10 underrated songs of the 1970s

The 1970s was a turning point that saw the end of the idealistic ‘60s. Among the major events of the decade were the messy finale of the Vietnam War, Watergate, women’s liberation, the oil crisis, environmentalism, Star Wars and the Iranian hostage crisis. These events shaped the decade and teed up the ‘80s fallout. Hippies were still around, but the end of the ‘60s marked a conclusion for the poignancy of the movement. Disco, punk, metal, prog-rock, even hip-hop were all born in this decade. The world changed in the ‘70s, and we still see effects of the decade to this day.

Here are my 10 underrated songs of the 1970s — songs you may not know or may not fully appreciate, but each in their own way were important to the decade.  

Sparks — “This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us” — 1974

Sparks may well be one of the most underrated bands of all time. Sparks has influenced bands like MGMT, Franz Ferdinand, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Björk. If you want to know more about the band, an excellent documentary directed by Edgar Wright of Shaun Of The Dead fame was released in 2021.

Released in 1974, the album Kimono My House sounded like nothing else at the time. To this day it still sounds fresh, creative and unique. Sparks’ underrated song off that album, “This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us,” is like if you stumbled into Alice in Wonderland, got lost and then found yourself in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It’s a trip.

Wire — “Ex Lion Tamer” — 1977

Honestly, this whole list could be compiled of punk rock forebearers. The genre really came into its own in the ‘70s. Wire hailed from the UK and were reminiscent of The Velvet Underground in that not a lot of people talked about them at the time, but they went on to influence countless acts. R.E.M, Soundgarden and The Smiths all cite Wire as influential.

“Ex Lion Tamer” is a track that sounds decades ahead of what was going on in mainstream rock in 1977. Hearing this on ‘80s/’90s college radio stations would not have been a surprise. Even hearing it now you might catch yourself saying “Who’s this cool new band?”

T.Rex — “20^th Century Boy” — 1973

T. Rex, along with David Bowie, Lou Reed (more on him below) and Roxy Music are known for being “glam rock” pioneers. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, being glam rock essentially means they wore makeup and had a flamboyant stage presence — it was more a term to define a look than a sound. T. Rex is a bit of a cult band — the people that like them really like them. The admiration is well deserved, and they’re overall an underrated band in the history of Rock ‘n Roll. And my song for this list, “20th Century Boy,” is an underrated song from this underrated band.

With its infectious ear worm of a guitar riff and Mark Bolan’s coolest-guy-on-the-planet vocals, “20th Century Boy” is easily one of T.Rex’s best songs, arguably much more exciting than their much more popular “Get It On (Bang a Gong).”

Gil Scott-Heron — “Home Is Where the Hatred Is” — 1971

Poet and activist Gil Scott-Heron is sometimes referred to as the godfather of hip-hop. Heron’s work has influenced the likes of Jay-Z, Kanye West, Outkast, Tyler, The Creator and many more. Heron’s music career extended decades, culminating in his 2010 album I’m New Here. He died in 2011 after battling HIV and pneumonia. In 2012 he received a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

This 1971 track “Home is Where the Hatred Is” showcases Heron’s spoken word delivery along with a jazz backing track. The song is a critique of a life where you can’t escape the evils of drugs, violence, etc. in your own neighborhood. It asks the question, “When home becomes the root of all your problems should you ever go home again?” In 1971 this was a poignant track.

Lou Reed — “Coney Island Baby” — 1976

At this point in music history Lou Reed had already been in The Velvet Underground and released his successful solo album Transformer, with its timeless song “Take A Walk On The Wild Side.” Reed was untouchable when it came to writing songs about misfits and individuals who live on the fringe of society.

The story with “Coney Island Baby” is that it follows a homosexual teen who received electroconvulsive therapy to “cure” his homosexuality. The song talks about the aftermath of the therapy — it’s a beautifully sad song. Reed was a master at songwriting, and this lesser explored track is proof of that. He was truly one of a kind, and this is an underrated song in his catalogue.

Fanny — “Blind Alley” — 1972

Fanny was one of the first all-female rock bands to find commercial success. The group was started by sisters June and Jean Millington, who moved to the US from the Philippines when they were kids. Fanny rocked pretty hard for 1972.

“Blind Alley” is reminiscent in sound of other groups that would come after them — think AC/DC, Heart, Aerosmith (none of these now-iconic bands had released an album at this point in the decade). This group doesn’t get the credit it deserves, but it was a forebearer of great rock to come.

Funkadelic — “Can You Get To That” — 1971

Funk music had a real moment in the 1970s. Groups like Kool and The Gang, Sly and The Family Stone and of course James Brown were all kicking it and finding mainstream success. With their 1971 album Maggot Brain, Funkadelic proved they were a force to be reckoned with in the funk world. Fun extra fact: They were originally the backing band to Parliament, which was formed by George Clinton.

“Can You Get To That” is a timeless track. It’s been sampled many times and still gets people out on the dance floor. Despite that, it never seems to get the same amount of accolades as “Celebration,” “Give Up the Funk” and “Play That Funky Music.” 

Suicide — “Dream Baby Dream” — 1979

Suicide channeled electronic music with a punk vibe and receive credit for sort of inventing the “industrial rock” sound. With producer Ric Okasek of The Cars fame helping behind the scenes, you’d think the band would have been bound for major success, but have remained a cult favorite. The group was truly ahead of their time in all regards. Later, groups like Nine Inch Nails and Ministry took notes from this band and found mainstream success.

“Dream Baby Dream” was released in 1979 and is yet another track that sounds years ahead of its time. Early synthesizers and drum machines are prevalent here. Not many bands sounded like this in 1979. Folks might just not have been ready for what the band was offering. On an unexpected side note Bruce Springsteen has been known to cover this song and even released a studio version.

Percy Sledge — “I’ll Be Your Everything” — 1974

Percy Sledge was a soul singer, best best known for his mega hit “When a Man Loves a Woman.”

“I’ll be your Everything” fits into that same category but flew more under the radar. A romantic love song that checks all the boxes for the genre. Sledge’s crooning and soaring strings elevate this track to the stratosphere of unknown, but essential, ‘70s love songs.

Frank Zappa — “Watermelon in Easter Hay” — 1979

Frank Zappa was an incredible musician and an amazing guitar player. He was also one of music’s biggest weirdos, but he backed it up with intelligence and prose. Just check out any interview he gave.

With song titles like “Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?,” “Sexual Harassment In The Workplace,” “I’m The Slime” and “My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama,” you might not expect a truly beautiful piece of guitar music, but that’s exactly what “Watermelon In Easter Hay” is. This song hails from the album Joe’s Garage, which is a rock opera centering around the main character “Joe.” Joe starts a band and gives all his money to the government, which in return uses it to fuel an evil religion. Joe then has sexual relations with appliances and later is imprisoned. After being released he finds that he now lives in a society where music has been outlawed, which causes him to go insane. Like I said, it’s pretty weird stuff, but this song is sonically beautiful and is a textbook example of Zappa’s skills as a guitarist.

The song was later used as the closing track for the film Y Tu Mama Tambien, creating the perfect feeling of melancholy for the film.