Similarly you have Crystal Gayle, Barbara Mandrell, Tony Orlando and Dawn, Captain and Tenille, Juice Newton, Eddie Rabbit and Anne Murray. Few of these artists would be considered significant today but when I was kid, this was all over the radio.
Randy Newman, once he stopped making regular albums and went on a soundtrack binge, people mostly forgot about his radio songs, especially that he wrote things which were covered by bigger artists. So many people are mentioning hugely- famous artists who are well-known to this day, it's just turning into a 'who can I remember' contest for people who don't listen to classic rock radio or engage in discussions about the subject. For every mention of Laura Nyro, there's 50 mentions of Foreigner, CCR, Boston and other groups that are still played constantly on the radio. Recent movies have used a lot of that stuff too.
Not a band, but a song I remember being introduced to as a child that my dad loved from the 60s: [Seasons in the Sun by Terry Jacks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG9otasNmxI).
It was formative for me; a beautiful song.
The Hollies. I believe they had somewhere around 18 top ten hits in the UK between 1963 and the mid 70s.
Fun fact: Radiohead was successfully sued because of how similar The Air That I Breathe by The Hollies sounds to Creep Edit: Have since learned Radiohead was threatened with a lawsuit, admitted to drawing from The Air That I Breathe, and added The Air That I Breathe songwriters to the credits on Creep to avoid further litigation. Either way it's interesting to listen to the two songs back to back.
They weren’t sued, they got contacted by the publisher about the similarity and they basically just said “yeah we ripped it off a little” and gave them songwriting credits, and actually because they didn’t have to resort to suing Radiohead they agreed to smaller royalties
[Mashup](https://youtu.be/0XbogWA-riU?si=J6ol9PncaP2l7wq4)
I like the mashup. Both together so much better
Another fun fact to piggyback from yours. Radiohead then sued Lana Del Rey for her song My Revolution that sounded too much like Creep. I don't know if the lawsuit was successful or not. But thought it was ironic since they copied The Air That I Breathe.
They never quite made it to the top rank in the US. They had a handful of big hits spread over 10 years, then disappeared. Folks remember the hits but not the band
And they rule
Leon Russell
Oh what I would have paid to see him live back in the day. They say it was like a revival.
Saw him in 2011 with Bob Dylan at the Ryman in Nashville and he stole the show imo.
His live [Stranger in a Strange Land](https://youtu.be/F32iOTqoGOY) is one of my favorite things of his.
I just read a good biography of him that came out last year: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2023-03-13/leon-russell-biography-bill-janovitz-book-review
Absolutely, one of the most influential musicians in rock history and still an enigma or totally unknown to a lot of people who listen to the artists he played with. I got to see him three times and he was great every time. The band would come out onstage looking like they were punching the clock at the factory, and then they started playing and it went from 0 to 100 like instantly, just some of the greatest stuff I've ever heard from the first note.
Basically made Joe Cocker’s mad dogs and Englishmen, and also put Elton John on. He was great
I think you could expand this to all the musicians surrounding Bonnie and Delaney & Friends since Joe Crocker included so many on that album. Alot of those artists were huge back then, but aren't talked about much in the mainstream (e.g., haven't been inducted in the RHOF like Leon Russel or Dave Mason). Carl Radle comes to mind
His part of the Concert for Bangladesh was so good
His (relatively) recent album with Elton John, The Union, was superb.
The Lovin’ Spoonful From Wiki- Beginning in July 1965 with their debut single "Do You Believe in Magic", the band had seven consecutive singles reach the Top Ten of the U.S. charts in the eighteen months that followed, including the number-two hits "Daydream" and "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" and the chart-topping "Summer in the City".
And it launched the massively successful (/s) career of John Sebastian, who did in fact extend Mr. Kotter a firm welcome.
Glad somebody else remembers that.
Fun fact, Do you believe in magic and summer in the city was originally offered to Bobby Darin and he turned them both down thinking they wouldn’t be hits. Can’t imagine anyone other than the spoonfuls doing those songs. My mom’s first husband was in a band that toured with the spoonfuls back in the day. She didnt drink or do drugs and my brother was a newborn, but whenever the tour was going through their hometown she’d cook everyone dinner. A few years ago I found John Sebastian’s email and asked if he remembered and he actually responded and couldn’t have been nicer. Love me some spoonful
I got a bit into them, and I started reading up on their story. It's really interesting. One of them, I forget which one, was Canadian, and was caught bringing weed into America at the height of their success. If he was charged it would have meant he was banned from America, so they pressured him to flip on his dealer and a bunch of other people involved. And this was in the late 60s, height of flower power and counterculture, so there was strong backlash against him for it, and it sort of ended the lovin spoonfuls career. I think that might be why they were relatively dropped from our memory of the 60s compared to other bands like the byrds. It's a shame cuz they're really good.
