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Obscure 70s Americana deep dive

Here we go! Join me on this roadtrip into the forgotten analog lands of folk, folk rock, country, country-folk, country rock, and blues. I'm not going to be too strict on the "70s" part because a lot of the good shit I've dug into really started around 1967-68, but most of the magic happened in the 70s. Most of these are obscure enough that I had to add them to our database here, and any of them hitting 50k monthly listeners on Spotify is pretty rare. Always happy to take recs!
1Cowboy
5'll Getcha Ten

country rock
4.3 / 5

Some of the best country rock there is. Definitely on the more laidback side, 'rock' might even be misleading. Smooth rural jams right here, be sure to also check out the album Reach for the Sky. FFO Pure Prairie League
2F.J. McMahon
Spirit of the Golden Juice

folk rock
3.9 / 5

Kind of the ultimate example of what I seek out. This guy dropped his one album and then left the music world, only to discover in the early 2000s that it had started to gain a cult following. While I love it, I'm always surprised this is the one that popped off. The songs do kind of blend together, and the over-eager little guitar leads are so goofy.
3Willis Alan Ramsey
Willis Alan Ramsey

country/country folk
4.2 / 5

Not terribly obscure but an essential if you've never heard it. Muskrat Love (the original here) is perfection. So is Ballad of Spider John, which btw, Jimmy Buffet covered masterfully.
4Jimmy Carter
Summer Brings the Sunshine

country/folk/rock
3.9 / 5

Another real nice, soothing little slice of country rock. If you checked out Cowboy and enjoyed em, this one is also for you.
5Mason Proffit
Come and Gone

folk rock/country rock/cosmic country
4.2 / 5

CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED. This album is technically a compilation but is the best place to start. Truly scratches a folk rock itch for me that few other records do. I really don't know much about these guys or where they fit into the music scene, but believe they disbanded around the time this one dropped. Two Hangmen was their one song that got some attention back in the day, but the opener (Voice of Change) is even better imo.
6Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band
Rick Sings Nelson

country rock
3.9 / 5


Another warm country rock gem, in the vein of Jimmy Carter, Cowboy, PPL.
7Eggs Over Easy
Good 'N' Cheap

rock/country rock
3.6 / 5

Nothing too special here, but I couldn't resist that band name! Pretty lowkey. Fewer than 2k monthly listeners.
8Jim Sullivan
U.F.O.

folk/psychedelic/rock
4 / 5

Is Jim Sullivan obscure? I'd guess most people are unfamiliar, but if you've dug into this kind stuff, you've surely heard of him. This album is a classic in folk psych.
9Barefoot Jerry
Southern Delight

folk/folk rock/cosmic country
3.9 / 5

Gotta love it! Kind of all over the place stylistically, but some genuinely great songwriting. Especially when they go a little more rootsy and folky. Despite being super under the radar, I heard the song Smokies show up in season 3 of The Righteous Gemstones which was pretty hilarious. Check out that song and Friends. Most people would have killed to write a song like Friends in 1971. Fucking amazing. This album and self titled are bundled as one comp on streaming.
10Lavender Country
Lavender Country

country
3.8 / 5

This is the gayest country record you'll ever hear and it's fantastic. A couple real nice folk tunes here as well.
11Gene Parsons
Kindling

country/country folk
3.7 / 5

Not to be confused with Gram Parsons or Gene Clark! Yet all three played in The Byrds, so that's not confusing or anything. This one is pretty twangy, and there are a few duds, but overall a fun one to check out. My favorite track is probably the least country one, Long Way Back. A sort of mystical folk song similar to Toulouse Street by Doobie Brothers.
12Chris Hillman
Slippin' Away

country rock/rock
3.65 / 5

I guess this the The Byrds section of the list. So many guys intersected with Byrds at some point and it spawned a lot of great solo careers. The obvious one is Gram so don't need to dive into his stuff. Chris Hillman was a solid contributor and this is probably his most well-known solo outing.
13The Souther-Hillman-Furay Band
The Souther-Hillman-Furay Band

country rock/rock/folk rock
3.7 / 5

Despite knowing Chris Hillman, I only just discovered this one a couple weeks ago. Not a bad track here honestly. Worth a check!
14Manassas
Manassas

folk rock/country rock
4.1 / 5

CSN x Byrds mashup! Chris Hillman, Stephen Stills, and others. It's actually sort of unclear if this is a Stephen Stills record or if the artist name is considered Manassas. I've seen it both ways. Not so much a hidden gem....just a gem!
15Ted Lucas
Ted Lucas

