Big artists that are now largely forgotten?

Just looking around my listening room without getting up (pile of CDs next to the monitor, then what's pinned to the walls...),

John Leyton
Susan Maughan
Sisters With Voices (SWV)
Robert Johnson
QuarterFlash
Martin Ansell
Johnny Rivers
Thelma Houston
House of Lords
The Dooleys
Adrian Gurvitz
EMF
Zamfir
Frankie Miller
XTC (stopped touring early '80s, seem pretty low profile outside of places like this)
Luther Vandross can you believe? Once dominant, early death, poorly marketed legacy.
Heaven Seventeen
Melissa Manchester
Patti Boulaye
Ralph McTell
Five Star
Lee Hazlewood
Betty Boo
The Fixx
Ben Sidran
Skeeter Davis
Paul Davis

Tempted to throw in Talk Talk as well (videotape sitting on a desk in front of me) - similar boat to XTC, bet the average person out there now would struggle to name more than one song, huh?

 

I'm 30 and honestly never heard of them. I'll check them out to see what I was missing.

 

My standard answer to this question is Janis Joplin. More popular than Jim Morrison in the '70s. When people talk about her on this forum these days, it's usually how they can't stand her voice.

 

When I was in high school in the early 90's people knew XTC for the songs from Skylarking on, not so much for anything they did while they were touring.

 

That's surprising. I'm in that age bracket and can clearly remember "Centerfold" being a massive hit in 1981. It hit number one, in fact.

 

The early stuff is the best. Especially the live recordings.

 

J Geils Band were huge around NYC.

 

Which Christmas LPs? And in mono or stereo?

 

His version of 'A little Help From My Friends' must be the greatest and most famous Beatles cover. Certainly not forgotten.

 

Fat Boy Slim (Norman Cook) was also a member. He has dropped of the radar somewhat as well.

 

EMF are having a bit of a resurgence with their 2022 album, Go Go Sapiens, with a new one on the way.

 

Vixen are still out there...hopefully a new album by the end of this year.

Red

 

True. I'm aggravated as hell about the feigned-offended crap, but that guy's cheese fell of his cracker a long time ago. GG's, not the initial poster.

 

No more or less than Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians were, since they too had hair on their heads.

 

Maybe they didn't burn as large a hole in the ozone layer above their heads as some, but to a blind man their 80s output would very much slot into that genre.

 

You've never heard of them by name, but do you know this song?

 

Always MONO, but I listen to the later stuff as well, but the Christmas albums I adore are the early mono ones.

 

I would say that Pat Benatar is a performer who was huge when I was growing up, yet today seems quite overlooked. He voice was better than any of the current young female artists I hear occasionally online, so I don't think it's matter of not being talented enough to stand the test of time. Just another example of thc culture moving on I suppose.

And I know I will flogged here for the blasphemy, but I prefer her cover of Wuthering Heights to Bush's original. Kate's vocal quirks and tone are not to my liking.

 

Yes - Phill Collins is still huge. He’s had reissue campaigns, many film/TV syncs, and his records are still sought by collectors. He has 20 million monthly Spotify listeners. Very few legacy acts remain as big as he has, it's a very short list.

 

Well this is someone in their early 40s, probably not yet born when this song hit No. 1!

 

Bryan Ferry

Most recently famous for his son being big in fox hunting circles.

 

I'm in my late 40s, and just old enough to remember "Centerfold," "Freeze Frame," and "Love Stinks" from the videos being in frequent rotation on early MTV. I have checked out their music in my adult years, though. Great band.

 

I've just listened* to top three most listened songs of the band on Spotify, including that one. It sounds eerily familiar, but no, I don't think I've ever heard it before. I think the reason why it sounds so familiar is because it's so damn catchy. I have a soft spot for power pop...

*has anyone heard from the guy who wanted to listen to the Velvet Underground album but never got around to it in, like, 84 years?

 

Agreed - I grew up near Detroit so I heard them on the radio constantly.

 

A few people have mentioned my fave band, Moody Blues. I think that's a good example. I myself am a latter-day fan, really only discovering them in the 80s, but they were big in the US, UK, and elsewhere, with numerous hits, throughout the 70s (their peak decade). By the time I was seeing them live in the 90s, they were becoming somewhat of a cult band, nowhere near the recognition of Floyd, Queen, etc. Today, most people under 40 (except for music geeks) have no idea who they were. Usually, mention of Nights in White Satin will garner a, 'Oh yeah, I know that one...'