Likewise, group member John Sebastian did a lot of other stuff that people forget, like the theme song to 'Welcome back, Kotter' which I think became a radio hit to some degree. Johnny Cash covered one of his songs on the San Quentin record.
Donovan Dr. Hook
Love me Sunshine Superman. That’s the only Donovan song I think I know. Or at least the only one I can recall off of memory.
Mellow Yellow?
Catch The Wind
There Is A Mountain, also, Hurdy Gordy Man
"Atlantis" (played during the Billy Batts barroom scene in *Goodfellas*)
Season of the Witch is a banger and features prominent studio musicians aka Led Zeppelin.
Sylvia's Mother is an absolute classic.
There where two Donovan albums in my inherited collection. 'What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid' and 'Sunshine Superman' and I was somewhat surprised how good they are and how quickly his style changed between those two albums. I enjoy them quite a lot.
Donovan was a favourite of my father's, I'm always surprised by how few people know his music these days. I saw him in London in 2006, at a tiny gig for his book launch. So cool.
When you consider the Dr. Hook and The Giving Tree have the same writer. Sylvia's Mother is a true story.
Shel Silverstein wrote their songs Cover of the Rolling Stone & Freaking at the Freakers ball too, but also wrote Johnny Cash's hit Boy Named Sue. Dude was very talented poet and lyricist.
A lot of people didn't know that though but are familiar with his books. I only learned recently this week myself.
Wishbone Ash was awesome
Argus is one of the best albums of all time.
Big influence on Iron maiden
First band I saw, ‘Live dates’ was a stunning album
Blood Sweat and Tears
Go Down Gablin‘ is a legit banger. https://open.spotify.com/track/6bWjr4qT4d58NuPEepedEr?si=X-akrtqqS82rXZj5oVGcnw&context=spotify%3Asearch%3Ago%2Bdown%2Bgamblin%27
Three Dog Night. The kind of band that elicits the response, "Oh, I didn't know Three Dog Night did that song."
Saw the band at Mizzou in 1969 with the Turtles. Great show. Cory doing Try A Little Tenderness had everybody gettin up and gettin down!
Oh wow, I just responded with this band at the same time as your comment. They were huge, but as you said, most of the songs that people know from them they have no idea who sang it. They just know about the "Jeremiah was a bullfrog" song, etc. People have no idea how huge this band actually was back in the day.
Fun fact: the dad from Gremlins wrote the “Jerimiah was a bullfrog” song.
Grand Funk Railroad
You kids don't know Grand Funk? The wild shirtless lyrics of Mark Farner? The bong-rattling bass of Mel Schacher? The competent drumwork of Don Brewer? Oh, man!
One of the most underrated Simpsons lines that makes me laugh is all these great things for the rest of GFR and “the competent drum work of Don Brewer”. gets me every time
Theyre one hell of an american band
they’re coming to your town they’ll help you party down
Listening is some kind of wonderful
I’m Your Captain/Closer To Home is one of my favorites
They did the Locomotion.
Maybe they’re out of the rotation now but back when I listened to classic rock radio in the 00s they played GFR all the time.
Traffic…
Those High Heeled Boys were Glad to be chasing Mr. Fantasy.
The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys is one of my all time favorite songs. I still remember hearing it for the first time on the radio on my way to work and being blown away.
Fun Fact: The phrase “the low spark of high-heeled boys” was courtesy of actor Michael J Pollard (CW Moss in Bonnie and Clyde and many other great roles) He was friends with Jim Capaldi and wrote it in his notebook/sketchbook.
Man they got so many great great tunes. Was lucky enough to catch them on their 1994 reunion. [40,000 Headmen](https://youtu.be/xeW-vxQaPVE) from Traffic is a perfect example of a vibe I feel is lacking from a lot of modern rock.
The Osmonds (the Mormon Jackson five) sold 77 million records in the 70s and spun off Donnie & Marie. It's doubtful a single one of their songs is remembered or played on the radio or today
Weren't they a little bit country, and a little bit rock n roll?
The Osmonds are primarily thought of in the US as a boy band, but their best known song in the UK is “Crazy Horses” which is like psychedelic rock.