folk/psychedelic
3.75 / 5

Some quirky psych folk from 1975! No idea what happened to this guy. To my knowledge, this is the only album he ever released.
16Aztec Two-Step
Aztec Two-Step

folk rock
4 / 5

Listen to 'Strangers' right now. Please. It's the perfect "last song of the camping trip as the fire fades" type of vibe. If there's any weak spot here it's possibly the vocals? But overall I love this diamond in the rough. It's probably most similar to the Mason Proffit album linked above. < 5k monthly listeners. I also found this for $5 at a thrift store in Philly. Heh.
17Help Yourself
Help Yourself

country rock/folk rock/psych rock
3.7 / 5

Very under the radar. < 2k monthly listeners. Chill folky country rock. Old Man is my favorite song here. Beautiful album art!
18Ron Elliott
The Candlestickmaker

folk rock/psych/prog rock
4.3 / 5

Congrats, if you've made it this far you've hit the goldmine!! This shit is amazing and I can't believe how severely it has been lost in time. Ron Elliott did guitar for The Beau Brummels, who are already not super well known. A creative folk rock journey with incredible songwriting, and a super cohesive record overall. I only pray I stumble upon the vinyl someday. Dust this one off, folks! 259 monthly listeners. That is absolutely mindblowing. Doesn't get more obscure than that.
19The Beau Brummels
Bradley's Barn

rock/folk rock/country rock
3.8 / 5

As mentioned above. Twangy folk rock I suppose? San Francisco but with a more southern sound imo.
20Wilcox, Sullivan, and Wilcox
An Album of Original Music

folk/psych/cosmic country
4.1 / 5

This record is pretty fascinating. Very lo-fi pagan hippie folk. Snow On A Mountain is a must listen. I know nothing about these people and this was their only release. 1973.
21Allan Wachs
Mountain Roads & City Streets

folk
3.9 / 5

excellent folky hidden gem goodness. singer-songwriter type stuff. check out 'Mountain Roads'
22Jimmy Spheeris
Isle of View

folk
4 / 5

oops, Jimmie is spelled wrong in the db. Probably my fault. Isle of View is incredible and it's a shame most people will never hear it. Long Way Down is a 10/10 track. Somebody please listen to it so we can talk about it. Thx.
23Country Funk
Country Funk

country / funk
3.7 / 5

Please enjoy, Country Funk, a country funk album by the band Country Funk. Ridiculousness aside, this is actually some pretty quality stuff.
24Henry Paul Band
Grey Ghost

southern rock
3.7 / 5

Henry Paul was better known as a member of The Outlaws but did some stuff with his own band too. Grey Ghost is a solid rock record. Check out the title track and Crossfire. Almost veers into yacht rock territory (not a bad thing whatsoever).
25Lucy Steymel
Goodbye to Grey

rock/pop
3.8 / 5

Lucy is the shit. She had some bops here that just never took off. Can't remember how I found her, but the definition of a hidden gem. Someone's parents probably have this album sitting in a box in the basement and it's just like, forgotten altogether, but I hope this somehow gets its second wind. 161 monthly listeners, making this arguably the most obscure artist on this list. In My Room is SMOOTH AS FUCK. Check it right now.
26Lazarus (TX)
Lazarus

folk / folk rock
3.55 / 5

Pleasant enough, although probably not one I revisit too often. A nice sleepy record. Pretty sure there are no drums. Acoustic guitars and lots of harmonies. Try the song 'Eastward' if any of those descriptors sound nice! 333 monthly listeners.
27Morning
Morning

folk rock / country rock
3.6 / 5

Cool little bargain bin find right here. Sleepy Eyes is a weird piano driven track layered thick with eerie harmonies, and then everything else on this record is pretty normal soft rock lol. Super unknown, just over 200 monthly listeners. 1970.
28Chris Darrow
Artist Proof

country rock / country
4.1 / 5

Ok time for a country detour. I love this one so much. I won't pretend it's perfect but the song Shawnee Moon takes this up a full notch regardless. His other album is supposedly better but I never thought so as it's a lot less consistent imo. If this list were ranked, Artist Proof would be in the top 10.
29Dan Pavlides
Gambler

country / country rock
3.9 / 5

Good ol' no frills slice of americana! They can't all be famous. < 1k monthly listeners, and most of these songs don't even have 1k plays on spotify.
30Jim Ringer
Waitin' for the Hard Times to Go

