When you look back on the 60s and 70s, there's some massively successful artists that we still talk about. And they were usually just as big back then, if not bigger. When you talk about The Beatles, Hendrix, Bowie, and others, their legacy has stuck around pretty well. Some people like Bob Dylan might have actually become more solidified over time, even (He was definitely a popular artist in the 60s, but his reputation increased more and more over time. Even comparing his respect in the 70s vs the 60s is notable)
But what I'm curious about are artists that were very popular back then, but we just don't really talk about anymore. Does anyone come to mind? When you look at the billboard charts for a lot of the years in those decades, half the names aren't people that anyone would know unless they were alive at the time.
I think about someone like ELO, who sold 100 million albums during their primetime days, but I think music fans still talk about them to some extent. And Mr Blue Sky is still known (really wish people knew more than just that. Jeff Lynne was crazy prolific with writing hooks and melodies). The Eagles aren't really discussed on a historic basis, but people still listen to Hotel California at the least. So maybe these aren't great examples since some people still talk about the artists a bit and known a song or two.
So I'm thinking about artists like that, or maybe bands who just aren't discussed at all. Artists that were platinum sellers. Anything come to mind?
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
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 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
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 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.