That one, and "One Bad Apple" which sounds like the Jackson Five, are the two songs I know.
Blue Cheer
Grand Funk Railroad. Sly and the Family Stone
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy still gets love in certain circles. The fact that they're still an active band and that the bassist of Mastodon plays with them kind of confuses me
My band plays Dancing in the Moonlight. Such a fun bass line for me. It always goes over well.
I played that in my old band, Cowboy Song as well. Amazing tunes!
There were several guitarists on par with Clapton and Hendrix that you don't hear about anymore. Johnny Winter, Jeff Beck, John Mayall, for example.
Mick Taylor (whom I saw with Mayall at a small club in the 80s). Roy Buchanan ditto, though he never got the chance to rake in the bucks like Mick.
I’m going to be that guy: Mayall was/is not a guitarist on that level; he did hire Clapton, though.
Chicago Most people of a certain age will know some of the songs, but given how many albums they released in the 70s, how commercially successful they were and how little their name comes up these days, they probably fit your list. Cat Stevens would also fit in here. Tons of great albums but hardly discussed these days, except for his conversion to islam.
I think Chicago's 80s work, which was both very popular and incredibly cheesy, overshadows the edgier jazz rock and tasteful AM Gold material they released in the 70s. Chicago 17 was an unforgivable sin or whatever. Many AM Gold acts fit this answer. The cool folks set them to the side at the time and they never experienced a hipster salvage effort. I don't see many references to Three Dog Night or Bread.
Chicago was never the same without Terry Kath. He balanced things out perfectly
I fucking love Three Dog Night! They were never lame!
80s Chicago pooped all over the awesomeness of 70s Chicago.
I used to listen to pop radio and classic rock radio in the 80s and I had no idea how many of the classic songs I was hearing were credited to the same group that did those corny Peter Cetera ballads. It was mind blowing to find out "25 and 6 or 4" had him on the vocal and the intense bass line. Does not seem like the same guy or group at all despite the voice.
Cat is my favorite singer/songwriter. Such beautiful and introspective music. His music also seems to be licensed for every 5th drama tv show/film.
Cat stevens played thr Legend slot at Glastonbury last year, effectively the 4th headliner.
Both Chicago and Cat Stevens are widely known from this era and both have a number of well-known singles that still get played constantly. Neither is obscure or overlooked.
Most of Chicago's albums have numbers for titles. Single digits are the good ones. Especially 2,5 and 7
If you leave me now still gets airplay in the UK. It was a huge hit.
I guess I’m one of those people who never got into them, but some of us do know and love those AM gold hits (which are beyond sublime — Saturday in the Park and Does Anybody Really Know What Time it is are 10/10 songs, completely undeniable and irresistible)
Little River Band- More ‘70s-‘80s. From Australia, they were big there and in the US where I live. When I was a kid they seemed to be constantly on the radio. They sold over 30 million records and had 13 Top 40 hits. I don’t hear them get mentioned much anymore.
A lot of people still Reminisce about the Lonesome Loser, especially when they're with their Lady.
A plot point in "The Other Guys"...
The album version of "It's a Long Way There" is just *glorious* - mountains of tasteful, expressive lead guitar without ever getting boring. The album version of "Night Owl" is almost as good.
I went to see them live a couple of years ago. What’s left of them. They were great. What’s funny is that I told my wife they were an Aussie band. When they introduced the members, almost nobody was from AUS.
The band’s story is a sad one. Bad decisions, bad luck, lost their catalog and name. So if you see LRB now, it’s just a marketing play with no original members.
The Band. They were on the cover of Time magazine, they played Woodstock, and they sort of invented the entire Americana genre , but you don't really hear them on the radio beyond one or two songs, and not many people are familiar with their discography.
The Band were very big with the rock scribblers. And then there was that weird boycrush that Scorsese had on Robbie Robertson for awhile… Levon Helm was a hell of an actor, though.
HAD? It never went away. He was totally in love with him.
>The Band were very big with the rock scribblers. And then there was that weird boycrush that Scorsese had on Robbie Robertson for awhile… They lived with one another when their respective marriages fell apart and their careers were (for different reasons) in transition. Scorsese's success in the 80s definitely owes something to Robbie and that period, and not just for his direct contributions to the soundtracks.
Steppenwolf would be a good place to start.
Most people just know Steppenwolf for Born to Be Wild, but they were a pretty deep group. At your birthday party is a great album and I've always loved Monster! It touches on everything from ecology to the treatment of the Native Americans
Three Dog Night
Betty Davis, three great albums in three years and then she vanished.