folk / country-folk
4 / 5

Singer-songwriter country-folk. Barebones, unpolished, and true. Comparable to Townes Van Zandt, but with more of a traditional folk feel. Highly recommend this one.
31Art Lown
Piper Oz the Hound

country rock / cosmic country / psych rock
4.2 / 5

An excellent rec from CrisStyles, and apparently a cult classic in 70s americana! Love to see it. Very short album clocking in at just over 23 minutes, and the sole album from an introverted guy who joined the 27 club shortly after this was released. I see some online describing this as folk/singer-songwriter but I don’t really hear that much at all. Half the tracks could almost fit in on The Gilded Palace of Sin by Flying Burrito Brothers. Sunny, upbeat country rock with a few tracks that go different directions (Power of Rain is a particularly fun and weird psych rock track)
32The Black Canyon Gang
Ridin' High

country / americana
4 / 5

Talk about obscure. This was nearly lost forever until Numero Group included one of these tracks on Wayfaring Strangers: Cosmic American Music, which gave them a tiny bit of traction. You can find that one song (Lonesome City) on streaming, otherwise the full album can be found on YouTube. Pretty lo-fi stuff out of Colorado and it's just straight up mountain country music. Stringed instruments and vocals. A real gem right here. There are two MUST LISTEN tracks: Florence Nightengale and Lonesome City
33Mission Mountain Wood Band
In Without Knocking

bluegrass / country rock
3.6 / 5

Almost every song on this album is a distinctly different style, and none of those styles ever intersect. You'll go from a standard bluegrass song to a lowkey country-folk song. It's pretty inconsistent but also kinda fun. No major strokes of genius here but definitely worth checking. 1600 monthly listeners.
34Shiva's Headband
Take Me to the Mountain

country rock / psychedelic rock / blues
3.3 / 5

Hippie country rock. If you like early Grateful Dead then you might appreciate this, but the vocals kinda suck and even fiddle sounds weirdly not great lol. Fun band name and even better album art, but probably not one I'll come back to often. 700 monthly listeners.
35Mordicai Jones
Mordicai Jones

rock / country rock / blues
3.9 / 5

I thought this would be folkier based on the album art, but nah! Rootsy, twangy blues rock. I could totally see them opening for CCR back in the day or something. Cool shit.
36Luke Gibson
Another Perfect Day

country rock / folk / soft rock
3.7 / 5

Looove the album art on this one! Fiddle and piano heavy country rock, fairly low key. Apparently this guy came from more of a psych/garage rock/blues background, so this was a totally new direction for him. Canada, 1971. Dustiest corner of the discount rack right here!
37John Stewart
California Bloodlines

country-folk
4 / 5

Another great rec from cris. Stewart's voice reminds me most of Gene Clark, and yet other times he he more of this Johnny Cash thing going on. Pretty much a country/folk split straight up the middle. Hard to find that sweet spot but this one nails it. The only track here I don't care for is The Pirates of Stone County Road, and only because this old lady rambling on like "Henry? Is that you Henry?" half the time in the background
38Plain Jane (NM)
Plain Jane

rock / psych / country rock
3.9 / 5

Really loving this little gem I found last week. Ultra under the radar, shockingly. It starts with "Who's Drivin' This Train?", a perfect opener that I've been listening to daily. Crazy that this particular track had no permanence in American music. It would fit perfectly on any oldies radio station. I see this band is lumped in with the country-rock movement but I don't hear a ton of that. I'm honestly reminded more of The Beatles half the time.
39Bill Madison
Sunday Mornin' Hayride

country / folk / singer-songwriter
3.85 / 5

Yet another great find thanks to the Wayfaring Strangers compilation! The song featured there is Buffalo Skinners, which is an 8-min, moody, dark western/country track in the vein of Waiting Round To Die by Townes Van Zandt. A wide array of atmospheres and styles here, most work well. Most commonly you'll hear laidback acoustic fingerpicking with some fiddle on the side
40Ian Matthews
Valley Hi

country rock / folk rock
4.1 / 5

Not terrible obscure yet almost no presence on this website, so I'm adding him in case you guys haven't come across him already. LOVE this album. I think this is the original Seven Bridges Road, which is by far the best, and you need to listen to it literrrrally righttt nowwww. The ultimate road trip / hiking song. These Days is another great tune.
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