This question comes from an unnamed source via Daniel Housman – Just how many brilliant obscure singer-songwriters were there in the early Seventies? I’m still getting over rediscovering Emmitt Rhodes — and now here’s David Ackles. Nobody was listening to this stuff, yet “Gimme Dat Ding” went Top 40?
Tom Kipp – Let us add Nolan Porter to that mix, and Kevin Coyne. Does Roy Harper count as “obscure”?! Howzabout Dirk Hamilton, though he’s more mid-’70s? By the by, I’m not sure how many more were actually “brilliant” for any length of time, but to each his own cultic Seventies s-s faves…
Tom Kipp – Chris Smither isn’t quite so obscure now, but he barely made a ripple with his two wonderful albums of 1971-72. Of course it took him 12 years to release a third, which didn’t help his visibility any, though by now he’s got a full shelf of wonderful albums from the early-’90s to the present…
Jeff Tobin – Dan Crary
Randy Rendfeld – Chris Smither “Live as I’ll Ever Be” is a fantastic album.
Gordon Jack Schultz – Bjørn Eidsvåg – You can hear Sissel sing his haunting Eg Ser (I See) here, which also has the lyrics in English as a subtitle. I understand that Eg Ser was written for an addicted friend. You can hear some of his music on YouTube.
Joe Mabel – Shelagh McDonald
Matthew McGowan – David Allan Coe
Andrew Hamlin – Linda Perhacs only made one album, but it’s well worth it if you like that sort of thing. “Acid Folk” said a sticker on my CD copy…
James Bresnahan – Jack Tempchin.
Joe Mabel – For that matter, Jerry Jeff Walker and Ray Wiley Hubbard.
Andrew Hamlin – Should we count Annie Briggs? I’ve heard good things about Sibylle Baier and Vashti Bunyan, but I don’t know their work.
Joe Mabel – Further, while probably not obscure to friends of Dave’s, Townes Van Zandt never got a fraction of the fame he deserved. Nor did Seattle’s Ron Davies, although one song of his (“It Ain’t Easy”) is very well known and much covered. And just a tad later, also Seattle-based, Jim Page has never gotten his propers.
Rock’n Roll Hall of Fame – Laura Nyro
Joe Ehrbar – Danny O’Keefe [Breezy Stories is a] very underrated record. Couple duds on it, but for the most part great. Found my copy at Goodwill.
Chris Nickson – I interviewed Emmitt – I’d been a fan since the 70s – in 1996, when Varese Sarabande issued a good compilation of his work. He’s appeared here and there since, not often. But talking to him was one of the highlights of my music journalism career. Nick Drake, John Martyn, Michael Chapman, Bridget St. John, Mike Nesmith (his post_Monkees work was the real foundation of alt-country), Andrew Gold (more rock but wrote some wonderful songs and played with Linda Ronstadt in her big hit years). That’s a start. 🙂
Justin Wes Moline – There’s many. The economy sucked in such a way that many great talents of all kinds never made it due to a lack of money in peoples pockets to buy their product. People that work for a greedy businessman have money to spend. People that don’t work for a greedy businessman are broke and cant buy the product the brilliant artist are trying to sell. Capitalism 101 lol
Dan Blossom – Steve Harley
Chris Nickson – If you’re going to listen to Roy Harper, try [the albums] Stormcock (with Jimmy Page [of Led Zeppelin] also on acoustic) or Valentine as introductions to the man’s work. At his best he could be wonderful, but also wide swathes of solipsism in there.
Bill Larsen – Herre’s Elvis Costello and Elton John singing “Down River” by David Ackles.
Dan Blossom – I suppose Walter Egan fits this bill considering He wrote Hearts on Fire for Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris.
Dan Blossom – Here is Ian Mathews with Fairport Convention singing “Time Will Show the Wiser” by Emmit Rhodes. He later moved to California and released a bunch of hits for the LA singer songwriter fern bar scene.
Steve Stav – British singer-songwriter-actress Catherine Howe has been described as the “First Kate Bush.” She made a stir in the 70s with her talent, sold very few albums. One guy who was huge in the early 70s, particularly in the UK, was Gilbert O’Sullivan. He’s still around, but you don’t hear his name here anymore, actually not since “Alone Again Naturally.” Also Leo Sayer, who continues to be popular overseas, and another act the general public has forgotten is Delaney and Bonnie.
EPB – John Stewart, composer of Daydream Believer. Janis Ian.
Andrew Hamlin – I do not know his work and I speak no Polish, but I if we’re allowed to include non-English-speaking artists, Czesław Niemen seems to have a fine reputation.
Holly Homan – You know, it’s no different than what’s happening today. Listen to the crap played on commercial radio. Lady Ga Ga has all the substance of a marshmallow while bands like The Dropkick Muryphys or Flogging Molly are never heard on commercial radio. There are so many great artists currently performing and recording great music that are only played on college radio stations. The crap that’s shoved down our throat today is no worse (no actually it is worse) than Gimme Dat Ding. I was 11 when that song came out and at age 11 you aren’t to into substance. Too many people don’t mature beyond that and therefore swallow whole whatever is force fed them through the different media outlets whether that be TV, radio or newspaper or whatever. People don’t like to think or take the effort to research on their own that there just might be something better out there. It’s easier to swallow what’s shoved down their throats.
Andrew Hamlin – Chris Rea has a new one out, if anybody follows him…