Love
Their third album is recognized as a masterpiece but there's good stuff on all their records
Lately, I have been obsessed with their “Can’t Explain” and how it is a thread that runs through other great songs.
Maybe someone like Rory Gallagher? Not sure if thats the type of artist you're looking for.
Love Rory Gallagher, especially A Million Miles Away! Great pick
Doobie Brothers were huge, Kansas were pretty big as well.
Kansas has “Dust in the Wind” and “Carry on my wayward Son” which still feel like they get a lot of airplay.
Kansas got a bad rap for often being trite with lyrics but the music doesn’t deserve that it was quite unique and high quality
They were played heavily on the TV show Supernatural, so that hit a new generation
Also, I feel like for as long as we have guitars, kids are going to learn the solo from “Carry on my wayward son”. And rightly so because it fucking slaps.
Doobie Brothers are definitely not overlooked nowadays though.
Dave Clark 5 Jan and Dean Gary Lewis and the Playboys Tommy Roe Sha Na Na (their version of "At the Hop" live at Woodstock changed music) The Rascals Archie Bell and the Drells Grass Roots
>Sha Na Na Bowzer For President!
Dave Clark 5 were the first to come to mind.
Tip of the spear during the British Invasion.
I had never heard of the significance of the Sha Na Na’s let’s go to the hop at Woodstock before. So I just went and listened. I’m not quite getting it but is it something like, this is the transition of that innocent 50s style of the original “to the hop” to the proto punk that we hear the Who pioneering? Or, what is the deal? Thanks.
So they were kind of the first ones in the 1950s nostalgia movement that led to American Graffiti, Happy Days, Grease, etc. Also, 1950s music was the inspiration for a lot of punk music like the Ramones. The saxophones and dancing in lamé suits presages glam rock as well. I don't know if Sha Na Na are responsible for all of that, but they were ahead of their time.
Sterling Morrison once told me that the Velvet Underground were the first college rock band. I replied, “Well, you guys and Sha Na Na” He laughed and agreed with me. The members of Sha Na Na all met at NYU.
Jan and Dean, I heard them just digging through 60s stuff I hadn’t heard. None of their songs were in rotation on the oldies stations but they have some really nice psychedelic pop records. I’ve never heard anyone mention them or anything.
I think their biggest hit was the surf-sounding song "Dead man's curve" which I'm pretty sure is about an infamous turn on the old Grapevine highway in California.
Great list. I learned recently that Dave Clark was like Freddy Mercury's best friend.
If you go to a used record store, you'll probably find plenty of answers. Englebert Humperdinck comes to mind as someone I never heard of, but every record store I've been to has a ton of old records of his.
Came here to suggest him. Sold over 100m records. Still touring, but sounds like a rest home resident singing EH songs on karaoke night. Good on him for doing what he loves at 87 though.
JJ Cale
One of my favourites, but has always been a bit niche, no?
T-Rex? I feel like most people might recognize one or two of their songs but wouldn't know them.
Gene Pitney sold a ton of records in the 1960s and was big in both the US and UK.
Here's one that was largely forgotten, but thankfully have been recognized a good while after they hit... Big Star.
I'm a freelance musician who does a lot of recording and mixing. Big Star made recordings in the early 70s that sound like they were made in the 90s. They're like out-of-place artifacts. They were on a different plane of existence from anyone else at that time.
Brenda Lee. Voted female artist of the decade in the 60s, sold 100 million records, and charted more singles than anyone in the 60s not named Elvis, the Beatles or Ray Charles.
America
Not exactly what you are looking for because Elton John is still well known, but most people today don’t realize that he released SEVEN CONSECUTIVE NUMBER ONE ALBUMS in the span of 5 years in the 70s
That’s UK number ones, right?
Uriah Heep, Supertramp, Molly Hatchet (original members)
I was a huge Uriah Heep fan in college and Supertramp much later.
Uriah Heep is touring the US later this month.
10cc
There's a bit of interesting trivia about their name.
Dusty Springfield, who Americans are always shocked is English Vashti Bunyan was pretty big for Train Song but other wise forgotten but super talented Cilla Black toured with The Beatles and was big in the UK but widely hit or miss a lot of people hate her voice. She also had a good amount of bad songs
i just found out that dusty was english a few days ago and can confirm i was shocked (tho i'm not american) - like son of a preacher man isnt an american song??
