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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