Top 10 Greatest 70s Songs You've Never Heard Of

WatchMojo

Dust off those record players! Join us as we uncover hidden musical treasures from the 1970s that deserve way more recognition. From Link Wray's soulful "Fallin' Rain" to the otherworldly sounds of Robbie Basho, we're diving deep into forgotten gems that rival the decade's biggest hits. Which of these overlooked masterpieces will become your new favorite?

Transcript

00:00Welcome to WatchMojo! And today, we're counting down our picks for the most incredible songs

00:10from the 1970s that you've likely never heard before.

00:1410. Fallen Rain – Link Wray

00:30The legendary Link Wray is best known for the seminal 1958 hit Rumble, the first instrumental

00:37song to ever get banned from radio in the United States. But in 1971, Wray found a second win,

00:48releasing the self-titled album Link Wray. And though some critics felt like he was

00:54modernizing his sound a little too much, the results speak for themselves. While songs like

00:59Fire and Brimstone and La Di Da are well worth your time, for our money, Fallen Rain is the

01:05underrated gem of the pack. It's a far cry from Rumble, but it's one hell of a track

01:18from this veteran guitarist. 9. Forget About – Sybil Beyer

01:29It's crazy to think about how much great music has never seen the light of day. And for Sybil Beyer's

01:35son, Robbie, when he began circulating old CDs of his mother's recordings from the 1970s,

01:41little did he know that he would end up causing the album to get a proper release.

01:51Beyer's debut album Color Green would finally be released over three decades after it was originally

01:57taped. Her voice, lyrics, and minimalist style were an instant hit with folk fans,

02:02and the standout track Forget About is as sincere and earnest as any piece of songwriting you'll hear

02:09all year. 8. Blind Alley – Fanny Looking for the perfect driving song? Well,

02:2270s rock band Fanny might just surprise you with their 1972 release Blind Alley.

02:34This all-female rock group rejected taking the usual path for so-called girl bands,

02:40opting instead to inject their performances with a heavy dose of aggression and bluesy energy.

02:45This song was a track from their album Fanny Hill, which contained original material as well as covers

02:59of Marvin Gaye and the Beatles. Listen to Blind Alley and you'll hear the blueprint for the type of

03:04rock and roll that would be built upon by the likes of The Runaways and The Bengals.

03:15Number 7. Home is Where the Hatred Is – Gil Scott Heron

03:19He was a jazz poet, a singer, an instrumentalist, a socially conscious speaker, and many more things.

03:27Gil Scott Heron was a master at many different skills, but when he wasn't delivering colorful soliloquies and

03:34poetic form, he was creating some of the best and most vividly lyrical funk music of the 1970s.

03:44From the instantly memorable The Revolution Will Not Be Televised to the foot-stomping

03:48momentum of The Bottle, there was a lot to love in Heron's catalog. But for our money,

03:531971's Home Is Where the Hatred Is captures him at his very finest.

03:58Home Is Where the Hatred Is – Catchy melodies, a powerful message, excellent singing, and an

04:06exceptionally tight band behind him – this track is just too good to ignore. Trust us, Gil Scott Heron

04:12is well worth a deep dive.

04:14Kick it, quit it, kick it, kick it, can't go home again, home again.

04:18Number 6. Can You Get To That – Funkadelic

04:22No matter which lineup was standing behind him, Funkadelic frontman George Clinton dropped classic

04:33after classic during his prime run in the 70s. But out of all of his releases, no album has stood

04:39the test of time quite like 1971's Maggot Brain. The iconic cover is just the tip of the iceberg.

04:47This LP is jam-packed with classic after classic. And though the title track that opens the album is

04:54the most famous song here, Can You Get To That has a feel-good energy that most funk bands would

04:59kill to even come close to. The interweaving vocal lines are the star of the show here, and it's the

05:12type of track that makes you feel like you're in the room with the band.

05:18Number 5. Hello In There – John Prine

05:22The best way to describe the music of John Prine? Honest, frank, plain and simple.