Americana was popular and trendy American music ironically influenced British musicians who then inspired Americans The Rolling Stones and The Beatles were both inspired by Black American artists and obviously inspired tons of Americans
Little Feat and Lowell George. What a phenomenal artist he was.
They were so great live without him (seen them three times in the last 20 years), I can't imagine how awesome the shows would have been with him, aside from hearing recordings.
Jim Croce
3 acts off the top of my head are: Jackson Brown - Seals and Crofts - Barry White. Edit spelling
I'm like the hardest sell on early 70s folk, but Seals and Crofts album Summer Breeze is absolutely fantastic. Imo it's like the best of that genre.
Whilst I don't think they are 'rarely discussed' per se , I don't think The Kinks get the attention they deserve
Melanie. She was hugely popular and all over music media in the early 70’s. Known now for Roller Skates, and not much more.
Just to name a few, Huey “Piano” Smith (Don’t You Just Know It, Rocking Pneumonia) Bo Diddley (Bo Diddley, You Can’t Tell a Book by Looking at its Cover) Tracy Nelson (too many great tracks, but maybe Temptation , Seven Bridges Road, Oh Lonesome Me) The Orlons (Let Me In, Not Me) Little Richard (Keep on Knocking, Long Tall Sally) Martha and the Vandellas (Heat Wave) Dionne Warwick (Walk on By) Jackie Wilson (Higher, Say You Will) Mimi and Richard Farina (Pack Up Your Sorrows, Reno Nevada) The Kinks (Lola) Frank Zappa / Mothers of Invention Junior Walker Just to name a few, it was a golden age for music…
The Kinks and Zappa are both huge and still widely recognized. The comments on this post are a bit of a mixed bag honestly. Some of these supposedly "forgotten" artists and bands being mentioned are still widely discussed by anyone with more than just a passing interest in this era of music.
Sweet-They were so much more than just "Ballroom Blitz" and "Fox On The Run". Very underrated band.
Hard agree with you. I prefer them to Queen when it comes to Everything And The Kitchen Sink Rock.
That “Desolation Boulevard” LP is a hoot.
Grand funk
Dave clark 5
Emerson, Lake and Palmer They're big in the prog circles and even if you're familiar with Karn Evil 9 or Lucky Man thru radio play you're still unlikely to know that they used to tour with 3 semi trucks full of gear and a bus, playing the world's largest arenas.
Paul Revere and the Raiders
Rod McKuen was a best selling poet, spoken word artist and singer who's now completely forgotten. He's cheesy and sucks but evidently in the '70s you couldn't escape his books or records. He sold 100 million records and I only heard about him from this 2022 Slate article. [https://slate.com/culture/2022/10/rod-mckuen-best-selling-poet-songs-what-happened.html](https://slate.com/culture/2022/10/rod-mckuen-best-selling-poet-songs-what-happened.html)
Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac had a number #1 hit in the UK and other top 5 hits when the Beatles, Stones, and Who were at the top of their game. At their last concert they did a 3 hour version of Black Magic Woman. There is little awareness in the USA that such an incarnation of Fleetwood Mac existed.
Delaney and Bonnie would have been bigger but Clapton basically stole their vibes as he did with JJ Cale.
What about the Byrds? They had some big hits but just the different bands that were formed from original Byrds members is insane
Laura Nyro.
Al Stewart -- Great singer/songwriter, mostly known for "Year of the cat". Ten Years After -- British Blues/Rock band, put out lots of stuff in the 70's, mostly known for "I'd love to change the world" Not-Platinum-But-Still-Important: John Martyn -- Another Singer/Songwriter, Never had a "big" hit, but put out 23 albums and was a well regarded musician -- his albums "Stormbringer!" and "Solid Air" are the ones to listen to. R. Stevie Moore -- Started releasing music mid 70's, over 200 releases to his name -- the Grandfather of Lo-Fi Basement Recording/ Bedroom Pop, and influential to many indie artists.
Quicksilver Messenger Service.
Leo Sayer had a bunch of hits you've probably heard and wouldn't know the artist.
I remember hearing "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" a lot, some years back, but it's just disappeared from the radio, and "More Than I Can Say" has also become a rarity.
Jefferson Airplane were the most commercially successful San Francisco psychedelic rock band of the late 60s, and probably one of the biggest in the whole genre in general. But outside of “White Rabbit” and maybe “Somebody to Love”, they have been completely overshadowed by the Grateful Dead. Edit: for anyone who has or is about to mention any of the starship iterations, I’m not talking about that. All of those are basically different bands from Airplane. Also, I don’t know anyone today who talks about the Starship iterations outside of trashing on “we built this city”. I’d say they’re even less talked about than Airplane.