05:27You know, the press is always usually happy to see one, and my fans that come to the shows,

05:33they're ecstatic over a new record because I don't put them out that often.

05:37You could take any track off of his 1971 debut and put it on this list. But if we do have to

05:43narrow it down, the understated beauty of a song like Hello In There is hard to top.

05:52Prine tugs at the heartstrings as he talks about the realities of growing older and how distant and

05:58isolated that can make someone feel. But here's the thing. He wrote this song when he was just 22 years

06:04old. It's rare to find a songwriter who can instill that much wisdom in his words at such a young age.

06:11But that's what makes John Prine one of the greats.

06:18Number 4. Salad Air – John Martin

06:21If you're one of the many people who have never indulged their senses with the music of John Martin,

06:34there's a good chance you'll have your mind blown. With an otherworldly voice and a mastery of finger

06:40plucked acoustic guitar, Martin hits his first career peak with 1973's album Salad Air, a jazz folk odyssey

06:48that saw him team up with the legendary double bassist Danny Thompson. The resulting album

06:53has a little bit of everything. Sadness, joy, longing, desperation.

07:02The title track is the standout though, a song that Martin wrote for his friend Nick Drake,

07:07the troubled musician who was going through hell with mental illness at the time. Salad Air is the

07:14type of song you cannot believe isn't more famous than it is.

07:22Number 3. Magnolia – JJ Cale

07:28Has there ever been a musician who was more laid back than JJ Cale? This legendary guitarist and

07:34songwriter wrote some of the best rock songs of his era, but most of them were hits for other artists.

07:41Cale was so laid back that he seemed to have zero interest in pursuing fame,

07:45even though it was right there for the taking.

07:55On his 1971 debut album Naturally, he shows us exactly why he is regarded as a guitarist's guitarist.

08:03His subtlety and masterful control of the instruments are on full display on the beautifully written

08:09Magnolia – an ode to a woman he knew that is as simple and effective as any love song you'll ever hear.

08:16The whole album is a perfect piece of sublimely produced ear candy.

08:25Number 2. Crucify Your Mind – Rodriguez

08:29The story of how Rodriguez found his way to international famous is too complex and convoluted to

08:35describe here, but after the success of the documentary Searching for Sugar Man, this forgotten

08:41hero of the 1970s found a new global audience. His debut album Cold Fact is so polished and poignant

08:54that it's almost impossible to imagine that he was virtually unknown to most people for decades.

09:00Brought to back, it's a near-perfect listen, but crucify your mind as all of Rodriguez's best

09:06elements rolled into one package. The lyrics, the instrumentation, the beautifully sung chorus – it's

09:18just a shame that he only reaped the rewards of his songwriting genius when he was a much older man.

09:23Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Frighten – The Fall – one of the

09:33deepest banned rabbit holes you'll ever fall down. Synthetic World – Swamp Dog – your new favorite feel-good song.

09:45With this synthetic world, we'll live in here.

09:52Calla My Friend – Ammonaz – the perfect song for a sunny afternoon.

09:58Calla My Friend – come back to me.

10:02This town ain't big enough for the both of us. Sparks – rock perfection.

10:08You know that this town isn't big enough, not big enough for both of us.

10:12Cherry Red – The Groundhog – the punchiest song you'll hear all week.

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10:361. Blue Crystal Fire – Robbie Basho

10:48To those of you who have never heard Robbie Basho sing Blue Crystal Fire before, all we can really say

10:56is we're jealous you get to hear it for the first time. Basho was a guitarist by trade, but whenever he took the mic,

11:03the resulting music was nearly always a thing of beauty. Footage of him performing is very rare,

11:09but his deep interest in the music of Japan, India, and Iran, among others, is always present.

11:22Hearing Basho sing is like stepping into another world, and to this day, you'd be hard-pressed to

11:28find an artist who seamlessly mixes global music styles quite like him. It's one of the most underrated

11:34folk songs ever recorded. If you had to recommend five songs to someone that had likely never heard

11:45them before, what would your choices be? Let us know in the comments below. Rodriguez, pleasure to meet

11:52you, sir. Thank you so much for being here.

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