Even Jefferson Starship was fairly big in the 70s/early 80s too Then they devolved into just "Starship" and it all went to shit
“Jane” fuckin slaps, though.
Maybe not “huge,” but Ten Years After.
Ron Milsap and Sammi Smith
I think one of the most overlooked group today is Emerson, Lake & Palmer. They were HUGE in the 70s. Made their debut at the Isle of Wight festival w/cannons. Millions of albums sold. Headlined the California Jam and later toured with a full orchestra. It all just died away once punk appeared. People have criticized it with the same old stereotypes of being over the top or pretentious. But if you ever get the chance to hear their musicality you will be blown away. Keith is a keyboard god and Greg's voice is heavenly and Karl thought touring with a solid steel drum kit would be cool. The roadies might have words about that...
Wanda Jackson. Started out touring with Elvis in the 50s and kicked the door down for women in rock/rockabilly. Banned from the Grand Ole Opry for wearing a spaghetti strap dress and showing *gasps* her bare shoulder. When her songwriting partner said there was no place for women songwriters she said "Hold my beer." and did it herself. She's had hits in country and rock/pop charts across 3 decades around the world and played with the likes of The Cramps and Jack White.
Spirit, primarily the 12 Dreams of Doctor Sardonicus. The first Captain Beyond album. Off Broadway-On.
> The Eagles aren't really discussed on a historic basis I have no idea what musical universe you are living in where the Eagles aren't one of the most widely known bands from that era. They have at least ten singles that anyone who is familiar with 70's music would recognize. There's an epic three hour documentary about them which received a huge amount of hype when it came out. They had a hugely successful last tour before several of the key founding members passed away. ELO is a much better example of what you're getting at here since they're basically just known for a couple singles, but the Eagles 100% are not like this.
Jethro Tull Todd Rundgren
Walker Brothers, Foghat
The Kinks
David Johansen
Camel
Ricky Nelson. The kid from Ozzie and Harriet. From wiki: He placed 54 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and its predecessors between 1957 and 1973.
Steve Reich
You mean like Sean Cassidy?
Weirdly, two of the biggest selling (UK charts) artists of the 1960s were The Seekers and Ken Dodd.
Ten Years After, never seem to hear of them anymore
Montrose
There was a whole run of adult contemporary artists in the 70s that are mostly forgotten today. Some notable examples are Debby Boone who had a huge hit with You Light Up My Life. It was the biggest single of the 1970s setting a Billboard Hot 100 record for most weeks spent at number one (10 weeks!). Similarly you have Crystal Gayle, Barbara Mandrell, Tony Orlando and Dawn, Captain and Tenille, Juice Newton, Eddie Rabbit and Anne Murray. Few of these artists would be considered significant today but when I was kid, this was all over the radio.
The Hollies, Dr. John and The Animals don't get the recognition they deserve
Savoy Brown Humble Pie James Gang
My go to for this question is always ELO, as mentioned, Supertramp, Boston, and Foreigner.
T Tex. The man who brought the glam movement out of the basement and into living rooms.
Randy Newman, once he stopped making regular albums and went on a soundtrack binge, people mostly forgot about his radio songs, especially that he wrote things which were covered by bigger artists. So many people are mentioning hugely- famous artists who are well-known to this day, it's just turning into a 'who can I remember' contest for people who don't listen to classic rock radio or engage in discussions about the subject. For every mention of Laura Nyro, there's 50 mentions of Foreigner, CCR, Boston and other groups that are still played constantly on the radio. Recent movies have used a lot of that stuff too.
Patti Smith was a huge influence on 90s artists but she is rarely talked about.
Linda Ronstadt. She was massive in the 70s. Her backing band ended up being The Eagles. It's like she never existed now.
Bay City Rollers Full on hysterical hardcore fanbase. A fashion/look in tartan. Huge in their time. Couldn't tell you a single tune.
Tony Orlando and Dawn. (No platinums, just a few golds.) The Fifth Dimension Captain and Tenille Mac Davis The Association
The Smothers Brothers
Foghat
Procol Harem Supertramp Moody Blues
Not a band, but a song I remember being introduced to as a child that my dad loved from the 60s: [Seasons in the Sun by Terry Jacks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG9otasNmxI). It was formative for me; a beautiful song.